Poultry Management (Advanced) JS 2 Note

JSS 2 LIVESTOCK FARMING LESSON NOTE

FIRST TERM | WEEK 2: POULTRY MANAGEMENT (ADVANCED)

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1. Brooding Management

Brooding is the act of providing artificial heat and intensive care to young chicks from day-old up to 3–4 weeks of age until they develop feathers to regulate their body temperature naturally.

Types of Brooding:
• Natural Brooding: The mother hen provides warmth and protection to her chicks using her body feathers.
• Artificial Brooding: Specialized equipment (electric lamps, charcoal stoves, gas brooders) provides warmth to large batches of chicks in a controlled environment.

Key Brooding Operations:

• Preparation: Disinfect the brooder house 1–2 weeks before arrival; place dry wood shavings litter and install a chick guard (circular fence).
• Heat Management: Turn on heat sources 6–12 hours before chicks arrive.
  • Too Cold: Chicks huddle together directly under the heat source.
  • Too Hot: Chicks move far away from the heat source towards the edges.
  • Correct Heat: Chicks spread out evenly throughout the brooder area, active and chirping happily.
• Feeding and Watering: Provide glucose/anti-stress water first on arrival, followed by high-protein Starter Mash served on flat trays or papers.

2. Culling in Poultry

Culling is the systematic identification and removal of unprofitable, unproductive, diseased, deformed, or weak birds from the flock.

Reasons for Culling:

• To save feed costs by removing non-layers or slow-growing broilers.
• To prevent the spread of infectious diseases within the flock.
• To create more space and ventilation for healthy, productive birds.

Feature	Good Layer (Keep)	Poor Layer (Cull)
Comb & Wattles	Bright red, warm, large, and soft	Dull, pale, cold, small, and dry
Vent	Moist, wide, enlarged, and oval	Dry, small, puckered, and round
Abdomen	Soft, pliable, wide pelvic bone gap (3–4 fingers)	Hard, fat, narrow pelvic bone gap (1–2 fingers)
Feathers	Worn, frayed, late molting	Sleek, shiny, early molting

3. Vaccination Program

Vaccination is the administration of biological agents (vaccines) to stimulate immunity and protect poultry birds against specific viral and bacterial diseases.

Common Poultry Vaccines in Nigeria:

• Marek's Vaccine: Administered at day 1 (hatchery) via injection.
• Newcastle Disease Vaccine (NDV i/v or Lasota): Given at Day 1–7 and repeated at Week 3 & 6 via drinking water or eye drops.
• Infectious Bursal Disease (Gumboro) Vaccine: Administered at Week 2 and repeated at Week 4 via drinking water.
• Fowl Pox Vaccine: Administered at Week 9–12 via wing-web puncture.

4. Record Keeping

Accurate record keeping is essential for assessing farm profitability, detecting disease outbreaks early, and managing feed efficiency.

Types of Poultry Records:

1. Production Record: Tracks daily egg count, egg weight, or bird live weight gains.
2. Mortality Record: Tracks the number of dead or culled birds daily.
3. Feed & Water Record: Records bags of feed consumed daily.
4. Health/Vaccination Record: Logs dates of treatments, vaccines, and medications.
5. Financial Record: Tracks expenses (feed, labor, equipment) versus sales income (eggs, meat, manure).

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CLASS EVALUATION & REVISION QUESTIONS

1. What is brooding in poultry production?
2. How can a farmer tell if a brooder is too cold or too hot for the chicks?
3. List four differences between a good layer and a poor layer.
4. State three common poultry vaccines and their mode of administration.
5. Why is keeping a mortality record important in poultry management?

HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Draw a simple daily 1-week egg production and mortality record table for a flock of 100 laying birds in your exercise book.