poultry farm essay

Agriculture in India

Essay on poultry farming | india | livestock management.

Here is an essay on ‘Poultry Farming’ for class 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Poultry Farming’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Poultry Farming

Essay Contents:

• Essay on the Conclusion to Poultry Farming

Essay # 1. Introduction to Poultry Farming:

The Indian poultry sector, in the recent past, has become a major contributor to the national economy largely due to the revolutionary and scientific approaches in avian health care management and superior breeding policies, giving rise to promising and highly profitable poultry enterprise. Today, India ranks globally at 4th and 5th in egg and meat production, respectively.

Being one of the most vibrant, dynamic and ever expanding sectors with tremendous potential, there is wide scope for its exploitation in the country. Even though there is significant upsurge in the commercialized poultry sector, the involvement of small-scale farmers residing in the rural areas has not improved as desired.

About 70% of the total population resides in rural areas which are vast and at present, the poultry production is more concentrated around urban and peri-urban areas. For full utilization of the potential that the poultry sector bears, there should be strong, concordant and sincere efforts from the part of administration, veterinarians and scientific community so as to enable the rural people, especially the youth and women, to indulge in economic poultry rearing.

A drive towards creating an awareness of the benefits of poultry rearing can help in alleviating the unemployment problems due to population explosion, malnutrition and financial insecurity which are all common to a rural society. Also the energy of unemployed youth in the rural villages could be directed in the right perspectives by adapting poultry farming as a useful source of income.

Women can also play a major role in improving basic health care of backyard poultry that does not require much manpower. Poultry farming can be a very important occupation for majority of the landless families and suitable measures adapted to upgrade the backyard poultry and promote small to medium scale poultry farming would provide a good source of self-employment and livelihood security and in the long run have the potential to drastically transform the economy of the rural India.

Even though poultry rearing brings in good returns, lack of proper and scientific poultry management can cause significant losses, the major culprits being infectious diseases that prompt the farmers, who are not well supported by the knowledge regarding immunoprophylaxis, disease monitoring, biosecurity and hygienic practices, to restrain from poultry farming.

The advancement in the field of science and technology has made it possible to identify and control the disease causing agents at the earliest and thereby preventing serious losses. Before jumping into the poultry farming business, care should be taken to educate the rural people about the prerequisites of poultry farming and disease prevention strategies to achieve better productivity and economic returns.

In this context, the utilization of advanced techniques and facilities should be made available to the rural poultry farmers by the government through agencies involved in disease diagnosis and management, which will instill in them the much needed confidence to undertake poultry farming as an economically viable livelihood.

Essay # 2. Advantages of Adopting Poultry Farming:

Among the several developmental schemes adopted in the livestock sector, poultry rearing has shown to have the highest growth rate with backyard poultry farming getting slowly transformed into commercial poultry units. The importance of the choice of poultry farming as successful and economically viable solution for alleviating poverty and unemployment in rural areas arises from the fact that it can bring in good profit through poultry products which are in great demand in the country such as India where the per capita consumption of meat and egg is far below the required standards.

The per capita consumption of eggs in the country is only 36 eggs and poultry meat is 850 grams against a recommended consumption of 180 eggs and 10.8 kg poultry meat per person per annum by the Nutritional Advisory Committee (NAC) (Table 8.1).

So there is wide scope to meet out this nutritional requirement through upgrading poultry farming. The urban people consume about two-thirds (65-70%) of the total eggs and poultry meat, though the urban areas have only 30% human population. While, the rural people consume only 7 eggs/head/year, and there is also insignificant consumption of poultry meat by the villagers, though the rural areas have 70% human population in the country.

Total meat production in India is 6.5 million tons, and poultry has 3rd rank in total meat production with nearly 25% contribution. Broiler meat contributes nearly 70% of total poultry meat production, the rest 30% is derived from culled layers/breeding stock, cockerels and desi fowl, so presently the desi fowl is contributing very less towards the meat production.

Also, the rural poultry production contributes only 20% of total egg production, which should be increased as per the demand and the tremendous potential and the huge exploitable scope of the rural poultry farming. Chickens in traditional village poultry systems provide good and cheap source of animal protein in the form of meat and eggs. The value-added products based on poultry meat and eggs are gaining much popularity among the urban consumers, which is another potential source of additional profit for the rural poultry farmers.

Apart from this, by-products such as poultry manure can be used as an effective fertilizer in agro-farming, which adds to the profitability of poultry farming. The poultry sector requires minimal investment and starts giving results in a very short time period. Rural poultry production is recognized as a major generator of livelihood security in rural regions of most of the developing countries as they are considered as livestock that can be owned by very poor households with limited land resources.

Thus the potential for growth of the sector is huge particularly in rural India, where 70% of the people reside. Government reports clearly show that the poultry sector has the potential to grow at 20% per annum over the next 10 years. Poultry, in fact, has registered the maximum growth rate among all the sectors of agriculture, the annual contribution of the poultry sector to the Gross National Product being Rs.7,810 crores.

Essay # 3. The Rural Poultry Production Scenario :

Poultry is generally managed in a backyard system of rearing by the village people. Village chickens are often essential elements of poor households because of their low labour and investment requirements. Although the output of traditional village chickens is low due to chick mortality, reduced weight gain and less number of eggs per hen per year, it is obtained with minimal input in terms of housing, disease control, management and supplementary feeding.

The backyard poultry rearing in rural areas is particularly based on scavenging, feeding of grains (wheat and barley) or giving household refuses. This adds to the profitability as the majority of the cost involved in poultry rearing is due to the feed, which may account for 60% of the total cost incurred as in case of commercial poultry units. Any cost- effective strategy that increases the productivity of these birds can, therefore, assist in poverty alleviation and the improvement of food security (Table 8.2).

Supported by several developmental schemes of the government, the rural farmers are attempting to adopt the poultry farming as a business by starting rearing 500-2000 chicks or even on larger scale, but the lack of the proper knowledge on poultry nutrition, diseases and their management along with improper support of professionals especially the poultry health care specialists has many a times forced the farmer to leave this profitable business.

The potentials, major constraints and possible solutions for improved poultry health care, management and production have to be identified in advance. In conjunction to promoting the backyard poultry farming, appropriate strategies need to be implemented to encourage the rural people of the country to develop entrepreneurship via adopting poultry rearing in the form of small to medium or even large scale poultry farms or enterprises. Given the integrated nature of most farming systems, a holistic interdisciplinary approach should be followed to promote the rural poultry production in a profitable manner.

Essay # 4. Strategies for Promoting Successful Poultry Farming in Rural Areas :

Successful poultry farming requires a good knowledge of poultry husbandry practices, viz. good management principles and procedures, awareness of the nutritional requirements of the birds, biosecurity, immunoprophylaxis, disease monitoring and hygienic and disinfection principles. Poultry farmers should also be acquainted with the economic poultry feed resources, they should be oriented and encouraged through education and training programmes, interactive health camps, promotional subsidies and professional interactions.

There should be a drive to strengthen the veterinary services, diagnostic facilities, disease surveillance and monitoring programmes, research and diagnostic activities (scientific and technological advancements), feed availability and the marketing facilities. Poultry diseases, the major concern in the backyard system of rearing and adapting the rural poultry farming as an enterprises/business, can be avoided to some extent by knowing their causes, clinical signs and lesions, modes of transmission, detection, prevention and control measures.

At present the poultry farming in rural areas is confined to marginal farmers who are not well versed with the basic knowledge of poultry farming. Therefore, care should be taken that the rural people get familiarize with the prerequisites of poultry farming, before venturing into this profitable business, to achieve better productivity and economic returns.

For farmers, to gain confidence in poultry rearing and mass popularization of poultry business, it is therefore essential to provide them the sound knowledge of poultry husbandry and the needful poultry health care and management support through well planned training and extension programmes.

Essay # 5. Disease Prevention and Control Programmes for Poultry Farming :

Infectious diseases of poultry, responsible for causing huge losses, are considered to be the most important factor that impedes the development of rural poultry enterprises. Outbreaks of infectious diseases like Newcastle disease (ND), infectious bursal disease (IBD), litchi heart disease, egg drop syndrome (EDS), salmonellosis, colibacillosis, coccidiosis, etc., can lead to huge losses due to high mortality, reduced production performances and carcass condemnation.

The velogenic form of Newcastle disease (Ranikhet disease) virus (NDV) frequently destroys most of the rural poultry flocks. Litchi heart disease caused by inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) virus has already been identified a cause of ‘spiking mortality’ in broiler flocks. Other economically important diseases include fowl pox, infectious bronchitis (IB), Marek’s disease (MD), avian reovirus (ARV) manifestations, chicken infectious anaemia (CIA), egg drop syndrome-76, colisepticaemia, fowl cholera, infectious coryza, chronic respiratory disease (CRD) (mycoplasmosis) and aspergillosis.

Mycotoxicosis caused by mycotoxins like aflatoxins present in mouldy feed also has serious detrimental effects on health and productivity of birds. IBD, CIA, ARV, MD, litchi heart disease and aflatoxicosis are the important immunosuppressive diseases, which predisposes poultry flocks to secondary infections leading to huge economic losses.

Parasitic and nutritional deficiency diseases also plays role in decreased production output under the rural environment due to the lack of proper sanitation and hygiene practices and the balanced nutrition. Indigenous poultry flocks reared in free-range system are always susceptible to these diseases.

These economically important diseases as well as diseases of zoonotic implications such as bird flu are spelling doom over the poultry keepers and discouraging them to undertake poultry farming as a successful enterprise. The economic loss as a result of poultry diseases is more important from the perspective of a landless rural poultry farmer and mortality of birds, especially in poor rural families, and can even lead to economic catastrophe that may exaggerate the socio-economic impact of poultry diseases.

For the effective control of the common viral diseases of poultry, it is essential to follow strict immunoprophylactic measures to prevent the occurrence of these diseases. Diseases such as ND, MD, IBD, EDS, fowl pox, etc., can be effectively controlled by vaccines procured from public or private sector biological.

These diseases, which are the major constraint as far as the rural poultry producers are concerned, should be given priority at all stages. Strategic measures should be implemented for developing sustainable community-based ND control programmes with due importance. There is a need for more coordinated research on the most appropriate and cost-effective vaccine for controlling ND in rural poultry.

The recent development and use of thermostable vaccine (ND-V4) in many developing countries has created fresh interest for the control of ND. The V4 vaccine is more cost-effective where oral administration can be used and this vaccine could be a future breakthrough for ND vaccination in village chickens.

The thermostable vaccine can be used along with pelleted feed or coated on suitable food grains which can help to control diseases in birds. In the current scenario of various IBD virus strains circulating in the field and different vaccination practices being followed, particularly after the emergence of very virulent (vv)-IBDV in the country, a judicious vaccination programme for the prevention and control of this highly immunosuppressive disease is to be planned out.

The indiscriminate use of hot vaccines {intermediate plus strains for vv-IBD virus) should be discouraged and they should be practiced only in those regions where vv-IBDV is a major problem. Regular monitoring of vaccinal responses including maternal antibody evaluation for IBDV is suggested, which is the need of the hour for designing judicious immunoprophylaxis strategies for IBD.

Incidences of vertically transmitted diseases such as EDS-76, CIA, salmonellosis, mycoplasmosis, etc. can be minimized by procuring healthy chicks from certified hatcheries. When compared to the viral diseases, bacterial diseases including colibacillosis, salmonellosis, fowl cholera, fowl coryza, CRD, etc. can be prevented by good management practices as well as timely treatment with specific antibiotics.

Many anti-coccidial agents are available that can be added in feed so as to prevent the incidence of coccidiosis, a protozoal disease which is responsible for high flock mortality resulting in severe economic loss. Anti­fungal agents are also available for treating and controlling the fungal diseases in poultry.

Feed additives such as probiotics help in reducing the losses due to few of the infectious diseases. Nutritional deficiency diseases can be minimized to a great extent by providing balanced formulations supported with necessary mineral and vitamin supplements to the birds. Parasitic diseases can be avoided by following a regular prescribed de-worming schedule during poultry rearing.

The development of effective poultry health care and disease management programme requires reliable information on the epidemiology of diseases, which is lacking in village chicken production systems. Epidemiological studies in rural areas should be undertaken to understand the host-pathogen-environment interactions.

Results from such studies could be used in developing suitable vaccination programmes, as well as selecting the most cost-effective vaccines. Disease surveillance is further limited by poor infrastructure, communication and networking, as well as inadequate diagnostic facilities.

These limitations have resulted in under-reporting of disease outbreaks, as observed for ND and other diseases in many places of the country. At the village level, contacts between flocks of different households are the main sources of infection transmission. Similarly, other domestic fowls and wild birds form another source of infection, because the chickens roam freely in the villages.

Apart from this, the people who are following poultry farming in the rural areas are not usually practicing the basic principles of biosecurity, sanitation, hygiene and disease management, which make their flock easily susceptible to various diseases, leading to the economic assault and finally they get discouraged and leave the poultry business.

Describing the epidemiology and economics of village poultry production, suggests the need to develop appropriate epidemiological techniques for rural poultry, because of the nature of the host-pathogen-environment interaction specifically in these areas. During disease outbreaks, it is essential to carry out early diagnosis and follow appropriate therapeutic (medication and treatment) measures along with proper disposal of carcass, good sanitation, and hygiene and biosecurity practices. If necessary, suitable prophylactic measures should be followed immediately.

Essay # 6. Advantages of Promoting Poultry Farming in Rural Areas:

i. Provides subsidiary employment and helps alleviating unemployment and job scarcity.

ii. As a source of regular income provides financial security and dwindles down poverty.

iii. Inspires self-confidence and self-sufficiency in rural people.

iv. Reduces malnutrition and ensures nutritional security.

v. Management does not require much manpower—ladies and children can be involved easily.

vi. Poultry farming needs minimal use of land and capital.

vii. By-products such as poultry manure have excellent value in organic agro- farming, which would fetch higher return to villagers.

viii. Job opportunities can be created through consultancy services.

ix. Overall improvement in rural economy.

x. Sustained growth of poultry sector could be achieved.

xi. Increased poultry production will strengthen the national economy.

Essay # 7. Conclusion to Poultry Farming:

Poultry farming has tremendous potential, which has not been exploited to its full capability in rural areas. Rural poultry is an important element in diversifying agricultural production and increasing household food security. Chickens provide readily harvestable animal protein to rural households. Poultry, like other short-cycle animal stock, is a crucial element in the struggle for sustained food production and poverty alleviation.

In India, even though, the commercial poultry production is increasing rapidly, no significant efforts have been made for developing backyard poultry and poultry farming practices for small farmers, which still contributes much towards the poultry production in the country. If effective measures are implemented to improve the production performance with minimum monetary input this can form the basis for transforming the rural poultry sector from subsistence to a more economically productive base.

Pro-poor policy is needed to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the rural/tribal farmers of the country. For them, the rearing of poultry is a viable alternative for alleviating poverty by providing self-employment opportunities and economic security. The current scenario of ‘population explosion’ has limited the number of job opportunities in both government and private sectors.

By utilizing the prospects of successful poultry fanning this problem can be sidelined to a great extent and also the energy of unemployed youth and women in the rural villages could be directed into right channels. Thus, educating and supporting the rural farmers for development of poultry enterprises can to a great extent instill in them greater economic stability.

In order to encourage poultry production by rural people, emphasis is required to develop indigenous poultry flocks, which can thrive well under rural conditions having adverse environment, in small units as backyard, family and small to large scale poultry farming system. It is also essential to provide timely and appropriate low cost health cover to the rural poultry and to identify cheap and locally available feed resources for sustaining their production potential in a profitable manner.

Taking stock of the situation it is the responsibility of the administration to set up plans for the future that can help improve the awareness about poultry rearing and disease prevention and control measures. This can be achieved by promotional campaigns on scientific and economic rearing of poultry with the help of mass media and by providing subsidies for infrastructure facilities.

The farmers should be given enough know-how regarding the disease management aspects by rendering training programmes with the help of information centres and professional organizations so that the losses incurred due to unscientific rearing practices can be minimized.

Therefore, the poultry health scientists, extension personnel, planners, policy makers and officials should interact regularly to have information on the production potential, health management requirements and other problems and feedbacks of rural poultry rearers, and execute the modification of the practice, if necessary, which may help in success and sustainability of rural poultry production.

A strong resolve towards educating the rural farmers and to transform the energy of rural youth and jobless women to help them gain financial security is the need of the hour and all efforts from the governmental organization should be properly channelized to obtain the desired results.

This in turn can ingrain in them the confidence to surge ahead in the coming decade, which can drastically transform the economy of the rural India. For this, the traditional rural poultry farming practices should be supported with the backbone of a precise knowledge on poultry health care and management along with appropriate follow-up of extension policies and activities.

The rural poultry farming, in country like India where 70% of the population is rural, if promoted in the positive directions through an integrated approach can have significant impact in generating small, medium to large enterprises in rural areas; help in achieving livelihood security, alleviating malnutrition, poverty and unemployment; and shall improve in the long run the socio-economic status of the rural families as well as the Indian economy and thus the sustained growth of poultry sector could also be achieved.

Therefore, efforts need to be made for public awareness about the “virtues of poultry business” and its “products” by blending science, spirituality, wisdom and mass popularity so that the poultry farming should gain popularity not only in traditional rural families but also in highly educated and scientific society.

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The Poultry Farmer’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Success

Article Introduction:

Poultry farming has gained significant importance in the agricultural industry, serving as a major source of meat and eggs for consumption worldwide. “The Comprehensive Guide to Poultry Farming: From Start to Success” provides a comprehensive overview of the poultry farming industry, covering various aspects of raising chickens, managing their health, optimizing production, and ensuring profitability.

Introduction to Poultry Farming

We discussing the reasons why poultry farm is a lucrative business opportunity and highlight its potential for sustainable food production. Additionally, we examine the different types of poultry farming systems, including broiler farming, layer farming, and free-range farming.

Furthermore, we exploring the global poultry market, analyzing its trends, growth drivers, and key challenges. By understanding the market dynamics, farmers can make informed decisions about breed selection, production methods, and marketing strategies.

Understanding Poultry Farming

Poultry farming involves the raising of domesticated birds, such as chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese, for various purposes. It is an industry that contributes significantly to the global food supply, providing a source of meat and eggs for human consumption. Poultry farming can be done on a small scale in backyard settings or on a large commercial scale in specialized facilities.

In this section, we will explore the basics of poultry farming, including the different types of poultry, their characteristics, and the benefits of starting a poultry farm. Additionally, we will discuss the importance of proper planning and research before embarking on your poultry farming journey.

Selecting the Right Chicken Breeds

Choosing the right chicken breeds is crucial for the success of your poultry farm. Different chicken breeds have distinct characteristics, such as egg-laying capabilities, meat quality, and adaptability to different climates. Factors to consider when selecting breeds include your farming goals, market demand, and environmental conditions.

This section will provide an overview of popular chicken breeds for meat and egg production, as well as dual-purpose breeds. We will discuss the key attributes of each breed and offer guidance on selecting the most suitable breeds for your specific needs and objectives.

Housing and Infrastructure

Proper housing and infrastructure are essential for the well-being and productivity of your poultry. The design and construction of poultry houses should prioritize the comfort, safety, and health of the birds. Adequate ventilation, lighting, temperature control, and space allocation are crucial factors to consider.

In this section, we will delve into the key considerations when planning and constructing poultry housing. We will explore different housing systems, including free-range, battery cage, and deep litter systems, and discuss the pros and cons of each. Additionally, we will provide tips on ensuring cleanliness, biosecurity, and efficient waste management within the poultry housing.

Feeding and Nutrition

A balanced and nutritious diet is vital for the growth, health, and productivity of poultry. Providing the right feed with the appropriate nutrient composition is essential to optimize growth rates, egg production, and overall flock health.

In this section, we will cover the nutritional requirements of chickens at different stages of growth and production. We will discuss various feed ingredients, including grains, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, and explain how to formulate a well-balanced diet for your poultry. Moreover, we will provide insights on feeding practices, feeding systems, and common feeding issues to watch out for.

Health and Disease Management

Maintaining the health and preventing the spread of diseases is paramount in poultry farming. Disease outbreaks can have devastating effects on the flock and lead to significant economic losses. Implementing proper biosecurity measures, vaccination programs, and regular health monitoring are vital for disease prevention and control.

In this section, we will explore the common diseases that affect poultry and discuss preventive measures and treatment options. We will also provide guidance on biosecurity protocols, quarantine procedures, and early disease detection. By implementing good health management practices, you can safeguard the well-being and productivity of your poultry.

Breeding and Reproduction

Breeding plays a crucial role in maintaining and improving the genetic traits of your poultry flock. Selective breeding techniques can enhance desired characteristics such as egg-laying capacity, meat quality, and disease resistance. Understanding the principles of genetics and reproductive techniques is essential for successful breeding programs.

In this section, we will delve into the fundamentals of poultry breeding, including natural mating, artificial insemination, and selective breeding methods. We will discuss key considerations for successful breeding, such as choosing breeding stock, managing mating processes, and maintaining proper records. By implementing effective breeding strategies, you can develop a genetically robust and productive flock.

Egg Production and Management

Egg production is one of the primary objectives of poultry farming. Maximizing egg yield, quality, and profitability requires careful management of laying hens. Factors such as lighting, temperature, nest boxes, and egg collection methods can significantly influence egg production.

In this section, we will explore the best practices for egg production and management. We will discuss optimal lighting and temperature conditions, appropriate nest box design, and strategies for egg collection, grading, and storage. Additionally, we will address common issues that may affect egg quality and provide solutions to mitigate these challenges.

Meat Production and Processing

Poultry meat production is a significant aspect of the poultry industry. Efficient meat production requires appropriate breeding, nutrition, and management practices to ensure the growth and development of healthy broilers. Additionally, proper processing and packaging techniques are crucial to maintain meat quality and meet consumer demands.

In this section, we will delve into the essential factors for successful poultry meat production. We will discuss breeding and rearing practices, feed formulation, and management strategies for broilers. Furthermore, we will touch upon the key considerations for meat processing, including slaughter techniques, carcass handling, and packaging methods.

Marketing and Selling Poultry Products

Effectively marketing and selling your poultry products is essential for a profitable poultry farming business. Understanding market trends, consumer preferences, and distribution channels can help you develop a successful marketing strategy. Building relationships with potential buyers and maintaining product quality are also critical for long-term success.

In this section, we will explore marketing techniques and strategies specific to poultry products. We will discuss market research, branding, packaging, and pricing strategies. Additionally, we will provide insights on establishing partnerships with retailers, restaurants, and local markets to expand your customer base and maximize profitability.

Challenges and Tips for Success

Poultry farming presents various challenges that farmers may encounter along their journey. From disease outbreaks and market fluctuations to environmental factors and regulatory compliance, being aware of potential challenges can help you prepare and mitigate risks. Additionally, implementing best practices and continuously learning from industry experts can contribute to your long-term success.

In this section, we will address common challenges faced by poultry farmers and provide practical tips for overcoming them. We will discuss risk management strategies, financial planning, and the importance of continuous education and networking within the poultry farming community.

Types of poultry

Chickens are the most widely consumed poultry in the world. They are known for their tender meat and versatile culinary applications. Common chicken breeds include the White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, and Plymouth Rock. Chickens are also prized for their eggs, which come in various sizes, colors, and flavors.

Ducks are another popular type of poultry, particularly in Asian cuisine. They offer flavorful meat and are often used in dishes like Peking duck and roast duck. Some well-known duck breeds include the Pekin duck, Muscovy duck, and Mallard duck. Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs and have a rich, creamy taste.

Turkeys are primarily associated with festive occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. They have tender, succulent meat that is often roasted or smoked. The Broad-Breasted White and Bronze turkeys are among the most commonly raised breeds. Turkeys also lay eggs, although they are less frequently consumed compared to chicken and duck eggs.

Geese are prized for their flavorful, fatty meat, which is particularly popular in European cuisine. They have a distinctive taste and are often used in making pâté and foe grass. The Embden and Toulouse geese are notable breeds raised for meat production. Geese eggs, while less common, can be used in baking and cooking.

Quails are small game birds that offer delicate, tender meat. They are popular in gourmet cooking and are often served as a delicacy. Quail eggs, known for their petite size and speckled appearance, have a rich flavor and are used in various culinary creations.

Guinea Fowls

Guinea fowls are native to Africa and are prized for their lean and flavorful meat. They have a distinctive appearance with speckled feathers and a small, featherless head. Guinea fowl meat is often compared to chicken or pheasant meat and is used in various traditional dishes.

Pheasants are renowned game birds known for their vibrant plumage and tender meat. They have a rich, earthy flavor and are popular among hunters and gourmet chefs alike. Pheasant meat is versatile and can be prepared through roasting, grilling, or braising.

Peafowls, specifically the Indian peafowl (peacock), are famous for their stunning plumage and regal appearance. While they are primarily admired for their beauty, peafowl meat is also consumed in certain cultures, although it is less common.

Emus are large flightless birds native to Australia. While they are primarily raised for their oil and leather, emu meat is also consumed, offering a lean and flavorful alternative to traditional poultry. Emu eggs are prized for their size and can be used in cooking and crafting.

Ostriches are the largest birds on Earth, known for their long necks and powerful legs. Ostrich meat is extremely lean and has a taste and texture similar to beef. It is often marketed as a healthier alternative to red meat due to its low fat and cholesterol content. Ostrich eggs are the largest eggs produced by any bird species and are highly valued.

Conclusion:

Poultry farming offers a promising opportunity for individuals interested in agriculture and entrepreneurship. With the right knowledge, skills, and dedication, you can establish a successful poultry farm and contribute to the global food supply. This comprehensive guide has provided valuable insights and practical information to help you get started and navigate the challenges of poultry farming. Remember to continuously educate yourself, stay updated with industry trends, and implement best practices to ensure the long-term success of your poultry farming venture.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: what are the benefits of poultry farming.

A1: Poultry farming offers several benefits, including a steady source of income, high return on investment, and the production of protein-rich meat and eggs.

Q2: How do I start a small-scale poultry farm?

A2: To start a small-scale poultry farm, begin by conducting thorough research, selecting suitable chicken breeds, ensuring proper housing and infrastructure, and developing a sound business plan.

Q3: How can I prevent diseases in my poultry flock?

A3: Disease prevention can be achieved through implementing biosecurity measures, vaccinating the birds, maintaining cleanliness, and monitoring the health of the flock regularly.

Q4: What are the best chicken breeds for egg production?

A4: Some popular chicken breeds known for their egg-laying capabilities include Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, and Sussex.

Q5: How can I market my poultry products effectively?

A5: Effective marketing of poultry products involves understanding your target market, creating a strong brand, developing attractive packaging, and building relationships with potential buyers.

Q6: What are the key factors to consider in poultry housing design?

A6: Important factors in poultry housing design include ventilation, lighting, temperature control, space allocation, and biosecurity measures.

Q7: How can I ensure the nutritional needs of my poultry are met?

A7: Providing a well-balanced diet that includes essential nutrients such as proteins, grains, vitamins, and minerals is crucial for meeting the nutritional needs of your poultry.

Q8: What are the common challenges in poultry farming?

A8: Common challenges in poultry farming include disease outbreaks, market volatility, high feed costs, and regulatory compliance.

Q9: How can I maximize egg production in my flock?

A9: Maximizing egg production can be achieved by ensuring proper nutrition, maintaining optimal lighting conditions, providing comfortable nest boxes, and managing stress levels in the birds.

Q10: Is poultry farming a profitable business?

A10: Poultry farming can be a profitable business if managed effectively, considering factors such as market demand, cost control, and efficient production practices.

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Poultry Farm Management: Introduction, Scheme and Issues

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Poultry is the domestication and rearing of birds like chicken, turkeys, geese, swans, and emu etc for providing food.

In poultry sector there exists a large scope to enhance food production through both layer and broiler farming.

It has been observed that agriculture hardly provides employment ranging from 120 to 150 days in a year. It has been calculated that a backyard poultry unit of 25 to 50 can generate employment for 40 to 50 man days.

In a similar manner a dairy unit consisting of 2 crossbred cows can help in creating employment for 120 to 150 man days and a small ruminant (Goats & Sheep) of 20 head size generate 100 to 120 man days in a year, mostly in the woman work force. In addition to this, commercial activities under this sector will also encourage unemployed educated youths in a great manner to set up their own units. These activities will create sustainable means of livelihood in the rural areas along with bridging the gap in demand and production in egg, meat and milk.

Large, medium and small scale layer farming can be taken up by the prospective entrepreneurs/farmers with either own finance or by bank credit. New-a-Jays competent technical and professional guidance are available to the farmers through Govt. and private institutions. The poultry management practices have improved many folds, diseases and mortality incidences have reduced greatly. Now, layer farming has been given considerable importance in State policy and has a better scope in future.

In broiler segment the State is now self sufficient in chicken meat production in respect to demand. Still there is enormous scope within this sector if marketing side is taken care of.

Many reputed entrepreneurs have started interest in broiler sector which further encourage our farmers to take up broiler farming.

Backyard Poultry:

Besides, the above two segments, another segment of poultry is opened for our rural poor. They can take up this segment as their subsidiary occupation. Now days newly developed low input technology birds are available in poultry which thrive well under semi intensive system of management. These birds are phenotypically similar to desi birds instead produce more of eggs and also grow in a much faster rate than desi birds.

These types of breeds and their availability are as follows:

Investment Opportunities:

As poultry has been classified as agriculture now, it has been treated as priority sector of lending from financing institutions. So entrepreneurs/farmers should approach the Commercial Banks/Co-operative Banks/RRB of their areas to avail credit to establish poultry units.

Government is also seriously trying to bring outside investors to invest in State poultry sector to make easy availability of required poultry inputs at a reasonable rate. So that farmers can be encouraged to take up layer and broiler farming.

Government Schemes:

(a) An ambitious programme has been taken up by Govt. to produce 100 lakh eggs/day within 5 years of time.

(b) Strengthening of farms with low input technology birds for backyard farming in the State

(c) Self Help Groups are given opportunity to start poultry farming.

(d) Promotion of large and medium scale poultry farming through Agricultural entrepreneurs schemes.

(e) Promotion of cluster farming.

Govt’s support for poultry development:

1. Poultry has been declared as agriculture.

2. Poultry farming has been treated as priority sector of lending by the financing institutions.

3. A clear cut guideline formulated by Pollution Control Board to ease poultry farming.

4. Exemption of VAT on egg, meat & poultry feed and feed supplements.

5. Lease for Govt. land for poultry farming.

6. Poultry insurance premium has been reduced.

7. 20% capital investment subsidy to a maximum of 20 lakhs is provided for promotion of poultry farming.

8. Action Plan to increase the maize production has been prepared for feed supply.

9. Apex Committee has been constituted to look into various impediments of poultry sector.

Future Issues:

1. Reduction of electricity tariff rate for poultry farming.

2. Exemption of poultry industry from labour act.

3. Exemption of VAT on maize and broken rice.

4. Exemption of entry tax on egg and poultry meat.

5. Planning to increase the storage capacity of maize crop in the State.

Production performance of different breeds:

Layer breeds:

BV 300: 320 eggs / bird

Broiler breeds:

(1) Cobb 100: 1.4 kg in 35 days (2) Cobb 400: 1.8 kg in 40 days (3) Ross: 2.0 kg in 42 days

Dual purpose breeds:

(1) Vanaraj: 150 eggs / bird (2) Carigold: 220 eggs / bird

Housing Specifications:

Floor space:

Deep litter system – (l) Breeder: 3.75 sft (2) Layer: 2.0 sft (3) Broiler: 1.25 sft Cage system -(a) Breeder: 3.0 sft -Layer: 0.8 sft

Water space- Deep litter system (a) Breeder: 2.5 inch -Layer: 2.0 inch – Broiler: 2.0 inch

Cage system- (a) Breeder: Nipple drinking system —Layer: same with light management.

Disease Control:

Several Viral (Ranikhet disease, Marck’s disease, Bird flu, Fowl pox etc)., Bacterial (Fowl cholera, Salmonellosis, Typhoid, paratyphoid etc.) Fungal (Mycosis Aspergillosis etc.), Parasitic (external-lice, mites, fleas, etc. Internal – Rickets, Perosis, Avitaminosis etc.) should be dealt effectively

So in poultry management, emphasis must be given for selection of disease free and suitable breeds, proper, safe and hygienic farm condition, and use of modern scientific methods for transportation and storage, to make it more productive.

Government has been laying thrust in providing gainful employment for the rest period of the year for the work force with this suitable alternative.

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Poultry Farming

Introduction to Animal Husbandry

If we talk about agriculture, animal husbandry has its own importance for raising livestock in a scientific way i.e by giving a proper environment to the cattle. In such an environment, cattle remain disease-free and healthy from both inside and out. Animal husbandry is considered important as this process allows us to increase livestock production to cover up the demands of human beings tremendously increasing in population. As due to the increase in population demands of egg, meat, milk is also increasing day by day, so to manage this demand it is a must to adopt the animal husbandry process. 

In this process, we select suitable breeds of animals and raise them to get the desired amount of livestock. We here study the genetic qualities and behavior of animals and from these qualities, we select the best, from where we can get the maximum amount of profit. Nowadays most of the farm people are dependent on the animal husbandry process for their earning. 

Importance of Animal Husbandry

As animals are a major source of various nutritional values, it becomes necessary for us to get all the nutrition for better growth. And this can only be fulfilled by the animal husbandry process only. By this process, animals are ready to meet the high demand for milk, meat, and eggs. 

Dairy Products:

From the milk of cows, goats, buffaloes we get high amounts of protein and these animals are also called milch animals as they provide milk to us. 

Meat and Egg:

Animals like chicken, duck, ox, goat are used for their meat. As all of these animals are used for food purposes, they need proper care and attention during their breeding process. Along with that eggs of hen, ducks, goose, etc are also rich in protein source along with other nutrients. 

Apart from these food sources, seed food is also in high demand due to its nutritional quality. As they are rich in fat, proteins, vitamins and various minerals. 

Land Management:

As dry herbs are at high risk of catching fire, so these shrubs are grazed by cattle which reduces the chance of catching fire. 

Some of the animals like sheep and camels are used for fibers or textiles. These fibers are used for wool and leather preparation. 

Manure: 

The excreta, dead and decaying parts of animals are used as manure and used to enhance the fertility of the soil. This will increase the fertility of the soil. 

Due to such huge demand, the animal husbandry business is popular as it's one of the growing businesses of today's world. For running this business it needs a large amount of investment along with proper care and management skills. 

Impact of Animal Husbandry On Environment

With an increasing population, the demand for meat, milk and eggs is also increasing on a remarkable note. It is estimated that by the end of year 2050 the overall population of the world will reach at around 9.6 billion. Such an estimation of figure marks as a matter of concern to feed Mankind with the bare minimum resources. At present, there is a drastic impact of Animal Husbandry on our environment and its climate. As human residents are rising, more forests are lashed out and houses are constructed leaving animals with no land to live on. As a result of the increasing agriculture of animals, innumerable species are facing severe extinction. Destruction of various habitats are carried out to grow crops by evacuating forest land in order to feed animals so they produce more milk and eggs and to  feed the human beings also. This leads to Deforestation and because of it the land of rainforests are decreasing every second for agriculture of animals. Not only forests, Animal Husbandry is responsible for declination of freshwater also. Almost 92% of freshwater is consumed during the farming process by the farmers. 

In order to repair the consequences, people should try and cut down their consumption of meat and go vegan for a period of time. A movement for Afforestation should be carried out and some rules and regulations should be implied for erosion control. Such measures will help to maintain a proper balance of the Ecosystem. 

This is also a kind of animal husbandry in which birds are used. Some of the examples of birds which are involved in Poultry Farming are ducks, chickens, geese, pigeons, turkeys, etc. These birds are farmed under proper care for using their eggs and meat as a source of food. Their eggs and meat are a rich source of protein and other kinds of vitamins and minerals . Their waste material i.e. feces are used as a good source of manure which enhances the fertility of the soil. Along with that they also provide employment to many daily wage workers, so it also gives employment to people.

To prevent them from any kind of disease they need to be kept in a proper atmospheric environment. 

While studying the concept of Animal Husbandry which covers Poultry Farming as one of its types, it is also important to understand the types of Poultry birds and its farming methods. Poultry birds mainly comprise 6 different types which includes Chicken (highest demanded poultry bird and accounts around 93% of total poultry  population of the world which is followed by Ducks and Turkeys), Ducks, Geese, Turkey, Quail and Guinea Fowl. There are various methods to carry it out such as (a) Layer Poultry Farming that includes various techniques such as Free Range Roaming, Battery Cage Method, Yarding Method, Organic Method and Furnished Cage Method, (b) Intensive Poultry Farming, (c) Broiler Poultry Farming Methods that includes various ways such as Free Range Methods, Organic Farming Methods and Indoor Raising Methods and (d) Free Range Farming Method. 

As compared to all the methods, Intensive Poultry Farming Method and Free Range Farming Method are used significantly all over the world and it is beneficial to farmers also.

Benefits of Poultry Farming Business

Poultry Farming has so many benefits along with businesses. Due to these benefits, farmers prefer to do Poultry Farming business. The main purpose of Poultry Farming is the production of eggs, meat, etc. Numerous chickens were grown in poultry farms for the production of eggs and meat. 

Some of the Importance of the Poultry Farming Business are Listed Below

Big Space is Not Required:

Poultry Farming does not require a large space for practicing this technique. As these birds do not require any kind of special space for their growth. The main thing which they need is just a cage for their safety. 

Require Less Capital: 

Poultry Farming practices do not require more capital. As it only needs less investment just to buy birds and for food to feed them. So anyone can start a Poultry Farming business to earn a profit on a large scale as this business is in demand. 

High-Profit Rate:

Poultry Farming is among one of those businesses which give you a high-profit rate to a large extent. As it is cost-efficient, animal husbandry practice gives you more profit than expected. You can start this business from a few birds also and extend your poultry from them only. 

Require Low Maintenance:

In this practice, high maintenance is also required on birds. By taking care of a few things you can prevent these birds from various harmful diseases, just by investing a very small amount of money. The only thing which is needed is cleanliness and hygiene. 

License is Not Mandatory:

In poultry farm practice having an authorized government license is not mandatory. If you are practicing it on a small scale then you do not have any license but doing it on a large scale needs government authorisation, and you can get it very easily. 

Easy Marketing:

Selling Poultry Farming products is very easy as they are in high demand. So, they do not need too much cost and effort to sell them. 

Income & Employment Opportunities:

Poultry Farming practice creates income and employment opportunities for many people. Unemployed educated youth can easily opt for this to raise their source of income.  

FAQs on Poultry Farming

1.  Explain a Few Advantages of Animal Husbandry?

Few advantages of animal husbandry are discussed below:

 protect animals from various harmful diseases.  

Animal husbandry creates employment along with the proper business settlement. 

By animal husbandry process people are able to do breeding processes like cross-breeding for higher yield. This increases the production of various food products such as milk, eggs, meat, etc.This process is helpful in keeping animals' health at a high priority level. This is only possible by giving proper food, atmosphere, shelter and protection to animals. The main aim is to

2. What  All Things are Important to Practice Animal Husbandry?

In this process, we select suitable breeds of animals and raise them to get the desired amount of livestock. We here study the genetic qualities and behavior of animals and from these qualities, the best are selected, from where we can get the maximum amount of profit. Nowadays most of the farm people are dependent on the animal husbandry process for their earning.

3. What are the types of Animal Husbandry?

Animal Husbandry refers to the concept of raising mainly domestic animals and birds like cows, sheep, cattle, goats, horses, chicken, turkey, geese and many more for the purpose of obtaining meat, milk, eggs, fiber and so on for humankind. This concept has been going on since the agricultural era. Under this, there are various types of Animal Husbandry but it majorly includes:

Bee Farming

Cattle Farming

Fish Farming

4. What do you mean by Poultry Farm Management?

The process of taking care of poultry birds like ducks, geese, chicken etc. in the context of feeding them with sufficient and appropriate food, water, vaccination, shade and shelter to live for a healthy environment to grow up is known as Poultry Farming. Providing the birds with such an environment helps them to produce more eggs which is beneficial for commercial objectives. This technique of raising the birds right from their birth for Trading purpose is termed as Poultry Farm Management. 

5. What kind of products are obtained through Animal Husbandry?

A lot of items are obtained through Animal Husbandry. As the nature of animals is domestic, various items like milk, meat, eggs and even wool are obtained. For the medical industry, they are used for experiments with medicines and vaccines which can be given to human beings later on after its successful experiment. For more information, you can subscribe for Vedantu’s free study material which can be downloaded from both their app and site. 

Biology • Class 12

INTRODUCTION TO POULTRY FARMING

• October 2020
• In book: Poultry Farming (pp.1-5)
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Poultry farming Essay Example

• Pages: 5 (1278 words)
• Published: July 7, 2016
• Type: Essay

According to the Worldwatch Institute, 74 percent of the world's poultry meat, and 68 percent of eggs are produced in ways that are described as 'intensive'.One alternative to intensive poultry farming is free-range farming, however, this method of husbandry also uses large flock sizes in high stocking densities. Friction between supporters of these two main methods of poultry farming has led to long-term issues of ethical consumerism. Opponents of intensive farming argue that it harms the environment and creates health risks, as well as abusing the animals. Advocates of intensive farming say that their highly efficient systems save land and food resources due to increased productivity, stating that the animals are looked after in state-of-the-art environmentally controlled facilities.

The most intensive poultry farming methods are very efficient and allow meat and eggs to be available to the

consumer in all seasons at a lower cost than free-range production. Poultry producers routinely use nationally approved medications, such as antibiotics, in feed or drinking water, to treat disease or to prevent disease outbreaks. Some FDA-approved medications are also approved for improved feed utilization. Egg-laying chickens - husbandry systems:-Commercial hens usually begin laying eggs at 16–20 weeks of age, although production gradually declines soon after from approximately 25 weeks of age.

This means that in many countries, by approximately 72 weeks of age, flocks are considered economically unviable and are slaughtered after approximately 12 months of egg production, although chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years. In some countries, hens are force moulted to re-invigorate egg-laying. Environmental conditions are often automatically controlled in egg-laying systems. For example, the duration of the light

phase is initially increased to prompt the beginning of egg-laying at 16–20 weeks of age and then mimics summer daylength which stimulates the hens to continue laying all year round; normally, egg production occurs only in the warmer months. Some commercial breeds of hen can produce over 300 eggs a year. Critics argue that year-round egg production stresses the birds more than normal seasonal production.The benefits of free-range poultry farming for laying hens include opportunities for natural behaviours such as pecking, scratching, foraging and exercise outdoors. Free-range farming has come under criticism concerning animal welfare.

Organic laying hens

In organic egg-laying systems, chickens are also free-range. Organic systems are based upon restrictions on the routine use of synthetic yolk colourants, in-feed or in-water medications, other food additives and synthetic amino acids, and a lower stocking density and smaller group sizes. The Soil Association standards used to certify organic flocks in the UK, indicate a maximum outdoors stocking density of 1,000 birds per hectare and a maximum of 2,000 hens in each poultry house. In the UK, organic laying hens are not routinely beak-trimmed. Ducks and other poultry:-While often confused with free-range farming, yarding is actually a separate method of poultry culture by which chickens and cows are raised together. The distinction is that free-range poultry are either totally unfenced, or the fence is so distant that it has little influence on their freedom of movement. Yarding is common technique used by small farms in the Northeastern US. The birds are released daily from hutches or coops.

The hens usually lay eggs either on the floor of the coop or in baskets if

provided by the farmer. This husbandry technique can be complicated if used with roosters, mostly because of aggressive behaviour. Indoor broilers:-Meat chickens, commonly called broilers, are floor-raised on litter such as wood shavings or rice hulls, indoors in climate-controlled housing. Under modern farming methods, meat chickens reared indoors reach slaughter weight at 5 to 6 weeks of age. Broilers are not raised in cages. They are raised in large, open structures known as growout houses. These houses are equipped with mechanical systems to deliver feed and water to the birds. They have ventilation systems and heaters that function as needed. The floor of the house is covered with bedding material consisting of wood chips, rice hulls, or peanut shells. Because dry bedding helps maintain flock health, most growout houses have enclosed watering systems (“nipple drinkers”) which reduce spillage. Keeping birds inside a house protects them from predators such as hawks and foxes. Some houses are equipped with curtain walls, which can be rolled up in good weather to admit natural light and fresh air. Most growout houses built in recent years feature “tunnel ventilation,” in which a bank of fans draws fresh air through the house. Traditionally, a flock of broilers consist of about 20,000 birds in a growout house that measures 400 feet long and 40 feet wide, thus providing about eight-tenths of a square foot per bird. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) states that the minimum space is one-half square foot per bird. More modern houses are often larger and contain more birds, but the floor space allotment still meets the needs of the birds. Because broilers are relatively young

and have not reached sexual maturity, they exhibit very little aggressive conduct. Chicken feed consists primarily of corn and soybean meal with the addition of essential vitamins and minerals. No hormones or steroids are allowed in raising chickens. Issues with indoor husbandryIn intensive broiler sheds, the air can become highly polluted with ammonia from the droppings. This can damage the chickens’ eyes and respiratory systems and can cause painful burns on their legs (called hock burns) and feet.

Broilers bred for fast growth have a high rate of leg deformities because the large breast muscles causes distortions of the developing legs and pelvis, and the birds cannot support their increased body weight. Because they cannot move easily, the chickens are not able to adjust their environment to avoid heat, cold or dirt as they would in natural conditions. The added weight and overcrowding also puts a strain on their hearts and lungs and Ascites can develop. In the UK, up to 19 million broilers die in their sheds from heart failure each year. Indoor with higher welfareChickens are kept indoors but with more space (around 12 to 14 birds per square metre). They have a richer environment for example with natural light or straw bales that encourage foraging and perching. The chickens grow more slowly and live for up to two weeks longer than intensively farmed birds. The benefits of higher welfare indoor systems are the reduced growth rate, less crowding and more opportunities for natural behaviour. Free-range broilers Free-range broilers are reared under similar conditions to free-range egg laying hens. The breeds are more slower growing than those used for indoor rearing and

usually reach slaughter weight at approximately 8 weeks of age. In the EU, each chicken must have one square metre of outdoor space. The benefits of free-range poultry farming include opportunities for natural behaviours such as pecking, scratching, foraging and exercise outdoors. Because they grow slower and have opportunities for exercise, free-range broilers often have better leg and heart health. Organic broilersOrganic broiler chickens are reared under similar conditions to free-range broilers but with restrictions on the routine use of in-feed or in-water medications, other food additives and synthetic amino acids. The breeds used are slower growing, more traditional breeds and typically reach slaughter weight at around 12 weeks of age. They have a larger space allowance outside (at least 2 square metres and sometimes up to 10 square metres per bird). The Soil Association standards indicate a maximum outdoors stocking density of 2,500 birds per hectare and a maximum of 1,000 broilers per poultry house.Issues with poultry farming. Humane treatmentChickens transported in a truck.

Animal welfare groups have frequently criticized the poultry industry for engaging in practices which they believe to be inhumane. Many animal rightsadvocates object to killing chickens for food, the "factory farm conditions" under which they are raised, methods of transport

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INTRODUCTION TO POULTRY FARMING

2020, POULTRY

According to agriculture diary, poultry refers to a wide range of birds of various species and it applies to them generally alive or dressed that is killed and prepared for sales. It involves chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, pigeons, peacock, peafowl, ostriches, quails and even other game birds. Most of them may be classified based on the basis of utility, economic value or purpose and this may include meat type, Egg type, dual purpose, game, ornamental etc. Changing food habits, globalization, industrialization, rising income and urbanization have created a favorable atmosphere for development of poultry sector.

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Broiler Farming: The Definitive Guide (2020)

Last updated on November 15, 2021 by Temi Cole 13 Comments

This is a complete guide to broiler farming.

Any country, any breed, any model…written just for you.

So if you want to:

• start a broiler farm
• get optimal growth
• pin down your costs
• make sustainable profits

…then you will really enjoy reading this guide.

Let me show you EXACTLY how to launch a profitable broiler farm.

Broiler Farming Basics

Receiving your new batch, week 2 – 5, raising your broilers for maximum growth & survival, week 6 (target week), getting your broiler flock to the market, now, i’d like to hear from you….

Within this chapter, I am going to walk you through the basics of broiler farming.

(Including the business , measuring your performance and winning management practices )

I’ll show you how you can make a profitable venture with your broiler farm plans.

Understand the business

What is a broiler chicken.

Broiler chickens ( Latin: Gallus gallus domesticus – translated to mean a ‘house rooster’) are farm-reared chicken kept for meat.

Depending on the model of farming, you would expect broilers to be slaughtered at:

• 6 weeks if raised in cages ( intensive )
• 8 weeks free-range
• 12 weeks organic (pastured)

As a product, broilers are processed, marketed and sold the moment they reach an optimal size and weight.

Getting meat in front of customers as quickly as possible, at the best quality with minimal input (feed)…

This is the aim.

Write Your Poultry Business Plan - in Just 90 Mins!

Poultry Project Reporter 2.0 - fastest way to write your project report online.

Choosing broiler breed

Picking the best broiler breed for your farm is really important.

Here’s why…

The broiler trade is all about physical attributes . Meat quality and quantity, as a combination, score lots of points.

The biggest headstart you can achieve – naturally – will help you get to your end goal of profit, more efficiently.

Whilst it’s not all about choosing an advantageous breed, it certainly helps.

These are traits that will give your success ratings a generous boost:

• fast growth
• quality meat
• docile/behaviour
• weight/size
• foraging ability
• weather resistance

What do bad traits look like?

• competitive
• slow growth
• poor quality meat
• easily affected by weather

The broiler value chain – industry in a snapshot

Your broiler farm is part of a much bigger chain of events that that is estimated to feed billions worldwide with over 105.26 million metric tons of chicken meat by 2023 ( Globe News Wire ).

The grey box in the figure above, highlights where your broiler farm comes into play.

[This definitively answers the question: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?…”]

Parent stock is where the journey of broiler farming begins.

They give rise to a generation of chicks which are after the likeness of the original stock.

The eggs are then collected and prepared for hatching by some specialised intermediate operations.

Once incubated and hatched,

…the chicks are then transported on the day of hatching to the farm that bought them, by batch.

Batch after batch is raised on the farm.

The farm observes very strict rules for handling safely in order to produce top-quality birds.

Quality of broiler being rated primarily by weight and size, achieved by a given number of weeks…

…6-7 weeks to be exact for cage farming (which is the industry norm for marketable, cage reared bird).

Beyond the farm, the birds are processed into carcasses and exchange hands until sold, cooked and consumed.

Hatchery – input

The input of your business is your baseline.

It defines where you start.

Get it wrong and you start at a disadvantage and have a much steeper climb ahead.

A good start, though, gets you in front by at least a head…perhaps neck and shoulders (wings) too if you choose well.

The key input for your broiler farm will be your batches of day-old chicks.

Cycle after cycle.

In the poultry industry flock uniformity is a useful summary of performance.

Uniformity is a percentage of birds that are within 10% of the target weight, for that age.

It’s important to remember that the overall profitability of your broiler business is influenced by every single chick (bird).

Getting birds sold depends on them meeting a marketable standard, on time.

Under-quality, birds are losses to your broiler business.

The condition that the chicks reach you in will largely dictate the quality of market-ready broiler you get at the end.

Set your batch on the right trajectory and it’s then all down to you from there.

• Feed & water them well
• Keep them disease-free
• Minimise stress

…you should be in for an acceptable output.

Broiler meat – output

Only good broiler meat that hits the quality mark gets sold.

In between investing in day-old chicks and selling carcasses typically after 6 weeks of rearing –

…there is a whole chain of events on the farm that impact quality.

This chain of events is where you add value to your industry.

Your single goal?

To produce an environment coupled with an array of processes that are delivered with such control that you can almost predict success – with every single broiler .

In a word (…or three),

ROI – Return on Investment.

Translated: Getting paid .

The more controlled and predictable your output from the broiler farm, the more you can count on your profit.

Broiler metrics & size

Broiler meat is sold on weight and accepted on overall quality.

As sales revenue is directly linked to every lb or kg of chicken mass, there are no surprises here then that the primary measure from day one is – weight .

Because of the rapid rate of growth during a broiler rearing cycle, farmers cannot afford to take their eye off the prize.

The major contributor to the overall cost of broiler rearing is feed.

Influencing the cost profile of your broiler farm will therefore largely be down to your feed efficiency.

The more feed required to produce each kg of meat, the more expensive and less profitable your product.

Less feed for the same results = more profit.

Your broiler farming profit is a collective sum of the yield contribution given by every bird.

I always see profit as a tug of war between cost and price.

Wherever the flag lands, that is where your profit (or loss) is.

The factors affecting profit (and loss) include:

• feed cost (influenced by availability, shortage, previous season yield etc.)
• broiler meat price (influenced by the general quality of meat at the market at that time)
• uniformity of flock
• flock mortality

An important step in the process of running a successful broiler farm is accurate budgeting.

Being able to pin down income and costs to the cent on every dollar of money invested will give you pinpoint accuracy on projected earnings.

Get a razor-sharp budget together and carry an instant snapshot of what earnings you should expect.

As only the meat of the bird is marketable product, an important metric for your broiler farm is yield .

This is the measure of the weight of meat as a proportion of the overall carcass weight.

In other words, yield answers the question:

“How much of the broiler carcass weight is made up of valuable chicken meat (vs. bone, fat inwards)?”

This adds a further dimension to the issue of broiler price per weight.

A breakdown of the composition of the carcass gives buyers a more accurate estimation of value.

More meat, more value.

Advantages vs. Disadvantages

The thought may have crossed your mind –

“…how does broiler farming as a business compare with layer farming for profit?”

There are many ways to measure the two related codes of poultry farming one against another.

But one of the most meaningful would have to be FCR (feed conversion ratio) .

As we said before, feed cost in poultry farming contributes the majority to overall costs…

So, the more efficiently feed is converted into a product of equivalent value, the more profitable your farm.

In other words, if feeding a broiler pays more per lb or kg of meat than feeding a layer for eggs…

…or vice versa –

…whichever has a better conversion ratio, that would be the better investment on paper .

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Commercial performance

Getting the balance right.

Broiler birds are highly sensitive systems.

So many internal and external factors all contribute to the end product – the amount of premium chicken meat on the bone.

These factors either add or take away from the eventual weight of a marketable broiler.

Affecting the bird’s ability to convert feed potential into valued meat…

…each factor presents an opportunity to fine-tune your farming profits.

Picking up your points

The way to think about your broiler business is to think about a competitive sports league table.

Let’s say there are 20 teams.

Each team starts with 0 points, and must play one another twice – once at home and once away.

This makes 38 league matches played per team, per season (19 home matches + 19 away).

Points are awarded to teams per performance according to the result of the match.

• 3 points to for a win.
• 1 point to for a draw.
• 0 points to a loss.

The team with the most points accumulated by the end of the season is the champion.

There is a maximum potential points that a team can pick up, being 3 x 38 = 114 points (… should they win every match in a season, beating all their opponents. )

So depending on if you think along the lines of a glass half full or empty ,

you could say either…

…every team starts the season with a potential 114 points and loses them along the way, should they draw or lose…

…or rather, every team starts with no points and picks them up along the way.

Each team’s ability to perform optimally depends on many internal and external factors including:

• player condition and availability
• training consistency
• weather and pitch condition
• match official decisions etc.

Broiler farming is very similar.

You start with a batch of broiler chicks at your farm on day one.

Each bird with the potential to become a marketable broiler of optimal size and weight.

Multiply the number of birds by your target weight and this is your maximum potential production for that batch.

Every internal and external factor affecting the ability to reach or fall below target.

Points picked up or points dropped.

Tracking performance of your broiler birds is your way of keeping your finger on the pulse of profit.

Significant developments within your flock happen daily.

Age is the primary indicator. All expected developmental targets are intrinsically linked to age – often noted in days .

According to charts like the one above you can precisely pinpoint the target weights of your flock.

This is a growth budget . A way of tracking by major milestone whether your performance is on target, above or below.

As well as internal indicators of your flock’s development, you’ll want to keep an eye on market prices.

They continually fluctuate.

Timing is everything. Your margin might be entirely wiped out by just a little contrary movement.

And whilst you are restrained by nature to when your flock hits the market (at the end of their cycle)…

…you have free licence to broker deals anytime leading up to delivery. Skill in this area can get you bottom line perks.

Market timing

Getting your broilers to market on time is critical.

If you are late, not only will you disappoint your buyers, but more importantly you will lose profit for every day lapsed.

Your deal with buyers will depend on target weight being achieved, by a given date.

“…what happens if your flock is significantly underweight on the target date?”

For every day of delay in getting broilers to market, profits are eroded by feed cost to the tune of 3lbs per day, per bird.

Getting the product to the market on time is your way of avoiding disappointment.

Maintaining projected profit, protecting your earnings.

Parent stock and weight gain

The broiler business is a sprint .

Layer farming, on the contrary, is a marathon .

Broiler farming is all about reaching the finish line of target weight, in record timing – and with good quality.

Over the decades of industrialised broiler production…

…the market has devised more and more methods of breaking world records.

Over the last 80 years according to the graph above…

…the average number of days for a broiler chicken to gain 1 lb has dropped from over 40 days to only 7.7 days.

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How was this achieved?

Largely by selective breeding of parent stock.

Choosing the stock with the quickest growth traits and inbreeding them until the timing is shaved down.

With broiler farming, there is a trade-off between quality and quantity – like with any business.

Know where you stand. Set your stall out according to the values of your customers –

And serve them.

Cage (intensive)

The cage broiler set-up is built for large scale and quick results.

Birds are stacked and piled high for optimal density and volume combined.

Capital investment is spent on equipment and environmental control systems.

Free-range (organic)

Organic or pastured broiler rearing is non-intensive.

A more liberal rearing experience for the birds (e.g. grazing on pasture), giving rise to richer nutritional content.

Take this chicken caravan, pulled by tractor:

…a great solution for allowing your flock the freedom to roam, yet controlling their containment.

Birds are given a more liberal rearing routine with the end quality of meat in mind, more than sheer scale.

The end meat-product appeals to a more discerning buyer who is willing to pay more for the benefit.

Essentially, a premium product.

The secret to broiler farming success is meticulous management .

Farm success is built largely upon operational procedures and processes.

The handling of each individual variable directly impacts your bottom line.

The more consistent your handling, the more reliable your future profits.

All in all out

The golden rule with broiler farming management is “all-in-all-out”.

What does this mean?

AIAO (all-in-all-out) is when a broiler farm manager accepts only one batch of broiler birds to rear at any one time on-site.

In such a rearing system you will NEVER have more than one batch of birds occupy the farm at any one time.

Take a look at this expert viewpoint from Dr Ahmed Atef , Poultry Nutrition Specialist ( at The Centre for Concentrates & Feed in Cairo, Egypt ):

In our post on “ Broiler Rearing System “, Ahmed Atef a participating poultry expert in The Big Book Project member’s program says,

“All in All out system is the best rearing system in one farm…eventually lead to a successful cycle.” – Ahmed Atef

According to Ahmed, cohabiting flocks on your farm will increase cross-infection from viral or bacterial pathogens.

Managing one flock at a time per farm means that each farm naturally faces a 6 week – or above (full cycle) lag in between flocks. This also slows down cash flow.

However, the set-up is less vulnerable to the outbreak of disease and your profits are potentially safer.

If you want to achieve a more frequent arrival to market, like in this example of 8+2 broiler rearing (but still maintain All-in-All-Out)…

..the answer (although a costly one) is to set-up other broiler farms to operate simultaneously.

This way you could arrive at the market more frequently than a full cycle’s interval of any one batch.

Even delivering broiler meat to market every week, if you liked.

Location & orientation

Make the most of your natural surrounding on-site the broiler farm and you can save cost and improve yield.

Carefully considered positioning of your site can make all the difference to future business success.

Poultry house conditions such as ventilation and temperature can also be supported by where you site your farm.

Also, water availability is critical.

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The further your farm is away from a clean water source, the greater your cost of transport.

The scale or size of your broiler farm comes with its own challenges.

The larger , the more:

• land, buildings & equipment

But with larger inputs, come potentially larger outputs and cost advantages.

The table above was a comparison field survey carried out in 2004.

It compares the size of broiler farms and their economic profiles.

What was the bottom line?

Larger farms (farms with more broilers per batch) required more:

• landholdings
• visits by extension and vet services

..but because of greater financial efficiency from:

• cheaper cost per day old chick
• cheaper cost for transport from the hatchery

…the net profit margins of larger farms exceeded the profit of smaller farms.

this is not always the case in business.

And scale is an individual choice.

There is such a thing as biting off more than you can chew.

Site planning & layout

Operational success and efficiency have a lot to do with proximity .

If things which you need are nearer to your hand, they are more readily available for use.

This means you work harder, quicker and finish sooner.

Also, you have fewer accidents, spillage (waste) and clock up less error.

A key focus for planning your broiler farm layout should be hygiene.

Cross-contamination often occurs because of lazy thinking or critical flaws in planning.

Consider every pathway or workflow of movement around the farm and minimise infection risk .

Processes & Procedures

The single most important aspect of broiler farm management is workflow .

Controlling every functional task within the farm processes from beginning to end…

…gives you maximum chance to pick up and retain those points.

And in the poultry business, points equal profits.

Environment

Environmental control affords comfort for your flock.

Temperature, humidity, lighting, ventilation, noise, density…

…all have an impact on their well being and ability to grow.

Hospitality goes a long way to keeping your broiler flock in peak condition .

A well-kept flock make for good profits.

With broiler farming building integrity seems to be a frequently overlooked piece in the long term profit puzzle.

Buildings that have vulnerabilities are long term business liabilities –

Not assets.

In the ‘ Poultry Houses ‘ blog comment above from Dr. Dhia Alchalabi ( Doctor   of Philosophy Ph.D. focused in Agricultural Engineering Technology from Michigan State University) :

“…you must also maintain the static pressure inside the shed.” – Dr. Dhia Alchalabi

Temperature leaks, uneven distribution of heat, water leaks etc.

General discomfort for your flock leading to underweight results .

So, ridding your broiler houses of any deficiencies will lock in your profits for the long term.

Stockmanship

The more time you spend with your flock, the more attentive you will be to their needs.

Sure it will cost you in time spent on-site, but the costs of missed signs of trouble could be much worse.

Count the cost of your project commitment against the real demands of keen husbandry.

To know your flock ( KYF ) you’ve got to get immersed.

Your birds could be telling you of problems ahead by something as slight as their breathing rate…

…are you keen enough on hearing and sight to know there could be something wrong?

The only way to develop this is practice …spend more time on-site.

The full 5 senses need to be engaged.

Only then will you have that feeling that something needs correcting which saves your bottom line.

Problem-solving

Having a list of possible’s and probable’s when things go wrong will give you some responsiveness …

…and timing can make all the difference when putting out potential fires.

An issue like, not eating could find its root in all types of causes:

Clearly, feed directly impacts weight…which directly impacts sales and so on…

The compact nature of the broiler cycle means a day or two of inadequate feeding can cause a slide off which you might not recover from within the 6 weeks, for example.

Daily gains all add up.

House Design

Broiler housing is dependent on so many factors:

…your chosen model, the scale of the farm, locally available building materials etc.

The house design spectrum is broad .

There is plenty of room for leading in new ways of thinking about broiler farm housing.

Climate, location, orientation, topography – the factors affecting your choice are too many to be exhaustive.

Research broadly.

Look locally at model broiler farms, as well as at other countries with similar climatic profile to yours.

Develop a scrapbook of feasible ideas and shortlist a potential line-up of materials and features.

Space requirements

One practicality with broiler farming is planning space .

How tightly packed your flock is (density) influences their ability to grow as chicks into full-sized broilers.

As broiler chicks grow, their need for space also increases in line.

Planning ahead, including factoring in your expectation for farm growth, will help you provide enough to accommodate your vision.

Now, we are going to take a look into the critical 1st-week management of your new broiler flock.

This start very much sets the tone for the remaining weeks of the rearing period.

Preparing to receive

The very first steps in accepting a new batch of broilers are influential for the success of the cycle.

Chicks are highly sensitive , such is the nature of the young of any animal.

In between hatching and your broiler farm, each batch changes hands a number of times and become exposed to sudden environmental changes .

Cobb , industrial broiler breeders, advise the following farm preparation :

Again, the golden rule for survival’s sake is all-in-all-out hosting of batches.

Avoid delays in chick handling – as they can become dehydrated if not offered regular watering.

Transportation is a key link in the chain of batch handling. Vehicles must be custom fitted to maintain comfort levels of birds.

Your lighting levels, distribution of food and water, the humidity of broiler houses all contribute to the batch’s chances of surviving and growing on target.

It’s all about your handling here.

Once the flock is in your hands, it’s up to you what you make of it.

Fight off threats and nurture yield for maximum profit .

Keen behavioural observation and an experienced eye are key skills of husbandry .

Monitoring, measuring, adjusting, clipping, recording…

…broiler farm managers will issue a meticulously laid out daily schedule for farm labourers.

Your rearing schedule …

…highly detailed and precise to the last grain…

– each task adding value to the overall reward of hitting the market (on time) with a top product.

Adjusting to meet the needs of birds during changes in weather conditions, for example …

…with vigilance and agility, are key handling qualities for keeping on top of broiler farming.

Growth is complex , in the truest sense…

…broilers reaching their targeted size and weight depends, in part, on the availability of the right building blocks .

You need the appropriate materials in order to build properly. And enough of them.

Nutrition is exactly that.

Put another way,

…to write a script you need mastery of the entire alphabet.

Otherwise, key messages will have omissions and the purpose is overthrown.

The comparisons go on – but the message, I’m sure is clear to you.

What are the essentials for broiler growth?

Well…

You get these:

…from these…

And speaking of building blocks, with muscle as our focus in broiler growth…

…we look to protein (the substance of muscle tissue).

One thing to note is you cannot force the body.

The body is naturally calibrated to use what it needs .

In other words,

You can’t keep pushing protein to add mass beyond what the body’s wiring has programmed within as limits.

That said, protein is essential to broiler growth.

The root of which are amino acids…protein building blocks.

What advice should we take on amino acid intake for broilers?

Animal or plant protein is the ideal source.

For example…

When eaten by the bird,

…the vegetable protein complexes are broken down to amino acids and are made available for the re-building program of broiler growth.

Growth is a demanding process.

It requires a lot of fuelling to power.

And all that fuel has got to come from somewhere…

It is a fine balance though, as even we as people know.

Too much energy-packed food and body fat with nutritional diseases can set in very quickly.

Also, it’s critical to note with broilers that energy consumption is a feedback loop .

To say it plain,

…give broilers too much energy-rich food and they will stop eating as much.

Reduce this and they will eat more.

A quick associated note on waste.

If the balance on the broiler diet is too much in protein, fats etc. then the concentration of their urea and consistency of their faeces accelerates litter rot.

This can have devastating effects on the health of their feet – producing chemical burns and bacterial infection.

Also, breathing problems, swollen eyes and overproduction of mucus in the nose and throat – even blindness.

Be vigilant for litter hygiene.

Treat immediately.

Feed ingredients

Want a look at an example broiler diet ?

There’s no right or wrong way to do this.

It’s a balance .

Preference and palate have a lot to do with it too.

But so long as you are sure the contents of the diets match the profile of the nutritional need of the birds,

…you should experience good intake and conversion .

Swapping in one food source for another in a like-for-like fashion should (in theory) produce the same, if not similar results.

But ‘practice’ is the only real way of making sure.

Feed at different phases

Size of food particle is a key feature in getting your broilers to their target weight destination.

Volumes of feed intake will vary at each stage of growth throughout the rearing period.

But also, ability to take in different sizes of feed changes with age.

Physically, particles too big will neither be practicable nor appealling to young chicks.

And mash powder might simply be wasted by larger broilers leading to lost profit.

Cost and alternatives

Remembering the heavily weighted contribution of poultry feed to the overall cost of a broiler farm…

…finding alternative food source ingredients in your locality that are either cheap…

…or better – entirely free …

…is a great way of widening your margin of profit.

Governmental officials are mounting their support behind alternative ingredients for poultry feed.

In this way, they hope to stimulate start-ups and bolster their local economies.

Farmers who earn more, grow .

And so will their communities.

Feeding & Watering

Feeding and watering are critical to your broiler farm for three reasons.

• They are the key drivers for growth .
• They are the key drivers for cost .
• Nowhere to hide – you feed and water them every day until slaughter.

Get it wrong and your profits will ebb away.

It’s an issue of training .

Training your birds from day one on to the feeding and watering apparatus will set them on the right track.

As they grow, you’ll need to be careful to adjust the:

• distribution
• set-up of your…

…feeders…

…& drinkers…

…to match the physical range of your growing birds.

Health & Hygiene

Contamination is the buzz word here.

Prevention is better than cure as they say.

If corruption breaks out among your birds, it can threaten the entire yield of your farm.

Take stringent measures to keep sanitary conditions.

Combating infection with workflow planning

Generally, there are two approaches to stamping out disease on your broiler farm :

• operational care
• site cleanliness

From the list above, taken from the Cobb Broiler Management Guide , you could group the sanitation measures into the following categories:

• things to remember
• things to administer
• things to keep out
• things to clear out & empty
• things to examine

…just some of the fundamentals of keeping a healthy environment for your broilers.

Regular cleaning, spraying down and washing of vehicles and personnel prevent occasion for breakout, should an infection arise.

Disease and health

Parasites, respiratory tract bacterial infections, viral attacks are all common threats to a poultry flock.

Once contracted,

…they can spread like wildfire and bring the whole operation down with little else you can do but fold.

Vaccines are the answer for many.

…the long term immune burden on people from the many vaccine programs they are indirectly exposed to, due to the meat they eat presents a significant global immune danger.

A cocktail of interference at an immune level over many years, from many sources can trigger serious problems.

In light of this problem,

…some studies in recent years have been commissioned to look into the effects of natural or herbal based medicines in broiler farming .

Like this one:

This quote above unveils the growing resistance poultry parasites are developing to man-made drugs.

Whilst the drugs are the best inventions we can throw at the intruders, created within nature is a far more effective front line.

The likes of oregano, garlic, neem, aloe, green tea, tumeric and other herbal combinations present a far more complicated and therefore…

…complete array of protection for your broiler birds.

The key here is that the bird’s body is already equipped with an immune system. A highly specified military-like response mechanism to deal with external invasive threats.

Feed the birds with a naturally occurring range of herbal food sources.

Like the ones mentioned.

And your broilers bodies will assimilate the substances provided into the necessary ammunition and force to overcome many major threats.

Growth & Fattening

Each breeder will advise their own estimation of broiler growth .

Often, broiler growth charts like this one give you all the metrics necessary:

From the information above you will be able to work out the potential market price fetched for each bird…

Also, the feed necessary for achieving the projected growth.

Take the cost of the latter away from the former and you have your broiler profit.

Growth rate

What is the typical growth rate of a broiler bird?

Taking a look at a table like this one:

You can see from the figures above that the modern strains double size and weight between weeks 1 -2 .

Thereafter, weight gain is about 33% from weeks 3-4.

Then, a reduction in growth rate to about 20% increase for weeks 4-5.

Lastly in the following two weeks, the growth rate drops to about 4-8% per week.

There simply comes a point where holding on to the birds is no more profitable.

They begin eating more than they gain in weight.

The cost is loss-making.

There is a sweet spot with going to market.

Record keeping

Record keeping within your poultry farm provides a benchmark for you.

For the batch you are handling at any one time, you should always have a written reference for their condition or environmental factors.

Viewing such records keeps your progress in sight.

Take this paper logbook from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Look at the detail!

Looking closely, we gain real insight into the main measures used by broiler farm for monitoring performance progress :

• feed consumed
• No. of chicks started
• Pen or house no.
• Dates started
• No. chicks started
• No. birds sold
• Per cent livability
• Age when sold
• Bags of feed used
• Pounds of meet per bag
• Pounds of feed per pounds of meat
• Average weight per bird
• Amount of feed per bird
• Total weight sold
• Price per pound
• Total sales
• Total expenses
• Total profit

Key metrics for analyzing the performance of ANY broiler farm .

This is the final straight of the entire race to broiler profits.

The last hurdle. Hit this one and all your efforts will be thrown away.

Get clued up on what matters during this critical time.

Pre-processing

Now we get to the point of fruit and we are ready to gather in the flock for slaughter .

Getting your broiler flock to the slaughterhouse is a combined effort.

The entire process is a collaboration between your farm and the transport company.

Here’s a checklist typical of what a broiler farm would have to do prior to transporting a mature flock:

As you can see, a lot of attention goes into the preparation of catching a flock on-site.

A point to consider when preparing a flock for processing is feed withdrawal in the run-up to the catch.

8-12 hours before transportation, flocks must be denied food.

This helps prevent faecal contamination during transport and throughout the slaughter process.

With all this time where your flock is ‘fasting’, the thought may have crossed your mind…

How will this affect my bird’s final market weight?

Here’s the answer:

On average, you can expect to lose 3g – 15g per bird before carcasses are prepared for market .

Factor this into your profit calculations.

It is unavoidable.

Getting your broiler to market in order to make a profit takes strategy .

If ever you thought that all the hard work was over once your broilers were grown…

…think again.

This graph of broiler price fluctuation should give you a feel for how difficult predicting the market can be:

(Were you able to make any sense of it?)

The takeaway?…

Markets move and pricing varies accordingly.

It’s difficult to call it.

No matter how in-tune with the latest news you are.

The variables within your control , however, are…

• farm type (intensive, organic)
• broiler weight,
• the volume of carcasses,

…these will have bearing on your revenue and the price you can fetch.

Keeping on top of your costs, in particular, the feed expenses will save you much profit potential.

Preserving the flock and not dropping points, or worse…

…losing key players…

…will keep your broiler farm on course for a successful and worthwhile finish.

I hope you picked up some good value from reading this broiler farming guide.

What are your thoughts?

Do you have experience of running a broiler farm already?

Or, are you still ‘thinking’ about is and need a little more guidance?

Either way, take the time now to leave a comment.

Reader Interactions

Write your poultry project proposal in just 90 mins.

July 4, 2020 at 10:21 am

i have learned a lot

November 15, 2020 at 11:32 am

This was informative and very useful. Lots of insight gained. Thanks so much.

November 15, 2020 at 1:02 pm

Glad to be of service, Emmanuel.

I plan to update this (and other pieces) from time to time.

I’ll email you when I do.

Let me know how you get on.

Speak soon.

June 5, 2024 at 9:43 pm

Thank you so much. I gained a lot from your presentation. I am sure this will improve my practice and consequently my profit. I will get back to you.

July 4, 2020 at 10:22 am

the other thing i need now is to be assisted with the business plan for financial assistance

July 22, 2020 at 12:11 pm

I want a business plan for financial assistance

December 18, 2020 at 1:39 pm

This is very informative. It’s an eye opener.

January 15, 2021 at 5:41 pm

Exce;llent and thorough. However, needed is further elaboration on use of water and feed use ……, height adjustment of water and feeders as well. Thanks

February 7, 2021 at 9:07 am

Very interesting article, I’m about start investing in this business segment and was very helpfully, I highly recommend.

March 7, 2021 at 11:07 pm

good day i need your formular for poultry feed

March 13, 2021 at 2:49 am

I started with this new field just almost 2 months ago. Your article is very informative and interesting. It gave a feeling of security to be able to hopefully manage this successfully. Thank you!!!

March 18, 2021 at 10:58 am

Your article is very informing.

The other thing i need now is to be assisted with the business plan for financial assistance. thanks

February 26, 2024 at 3:39 pm

I am an aspiring broiler farmer and I’m currently making preparations to start. Your information on this site is priceless and I applaud your expertise and kindness.

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Avian Flu Could Pose Significant Threat to Georgia’s Poultry Farms

The recent outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) virus has raised concerns among poultry producers and food safety experts. The virus is highly contagious among birds and poses a significant risk despite stringent biosecurity measures, according to Georgia Tech food safety and agriculture expert Wendy White .  

“In states that are a major poultry producer, like Georgia, backyard flocks are also extremely common, and we've seen outbreaks spread from the home to larger commercial flocks in this manner,” said White.  

She emphasized that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has categorized the risk of HPAI H5N1 to the human population as low, it remains crucial for poultry farms to implement critical biosecurity practices. These include restricting access of flocks to wild birds by confining them to chicken houses and covered coops, limiting visitors, and implementing strict hygiene protocols for employees and equipment. 

“American poultry farms have already implemented several of the CDC-recommended biosecurity measures to stop and prevent the spread of aviation influenza,” White said. “Visiting commercial chicken houses is often more involved than visiting someone in the ICU. Visitors and employees are required to don personal protective equipment, such as boots and jumpsuits, that are dedicated to that farm.” 

Regarding Georgia’s preparedness to handle a significant H5N1 outbreak, White expressed confidence but acknowledged the need for ongoing vigilance and improvements. 

“Georgia is among the top five chicken producers in the country and home to a diverse population of wild birds, so there is a significant risk that sporadic cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza could spread and cause a major outbreak,” White stated. “Federal and state agencies, and Georgia poultry producers are working closely together to identify any cases and take swift action to stop the spread of any aviation influenza.” 

With such collaborative efforts, White added, Georgia aims to maintain rigorous measures to protect its poultry industry and ensure public safety.  

Advancements in food processing and handling also play a vital role in mitigating the risks of HPAI H5N1 contamination in the poultry supply chain.  

“The USDA has stated that poultry, eggs, and other foods that are properly prepared and cooked are safe to eat,” White noted. “Laboratory studies have shown that normal cooking practices for meat and eggs, and pasteurization for dairy products, are sufficient to kill this virus.” 

Surveillance is also key in managing HPAI H5N1 outbreaks. USDA inspectors carefully monitor animal health on farms and regularly test food products to ensure a safe food supply. 

“Advancements in testing have enabled food companies to run more tests, and whole genome sequencing allows epidemiologists to link animal and human cases to control outbreaks quicker,” White explained. 

White also added that regulatory policies and guidelines are essential for controlling the spread of HPAI H5N1 in the poultry industry. Both the USDA and poultry companies conduct vigilant inspections and testing to quickly identify and mitigate sources of the virus. Few cases among humans have been reported elsewhere, underscoring the importance of ongoing vigilance. 

“The USDA is also conducting surveillance testing on wild birds to understand and prevent the spread of aviation influenza through migratory birds,” White said. 

Siobhan Rodriguez

Institute Communications 

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Achieving pareto optimum for hybrid geothermal–solar (pv)–gas heating systems: minimising lifecycle cost and greenhouse gas emissions.

1. Introduction

2. methods and data, 2.1. poultry shed: location, construction, operation, and climate, 2.2. hybrid system: configuration and shave factor, 2.3. hybrid system components: efficiency, pricing, and embodied emissions, 2.4. lifecycle analysis, 2.5. multi-objective optimisation parameters, 2.5.1. optimisation parameters.

• The size of the GSHP components

2.5.2. Constraints of the Optimisation

• Heating loads

2.5.3. Objective Functions for Optimisation

2.6. different scenarios for multi-objective optimisation, 2.6.1. scenario 1—no excess solar electricity offset, 2.6.2. scenario 2—excess solar farm offset, 2.6.3. scenario 3—excess solar grid selling, 3. results and discussion, 3.1. heating cycles of poultry sheds under different climatic conditions, 3.2. hourly coefficient of performance of the gshps, 3.3. lifecycle analysis: costs and ghg emissions, 3.3.1. scenario 1—no excess solar electricity offset, 3.3.2. scenario 2—excess solar farm offset, 3.3.3. scenario 3—excess solar grid selling, 3.4. multi-objective optimisation: pareto front solutions, 3.5. pareto front solutions for other location and pricing scenarios, 3.6. applicability of results to other worldwide locations in similar climate zones, 3.7. future considerations for improvements in energy efficiency, 4. conclusions, author contributions, data availability statement, conflicts of interest, appendix a. hourly solar pv panel electricity generation calculation method.

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Share and Cite

Zhou, Y.; Narsilio, G.A.; Soga, K.; Aye, L. Achieving Pareto Optimum for Hybrid Geothermal–Solar (PV)–Gas Heating Systems: Minimising Lifecycle Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 6595. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156595

Zhou Y, Narsilio GA, Soga K, Aye L. Achieving Pareto Optimum for Hybrid Geothermal–Solar (PV)–Gas Heating Systems: Minimising Lifecycle Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Sustainability . 2024; 16(15):6595. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156595

Zhou, Yu, Guillermo A. Narsilio, Kenichi Soga, and Lu Aye. 2024. "Achieving Pareto Optimum for Hybrid Geothermal–Solar (PV)–Gas Heating Systems: Minimising Lifecycle Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emissions" Sustainability 16, no. 15: 6595. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16156595

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CDC Confirms Three Human Cases of H5 Bird Flu Among Colorado Poultry Workers

Media Statement - Three additional human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) (“H5 bird flu”) virus infection have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in association with a second poultry farm in Northeast Colorado/Weld County.

July 25, 2024 – Three additional human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) (“H5 bird flu”) virus infection have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in association with a second poultry farm in Northeast Colorado/Weld County. Colorado previously announced one of them as a presumptive positive case on Saturday, July 20. The three confirmed cases occurred in people who were working directly with infected poultry at a commercial egg layer operation that had reported an outbreak of H5 bird flu among poultry.

All three people have mild illness and have been offered the antiviral drug, oseltamivir, for treatment. State and local officials continue to monitor poultry workers on farms with infected poultry. This is a different farm in Colorado from the one where on Friday, July 19, CDC confirmed two additional human cases of H5 bird flu , which brought the total human cases associated with that first poultry farm to six. With the addition of these three new confirmed human cases, the total number of human cases associated with the current poultry outbreaks in Colorado is nine. A CDC multidisciplinary, bilingual field team is currently deployed to support Colorado’s response to ongoing poultry outbreaks of H5 bird flu in the state.

Confirmation of these three additional cases brings the total number of human cases of H5 bird flu reported in the United States since April 2024 to 13. Prior to 2024, the only previous human case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States was reported among a poultry worker in Colorado in April 2022 . Counting that case, there have been 14 total human cases of H5 bird flu in the United States since 2022.

Based on available data, CDC’s current assessment is that the risk to the general public from H5N1 remains low. As we learn more, we will continue to assess the situation and provide updates. These preliminary results again underscore the risk of exposure to infected animals. There are no signs of unexpected increases in flu activity otherwise in Colorado, or in other states affected by H5 bird flu outbreaks in cows and poultry. Human infections with this novel influenza A virus (and others) are concerning because of the potential to cause severe, widespread disease. To date, we have not seen genetic changes in the virus that would make it more likely to transmit between humans, but we are closely monitoring it.

CDC’s recommendations related to H5 virus have not changed at this time. Findings from the investigation will inform whether guidance changes are needed. The investigation will include looking into compliance with the recommended use of personal protective equipment. Historically, most human cases of bird flu infection have happened in people who are not wearing recommended personal protective equipment. An analysis of the virus sequences from this outbreak also will be important to determine if a change in the risk assessment is warranted.

CDC Recommendations

• People should avoid unprotected exposures to sick or dead animals, including wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals (including cows).

• People should also avoid unprotected exposures to animal feces (poop), bedding (litter), unpasteurized (“raw”) milk, or materials that have been touched by, or close to, birds or other animals with suspected or confirmed A(H5N1) virus.

• CDC has interim recommendations for prevention, monitoring, and public health investigations of A(H5N1) virus infections in people. CDC also has updated recommendations for worker protection and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) . Following these recommendations is central to reducing a person’s risk and containing the overall public health risk.

### U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC’s world-leading experts protect lives and livelihoods, national security and the U.S. economy by providing timely, commonsense information, and rapidly identifying and responding to diseases, including outbreaks and illnesses. CDC drives science, public health research, and data innovation in communities across the country by investing in local initiatives to protect everyone’s health.

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The Bird Flu Threat Keeps Growing

Ongoing outbreaks of avian influenza have decimated poultry flocks and wild birds across the United States and worldwide. The virus, known as H5N1, is also increasingly adapting to mammals and has been found in cats, goats, and raccoons. In the US, it has spread to at least 170 dairy herds across 13 states. And in April, health officials confirmed that a dairy worker had caught the virus from an infected cow. This was the first time the virus made the jump from a mammal to a human .

Now, the number of people becoming infected with bird flu is ticking upward. On July 25, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an additional three human cases , bringing the total number of US cases to 13 since April. The infections occurred in people who were working directly with infected poultry at an egg farm in Colorado that had reported an outbreak of H5N1 among its birds. All three people have mild symptoms and have been offered Tamiflu, an antiviral drug. The CDC says the risk of H5N1 infection in the general public remains low.

“These cases are not entirely surprising given that these people were working with infected poultry,” says Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist at Columbia University in New York. “The good news is that so far, there’s no evidence that this has spread from person to person. At that point, we’d really have to ramp up the concern to the level of red alert.”

The CDC is looking into whether the workers in Colorado were wearing personal protective equipment, or PPE, such as gloves, coveralls, footwear, masks, and goggles. Historically, most human cases of bird flu infection have happened in people who were not wearing recommended PPE, according to the agency.

The new cases come shortly after another cluster of human infections was identified this month. On July 19, the CDC confirmed six human cases of bird flu among poultry workers at a different facility in Colorado. Those cases were in workers who were involved in the culling of birds infected with H5N1. Once the virus is found on a farm, poultry producers must cull entire flocks. With the latest three infections, Colorado now has nine confirmed cases of bird flu.

The other four cases—one in Texas, two in Michigan, and one in Colorado—have been linked to exposure to infected dairy cows. The virus likely spread to the workers through raw milk. A study published in May found that the virus can remain stable on milking equipment for at least an hour, increasing its potential to infect people and other animals. Pasteurizing milk, however, kills the H5N1 virus.

So far, all the US cases this year have resulted in mild symptoms, but in the past, H5N1 has had a lethality rate of around 50 percent . From 2003 to 2023, a total of 878 people tested positive for the virus, and 458 deaths were reported.

The last time H5N1 caused a major outbreak among US poultry flocks was in 2015, when it wiped out 50.5 million birds . It wasn’t until April 2022 that the US saw its first reported human case of bird flu, in a poultry worker in Colorado. No further cases were reported until this year. “Something has changed,” says Anice Lowen, a flu researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. “Whether it’s due to changes in the virus or changes in the circumstances of exposure is hard to know without more information.”

The CDC’s sequencing of the virus from the sixth human case reported from Colorado shows that it is related to the viruses detected in recent poultry outbreaks and infected dairy cattle herds. It contains a marker of mammalian adaptation that has been identified in more than 99 percent of dairy cow sequences, as well as in the first Michigan human case.

It’s possible there are more human infections that are going undetected . The US has tested only around 200 individuals for the virus, while more than 4,100 people are being monitored. Lowen says ideally everyone working with infected animals should be tested. “It’s really important that we know the extent of spillover,” she says. “I think this country certainly has the resources to be doing more testing.”

Matthew Miller, codirector of the Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub at McMaster University in Ontario, says proper PPE is critically important for groups at high risk of exposure. “Giving the virus an opportunity to infect humans is giving it an opportunity to learn how to transmit between humans,” he says. Flu viruses undergo constant changes in a host as they replicate, and it’s possible that H5N1 could eventually develop mutations that would make human transmission more likely.

In the case of the first Colorado facility, US health officials acknowledged that high summer temperatures may have played a role in those six infections. “At the time transmission is thought to have occurred, Colorado was experiencing 104-plus-degree heat,” said Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, in a press conference on July 16. “The barns in which culling operations occur were no doubt even hotter. All of this makes PPE use a challenge.” There were also large industrial fans in the barns, which could have blown virus particles through the air, increasing the risk of infection.

Alongside rising cases in people, the virus has also spread to dozens of mammal species. A study published in Nature on July 25 found that the spillover of avian flu from birds to dairy cattle led to mammal-to-mammal transmission—between cows, and from cows to cats and a raccoon—raising concerns that H5N1 could eventually adapt to spread among people.

As H5N1 spreads to more species, scientists are worried about its potential to spark a pandemic. Some countries have tried vaccinating poultry against avian flu, but Morse says the problem is making enough doses at scale. Commercially raised chickens have short lives, and in the US, facilities may raise thousands of birds. “A lot of animals would need to be vaccinated, and in practical terms, it’s very hard to do,” Morse says.

Finland has started vaccinating high-risk workers at fur and poultry farms, and Morse thinks the US should follow suit. Several H5N1 vaccines have been licensed and the US has stockpiled a supply of these, but because the virus has a high mutation rate, it’s not known whether those vaccines would be effective against the currently circulating virus. The US recently awarded Moderna $176 million to develop an mRNA vaccine against H5N1. The company, which made one of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, is currently testing its bird flu vaccine in an early-stage trial.

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Elektrostal

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Elektrostal , city, Moscow oblast (province), western Russia . It lies 36 miles (58 km) east of Moscow city. The name, meaning “electric steel,” derives from the high-quality-steel industry established there soon after the October Revolution in 1917. During World War II , parts of the heavy-machine-building industry were relocated there from Ukraine, and Elektrostal is now a centre for the production of metallurgical equipment. Pop. (2006 est.) 146,189.