The Ultimate Guide To Successful Broiler Farming

An Introduction to broilers

A production cycle for broilers takes 6-7 weeks on average. In these 7 weeks, the chickens are housed and fed with all essential nutrients, drugs, and vaccines to grow to their final weight in 5–6 weeks. After that, the house is cleaned, disinfected and prepared to receive new

Broiler houses should have planned air inlets, exhaust fans, heaters, an evaporative cooling system, thermostats, and timers to provide environmental control. Houses should be capable of maintaining appropriate temperatures during the entire growing cycle, regardless of the outside temperature.

Preparations

Raising broilers requires proper planning and preparation for a successful outcome. Necessary things must be put in place. The necessities include housing, feeding materials, brooding space, brooding facilities, and sourcing for healthy and quality chicks.

Planning and Preparation

Before Arrival

After Arrival

Natural feed additives for broilers

Garlic, chili, bitter kola, ginger, aloe vera, bitter leaf, and other things are all natural growth boosters. These natural herbs not only help broiler chickens grow but also fight disease and act as natural antibiotics.

How to use garlic for broilers

This is probably the easiest way to make sure your flock gets their dose of raw garlic. Simply crush 1 clove per liter (4 per gallon) into their drinking water, or, if you’re using it, add it to their electrolyte drink. For healthy chickens, refresh the water after 48 hours, leaving out the garlic. Do this twice each week.

Read More: Boosting Broilers: A Guide to Timing and Homemade Boosters>>>

5 Steps to Increase the Body Weight of Broilers

What causes broilers not to grow?

Moldy feed or moldy feed ingredients can contain fungal toxins, which can reduce growth. Poor growth in broilers can also be due to disease(s), with one or more of the following being associated: 1. Viral pathogens interacting with the environment (poor ventilation, wet litter, etc.).

Brooding Temperatures

Proper conditions are necessary for baby poultry to change during the first weeks of life. Ensure chicks are dry and bedding materials are not wet. Hypothermia due to wet conditions is one of the most common causes of baby poultry deaths on small farms.

Poultry flock owners should strive to follow the suggested temperatures in the chart below by regulating heat in the brooding unit. The temperatures should be measured above the floor with a brooding thermometer. Room temperature should not be over 75°F (23.9°C) during the first few weeks. It is advisable to keep room temperature in the correct range to encourage rapid feathering of the chicks. If weather conditions change outside of the brooding unit, attend quickly to temperatures to see if adjustments need to be made.

Temperature table

Age	Brooding Temperature
0 to 1 week	93° to 95°F (33.9° to 35°C)
1 to 2 weeks	88° to 90°F (31.1° to 32.2°C)
2 to 3 weeks	83° to 85°F (28.3° to 29.4°C)
3 to 4 weeks	78° to 80°F (25.6° to 26.7°C)
4 to 5 weeks	75°F (23.9°C)
5 to 6 weeks	70°F (21.1°C)
6 weeks	Comfort Zone 50° to 70°F (10° to 21.1°C)

Detailed day-to-day schedule for managing your broilers

Day 1: Arrival and Set-Up

Week 1: Starter Feed (0-7 days)

Week 2: Starter Feed (8-14 days)

Week 3: Starter Feed (15-21 days)

Week 4: Grower Feed (22-28 days)

Week 5: Finisher Feed (29-35 days)

Week 6: Finisher Feed (36-42 days)

Processing Day (Week 6-7)

Calculation of feed intake for 50 birds

Week 1 (Starter Feed): Approximately 0.91 kilograms per bird x 50 birds = 45.5 kilograms

Week 2 (Starter Feed): Approximately 1.13 kilograms per bird x 50 birds = 56.5 kilograms

Week 3 (Grower Feed): Approximately 1.59 kilograms per bird x 50 birds = 79.5 kilograms

Week 4 (Grower Feed): Approximately 1.82 kilograms per bird x 50 birds = 91 kilograms

Week 5 (Finisher Feed): Approximately 2.05 kilograms per bird x 50 birds = 102.5 kilograms

Week 6 (Finisher Feed): Approximately 2.27 kilograms per bird x 50 birds = 113.5 kilograms

Now, sum up these weekly quantities to find the total feed needed over 42 days:

Total Feed Needed = 45.5 kg + 56.5 kg + 79.5 kg + 91 kg + 102.5 kg + 113.5 kg = 488.5 kilograms

So, you would need approximately 488.5 kilograms of feed to raise 50 broiler chickens for 42 days to attain maximum weight while following the feeding chart provided.

Drugs and Vaccine Administration

Day	Drugs and Vaccination	Method	Dose with water
1	Glucose and multivite (Selenium + vit E or Aminovitaconc)	Oral	2.5g into 10 liters of water (Aminivitaconc), 1g into 10 liters for Selenium + vit E
2-4	Multivite and Antibiotics (Aminovitacon) and (Kenflox)	Oral	2.5g into 10 liter of water 3ml of kenflox into 10liters of water
5-6	Anti coccidiosis (Kepcox)	Oral	10ml to 10 liters of water
7	Multivite	Oral	2.5g to 10 liters of water
8	1st IBD (Gumboro)	Oral	100 doses of vaccine mixed with 5 liters of waters containing a medium size refilled cowbell milk
9	Multivite	Oral	2.5g to 10 liters of water
11-12	Anti-Coccidiosis	Oral	10ml to 10 liters of water
13	Multivite	Oral	3.5g to 15 liters of water
14	1st Newcastle (Lasota)	Oral	100 doses of vaccine mixed with 6 liters of waters containing a medium size refilled cowbell milk
15	Multivite	Oral	3.5g to 15liters of water
18	Multivite	Oral	4.5g to 20liters of water
20	2nd IBD (Gumboro)	Oral	100 doses of vaccine mixed with 5 liters of waters containing a medium size refilled cowbell milk
21	Multivite	Oral	4.5g to 20liters of water
23-24	Coccidiosis	Oral	20ml to 20liters of water
25	Multivite	Oral	4.5g to 20liters of water
27	2nd Newcastle (Lasota)	Oral	100 doses of vaccine mixed with 7 liters of waters containing a medium size refilled cowbell milk
28-29	Multivite	Oral	5.5g to 25liters of water
38	Deworming Kepromec oral	Oral	5ml to 25 liters of water

NOTE;

For vaccine administration

The birds should have been deprived of 7 hours water so as to take the stipulated amount of water for a very short period of time. This should be within 45-1 hour.

After vaccine administration, drinkers should be washed and birds should be given fresh water.

For drugs administration

The water the birds will take for the whole day should contain the appropriate dose of drug and over dose should be highly prohibited.

Record keeping

It is very important to keep record of your birds and what you give them. This helps in monitoring their growth, health and their uniformity.

Record book should contain the following

This way, your vet, consultant or anyone will be able to keep track of your chick’s update.

Feeding Time

7:30 AM

10:30 AM

12:30 PM

4:00 PM

7:00 PM

Disclaimer: This brooding program is a guideline. HTS farms is not liable to any failure during your brooding stage to the harvesting period.

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