Egg Production 101 | How to Start a Layer Farm to Produce Eggs Leave a comment

This article will guide you on How to start a layer farm. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of grooming your birds from scratch, we recommend that you buy Point of Lay birds from a store. as they are already at the point of laying eggs and would save you a lot of money.

Incase you need more knowledge, Here is a great article on everything you need to know about Point of Lay Chickens.

How to Start a Layer Farm

The first step to making sure a layer farm is profitable is to know enough about how to start one. Layer farming is the business of raising birds that lay eggs so that they can be sold as eggs.

Layer chickens are a special breed of hen that needs to be raised from the day they are born. Hence knowing how to start a layer farm is very important. At 18 to 19 weeks, they start laying eggs for sale. They keep laying eggs until they are between 72 and 78 weeks old. During the time they are laying eggs, they need about 2.25 kg of food to make about 1 kg of eggs.

There are two kinds of layer hens, based on the size and colour of the eggs they lay. Here are some short explanations of these two types.

White hens that lay eggs

This type of hens is smaller than most other types. They eat less food, and their egg shells are white. Some popular white egg-laying chickens are Isa White, Lehman White, Nikchik, Bab Cock BV-300, Harvard White, Hi Sex White, Sever White, Hi-line White, Bovanch White, etc.

Brown hens that lay eggs

Brown hens that lay eggs are bigger than white ones. They eat more than chickens that lay white eggs. Lay eggs that are bigger than those of other breeds. The shell of the egg is brown. There are a lot of different kinds of brown layer.

Some of the best ones for the commercial layer are Isa Brown, Hi Sex Brown, Sever 579, Lehman Brown, Hi Line Brown, Bab Cock BV-380, Gold Line, Bablona Tetro, Bablona Harko, Havard Brown, etc.

In this case, you’ll need to choose breeds that work well for your layer poultry farming business and your area.

Isa Brown, Arbor Acres, Marshall, Ross, Kuroilers, White Cockerel, and Black Cockerel are all common breeds of chicken in Nigeria. Always ask about the breed you are getting and what makes that breed unique.

Before choosing a breed for commercial egg production, read the information below. *Pick laying hens that lay a lot of eggs.

Not every kind of hen lays the same number of eggs. The chosen breeds must be able to make a lot of food.
If the breed you choose has the trait you want and has a good reputation for laying eggs, then it is good for your business.
Starting a chicken farm to make eggs

To set up a layer farm, you need to do the following:

Location

The housing system is very important for laying hens to grow up and for keeping and managing them well. As a newcomer to the livestock business, you don’t want to spend all of your money on buying land in a city, where it might not be used because the government doesn’t allow poultry farms near cities or residential areas for health reasons.

Battery cages are the best places for birds that lay eggs to live because they give the birds comfort and stability.

Set-Up Capital

Now that you have a place in mind, you have a better idea of how much money you will need. Write down all the money and investments you will need for your poultry farming business in Nigeria, and then go find it.

Like any other farming project, the more land you want to farm, the more money you’ll need to start. Before you start this business, you need to decide how much money you are willing to put into it.

The next step would be to buy your chicks. Find a good hatchery where you can start with healthy day-old chicks.

Feeds and Water Management

You can buy feed at the market near you, or you can make it at home. Make sure that the one you buy or make is full of protein and minerals, which are very important for laying hens.

Buy the best feeds from htsfarms.ng. Click Here to buy Poultry feed.

• For the first two weeks after birth, give them at least 2% calcium.
• Starter feed should be given to them for 8 weeks.
• Serve them twice or three times a day until they are 18 weeks old.
• Serve them layer chicken feed based on how old they are and how much they weigh.
• Don’t cut back on their food while they’re laying (even if their weight increase)
• Give your laying hens enough water based on how much they need (supply cold water during hot weather, and lukewarm water in cold weather)

Vaccination

This makes your hen less likely to get sick. It keeps them from getting sick and lowers the number of deaths. But before you vaccinate, make sure you know that you don’t need to vaccinate a sick hen anymore (keep sick birds apart to stop the disease from spreading) and that the vaccination equipment has been cleaned with hot, boiled water or an antiseptic/germicide. The vaccines that can be given to layer hens are listed below. Marex, Gamboro, Salmonella etc.

Keep in mind that a healthy Layer hen lays an egg almost every day or at least four times a week on average. This means that a Layer is technically able to give birth to two more chickens in three days.

About 5% of hens start laying eggs in their first 20 weeks, and they can lay as many as 325 eggs in a year. At 21 weeks, about 10% of birds start to lay eggs. When they are 26 to 30 weeks old, they have a lot of eggs.

Depending on the breed, they usually stop laying eggs for a few days after laying their maximum number of eggs. And after this time, they might slowly stop making eggs.
The number of eggs laid and their size gradually get bigger. The hens keep growing until they are 40 weeks old. Eggs get bigger and heavier until they are 50 weeks old.

Marketing

Marketing involves a range of prices, depending on the size of the egg, the brand, or some other difference that draws a certain buyer. The best way to store them at home and in a store is at the normal refrigerator temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can we increase egg production in Nigeria layers?

So, to get the best eggs and keep the quality of the eggs up, feed the birds food made from high-quality raw materials and made in the right way for the age of the birds. Don’t give them spoiled food, and don’t put too much food in their feeders. Check the feed to see if there are any rodents or wild birds in it.

What causes low production of eggs in layers?

Hens may lay fewer eggs because of the light, stress, bad food, moulting, or just getting older. Some of these things happen on their own, while others can be fixed with simple changes so that the chickens can lay eggs normally again.

What do you feed chickens to make their eggs bigger?

At different stages of production, the amount of protein in the feed can be used to change the size of the eggs. During the first two months of laying eggs, feeding a high (18%–20%) protein layer ration will make the eggs bigger.