Housing and management of commercial broiler farming

Leibaknganbi Maibam *

Broiler is a tender meat young chicken of male or female that grow from a hatch weight of 40 grams to a weight over approximately around 1.5 to 2 kg in 6 weeks time period only.

Selection the site for Broiler farming:-

o Should have sufficient land area.
o Should have good water supply & electricity.
o Preferably higher land should be considered to avoid water logging in rainy season.
o Better to have road connectivity & transport facility.
o Should be far from human activities & housing estates.
o Should have market access to procure any farm inputs & selling of farming produces.

Housing / Shed Design in Broiler farming:-

o Housing should have good ventilation & wind flow.
o In deep litter system, space requirement is 1 sq ft / bird.
o Should consider East-West as length- wise direction of the shed.

Management is the important part of broiler farming.

Following are the vital parameters to be considered in Broiler management System.
1) Broiler breed selection: Day-old chicks with good quality should be selected.

2) Preparation housing before arrival of chicks:
o Remove the previously used litters & wash the house equipments properly.
o Should spray selected disinfectants.
o Should clean water pipelines.
o Should consider fumigation of poultry house with suitable agents.

3) Brooding:
o Should start brooder 1 day prior to arrival of chicks to the farm.
o Should adjust the hover temperature to 95° F at first week & reduce by 5° F every week until 70° F.
o Should place chick guard for first week.

4) Ventilation: The shed / house should be designed with cross ventilation for allowing fresh air to circulate inside the house by providing wire mesh net on two opposite sides of the shed.

5) Floor space requirement in the shed: 1 sq ft / bird.

6) Deep Litter Management in Broiler farming:

o Litter materials used in the shed should be either rice husk, saw dust or chopped wheat straw etc. depending upon availability of the material.

Poultry Feed Management:-

As feed plays vital role in poultry farming & is the major cost of poultry production which seriously affects the production output of the birds. Improper feeding causes several deficiency disease which results in poor production performance.

Types of Poultry Feed:-
*0-10 days, Pre- Starter
*11- 21 days, Starter
*22 days till marketing , Finisher.

Diseases, Control and Vaccination schedule in Broiler farming:-

In poultry industry primarily emphasis is given more prevention & control than curative measures.

A) Viral:
1. Ranikhet / New Castle Disease & Symptoms: – Below are symptoms of the disease
i) Difficulty in breathing.
ii) Greenish diarrhoea.

Prevention measures: Should give early vaccination with F1 followed by R B vaccines.
2) Marek's Disease & Symptoms: i) Droopy wings, lameness, paralysis.
ii) Should expect 60-75% mortality of birds.

Preventive measures: No treatment, only early vaccination will help.

B) Bacterial Diseases:
1) Salmonellosis & Symptoms:
a) Chalky white diarrhoea.
b) Sudden death.
c) Affects all age groups.

Preventive measures:

1. Should use effective antibiotic like Sulphonamides, Nitrofurazone, Furazolidine etc.
2) Colybaccillosis & Symptoms: a) Diarrhoea.
b) Swelling of joints.

Treatment: Antimicrobial drugs like Gentamycin, Ampicillin, Cephalexin, Tetracycline etc.
C) Fungal Diseases:
1) Brooder pneumonia / Aspergillosis & Symptoms:
a) Affects chicks.
b) High mortality.
c) Swollen eye & head.

Treatment: Antifungal drugs like Cyromazine, Diflubenzuron etc.
Vaccination in Broilers:-

* Marek's – First day ( generally given in hatchery ) 0.2 ml s/c
* Ranikhet – 5 day (f-strain)
* Gumboro / IBD – 7 to 9 days
* Gumboro / IBD -16 to 18 days (Booster dose)
* Ranikhet- 30 days (f-strain)