Poultry production can be fun and profitable and it requires a lot of attention in order to ensure a positive, profitable and productive outcome. It requires utmost carefulness and diligence. In order to ensure productive outcomes in poultry farming, one has to put in place certain management measures. A few management measures and techniques will be discussed below:
Control Of Rodents And Wild Birds
Rodents and wild birds increase cost of production by eating up and wasting poultry feed. Research shows that an rat in a farm eats about 12 kilogram of poultry feed and spoils about 3 times that amount every year. Sometimes, rodents also medicate themselves with your poultry drugs in the farm and continue to cause you havoc. They also harbour and transmit diseases to birds. Rodents in the farm should be checked using traps and appropriate rodenticide. Extreme care should be taken not to poison the poultry feed or water, contaminate the environment or water bodies with such rodenticide. Netting of the poultry house reduces the invasion of wild birds.
Cage Fatigue
This simply refers to the stiffing of legs characterized by disinclination to move and general body weakness due to long time of cage imprisonment. It usually occurs in overstocked birds in battery cage system. Such birds should be removed from cage, allowed to move on the floor and treated with vitamins and other anti stress preparations.
Debeaking
Debeaking depicts the surgical removal of the unvascularised parts of the upper and lower portions of the beak to discouragge cannibalism (i.e excessive pecking). Debeaking is usually done between the 12th and 15th week of chicken's life. Debeaking at the early stage is possible but it may result in re-growth of the beak. On the otherhand, delayed or late debeaking may distort or prolong commencement of egg lay. Five days anti-boitic administration is usually recommended in order to prevent or avoid prolonged egg lay after the surgery operation is being carried out. Also, Vitamin K administration to the chickens will help limit bleeding.
Ventilation
Ventilation is simply the process of having sufficient air in an environment. It is also the replacement of stale or noxious air with fresh air as well as the mechanical system used to circulate or replace air. The importance of ventilation for laying hens cannot be over-emphasized. Stuffiness, lack of oxygen and strong ammonia fumes affect adversely, the performance of laying hens. Poor ventilation can result in poor egg production and poor health of the hen. Ventilation is important in the removal of excessive moisture in the laying house. This moisture must be removed from the laying house to prevent excess condensation and wet caked litter. So, measures must be taken to ensure proper and efficient ventilation for better performance and production from hens.
Heat Stress
Birds that are laying especially the black-coloured breeds are seriously troubled during hot weather as they usually die of heat stroke. Apart from sudden death, reduced feed in-take, reduced egg lay, reduced egg size as well as laying of thin shelled eggs suggggests heats stress in a flock of layingbirds during the hot season. Some management procedures to relief heat stress include the following amongst others;
- Vitamin C supplementation in water
- Frequent provision of cool drinking water or iced water
- Provision of supplementary light to enhance feeding in the night
- Tall trees plantation beside pens to reduce exposure to direct sunlight
- Adequate space provision
The above discussed measure, if implemented effectively might help in ensuring successful poultry farming and thus, enhancing profitability. The goal of every business is to make profit, so in a situation where profit is not being made, such business is indeed a loss. To avoid loss in the poultry farming, do well to apply techniques that will help in enhancing profitability.
Till I come your way next time,