The flock of layer birds should be transferred from grower to
layer house at the period of 18 to 20 weeks of age, so that the layers may
adapt to the new environment and everything around. The flocks of laying birds
should be as even as possible in size, and is better to have in each laying
flock birds of the same age group. Pullets and older birds should not be mixed
as that would cause considerable risk to the new birds from worms, ticks and so
on.
Size
or laying flocks
For purpose of controlling and organizing, small flocks are
preferable to large ones. For breeding pens, less than ten birds are
recommended for it. For egg production, as many as 200-250 layers can be
maintained in colony houses.
Housing
Prior to the transferring the pullets, it is very necessary to
depopulate, clean and disinfect the layer house thoroughly. Layers can be
housed in deep litter house, cages or wire floor; this is depended on the
capital investment and environmental factors. The optimum housing (floor) space
of layer birds’ requirement: In the deep litter system 2-2.5 sq ft per layer, in
the cage system 1 sq ft per layer. Inadequate housing space leads to
congestion, stress related problems and results in poor production and more
culls.
Laying
nests
To produce clean marketable eggs, adequate number of laying nests
should then be provided and eggs should be gathered at least three times a day
from the house. Place 8-10 cm paddy husk, saw dust or straw cut into small
pieces and spread out in the nest. A single laying nest of 10- 14 inches, and
about 12 inches deep is required for about 4-5 layers. Individual nests are
better for the places where ambient temperature is a problem. Nests should be
kept always in a clean condition.
When there is insufficient number and improper distribution of
laying nests, it may force the birds to compete and lead to stress related
problems, such as drop in egg production and laying on the floor. Laying on the
floor can results to dirty eggs, more egg breakage as well as egg eating vice.
Lighting
From 20th week of age or from the commencement of 5% egg
production, whichever is earlier, lighting should be commencing for layer. For
every week of the birds, the lighting period should be increased by 20 minutes
till a maximum of 17 hours per day is reached. Beyond 17 hours lighting has no
beneficial effect to the birds. A very important factor in lighting is to never
decrease light during the laying period and to never increase the light during
non-laying period.
For the lighting, one Watt per 3 sq ft is recommended. Bulbs of 25
to 40 watt should be firmly attached 7 ft above the floor and 8-12 ft apart.
Reflections in the house should be used to direct all light downward and be
cleaned regularly to remove dust from bulbs which can reduce brightness.
Feeding
Ideally, a hybrid layer in a year lays 14 kg of egg which is
roughly 8 to 9 times of its body weight. To facilitate this, the feed that is
fed to the birds should be of excellent quality and quantity. A bird performs
its best, when the environmental temperature is 55 to 750 F. when the temperature
is beyond 750 F (23.80 C) the bird is stressed and the feed consumption of the
bird goes down.
A standard layer mash with a protein content of at least 16%
freshly prepared and well balanced, should be given. Provide some greens in
addition. Layers need 4g of calcium intake per day for proper egg formation and
2g for shell itself. Shell grit in the form of oyster shells or limestone chips
must be made available at all times. The presence of vitamin K is said to
accelerate shell formation. But too much of calcium intake is not good. It may
decrease body weight and result in reduced egg yield due to poor feed
conversion.
Egg
Production
One of the main purposes of the layers is to produce eggs.
Generally, a fall in egg production is primarily caused by low feed consumption
of the birds. Unfavorable environment and management are contributory factors.
The principal causes of low egg production are discussed below as;
Violent
changes in weather
Inclement of weather, such as a very high temperature during the
summer months, very low temperature during the winter, and the incessant rains
during the monsoon period in coastal areas, are all responsible for lowering
egg production due to the fact that under these conditions the birds are
generally not able to eat all the feed they need to eat. These can be remedied
to a large extent by providing comfortable housing conditions.
Changes
in ration
A change in ration, unbalanced and unpalatable ration should always
be avoided as it will not provide all the essential nutrients required by the
birds and will lead to insufficient food consumption by the bird.
Low
protein ration
A well balanced laying mash for feeding of birds should contain
18% protein in order that the egg yield docs not suffer. Ration containing low
protein content affects egg production adversely.
Insufficient
feed
Insufficient feed is a principle of good management to let the
layer eat as much of the laying mash as they can by keeping the feed hopper
full all the time in the layer house. A layer needs 90-125g of feed daily intake
depending upon the production of its percentage egg.
Poor
ventilation
For the production of egg and meat, good ventilation in the layer
house is indispensable. Damp litter and heavy fumes of ammonia around the layer
house are signs of poor ventilation in a poultry house. Poor ventilation leads
to chronic respiratory diseases and other health problems that result in low
production of the birds.
Diseases
and parasites
Infections to the birds and other diseases and parasitic
infestations which are external and internal are deterrents to egg production.
Preventive and control measures in to be put in place at all time in the
poultry house to prevent all of these diseases.
Shifting
of birds
All pullets should be transferred to the laying houses between 1
to 3 weeks of age before they are expected to commence laying. This will give
them enough time to get used to the new surroundings. The layers are very
sensitive to any changes in their environment. Such changes have an adverse
effect on their laying capacity which can reduce the quality and quantity of
eggs.
Rough
handling of birds
The birds are extremely timid and are easily frightened by any
attempt to chase and catch them. The result of any fear is low feeding followed
by poor egg yield. The bird required to be caught for examination, culling or
treatment should preferably be lifted when the flock is resting at night time,
or should be caught by using a catching crate.
Change
of attendance
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