One of the primary objectives of the Poultry Man responsible for a flock of broiler chickens is to ensure their rapid, healthy, uninterrupted growth.  A deep litter, intensive system is used. Birds are kept in the same house from one day old to slaughter.  This means that brooding and rearing takes place in the same house and the system operates on an "all in - all out" basis.  The house is filled with day old chicks and then emptied when the birds are slaughtered.  It will then be cleaned, disinfected and rested for a short period before being filled up again with a new batch of day old chicks.

Modern hybrid broilers have a high genetic potential for growth but to achieve this they must be fed on a properly balanced ration which is high in energy and balanced for protein, minerals and vitamins.  This ration is fed ad lib which means that the birds always have access to food and are never restricted.

The birds are slaughtered early in life so disease is rarely a serious problem.  Mortality in a well run unit averages at around 2%.  Antibiotics are included in the feed to improve feed conversion as are drugs to combat coccidiosis.  There is growing consumer resistance to this practice and farmers will do well to investigate ways of avoiding the use of drugs in poultry feed.  One way is to allow broilers to free range.  The growth rate will be reduced but so will feed costs and the risk of disease.

As an enterprise, broiler chickens have the fastest turnover of capital in farming.  The farmer who invests money in broilers harvests his first crop after seven to nine weeks, takes his profit and then can re-invest in the next crop of broilers.  Allowing time for cleaning out and resting the house, he can produce at least four crops of broilers each year.

Feeding Broilers

The life of the broiler chicken is divided into two distinct parts:

• The starter period (day old to 5 - 6 weeks)
  
  
• The finisher period (5 - 6 weeks to slaughter)
  
  

Feeding during the Starter Period

From day one, the birds are fed on broiler starter mash or crumbs which has a Crude Protein of 22 - 24%.  This can be bought as a ready mixed ration or, alternatively and more cheaply, home grown maize can be mixed with a concentrate.  Grit must always be available.

With very young chicks, the food can be spread onto egg trays (use two trays for one hundred birds).  At two weeks, tubular feeders can be introduced.  These are suspended from the ceiling beams so that the bottom of the feeder is the same height as the backs of the chicks.  If trough feeders are used, birds should be able to feed from both sides of the trough.  One chick needs 25 mm of trough space.  This will increase as the chicks grow.

Feeding during the Finisher Period

During the Finisher Period, the starter mash is gradually changed to a broiler finisher mash or pellets with a Crude Protein of 19 - 20%.  Again, a mix can be made from home grown maize meal and broiler finisher concentrate to reduce feed costs.

If you rear and manage Poultry, you may be interested in some of the specialist courses in Poultry and Animal Husbandry offered by ACS Distance Education - the courses can be started at any time, and are available at different qualification levels to suit your existing level of knowledge at the start of your studies - our courses include:

Poultry

Qualification - Advanced Diploma In Animal Husbandry

Breeding Animals

If you are not ready to commit yourself to a full course, or wish to refresh your knowledge, you may find that our automated 20 hour Short Course - Caring For Chickens And Other Poultry - will suit your needs.