Floor and cage housing of the parent flock of chickens

There are various methods and technologies for maintaining broiler parent stock. The most common is floor growing with transplantation. With this method, breeding young up to 18-20 weeks of age are kept in one poultry house. After this, the birds are moved to a laying house equipped with nests until the end of production. Cage rearing technology for broiler parent stock is very rarely used.

Chickens from the parent flock are very expensive and extremely demanding in terms of growing conditions. Production success can only be achieved using highly qualified personnel, advanced technologies and the most modern equipment for the parent stock .

Planting Density

In the first days, the chickens are kept in a limited area of ​​the poultry house, fencing off a small area for them using brooder rings .

brooder circles for parent stock

The compacted planting allows the chicks to quickly find food and water. Gradually the brooding area is enlarged; The chickens are finally released into the full area of ​​the poultry house on the 10-14th day of rearing.

1.1) Stocking density during brooding period

1.2) Stocking density of parent stock

Care and maintenance of broilers

Cages or closed poultry houses are suitable for keeping Cobb 500 broilers.

There should be no more than 35-40 kg of live weight of birds per 1 m². For floor maintenance, a mesh floor with a small cell size is suitable. A mixture of sawdust, shavings and straw mixed with lime is used as bedding. It is important to change the litter on time and keep the chicken coop clean.

Cobb 500 broilers are highly sensitive to low temperatures. The poultry house should not be colder than 14⁰C. But this temperature is not ideal; the herd grows worse.

It is recommended to keep them warm, at 25⁰С-30⁰С and humidity 60-70%. Lighting in the first 2 weeks is 24 hours a day. From the 14th day it is reduced by 1 hour daily until the indicator is reached 16-18 hours. The light should not be too bright.

Chickens of the Cobb 500 hybrid are prone to cannibalism; in bright light, weak individuals begin to be pecked by strong ones.

Drinkers and feeders are installed under the walls. If the bird grows in cages, they are attached to the outer wall. When feeding with compound feed, one container for food and one for water is enough. If the diet includes wet mash, separate dishes are provided for them. You need to change the water twice a day. It is advisable to wash feeders and drinkers daily.

Water, drinking systems

A nipple or bell system is used to water the birds of the parent flock . However, the nipple system guarantees a higher sanitary quality of water and a dry state of the litter. When using it in a breeding house, you must ensure that the nipples installed are suitable for small chicks. It is important to choose a nipple with a wide pin that will provide a large drop and 360º access for pressing. In this case, the chickens will easily find water and start using the automatic watering system immediately after landing. The drip eliminator protects the litter from getting wet without restricting the chicks' access to water.

Watering the parent flock

The watering front of the birds of the parent flock is presented in the table

for drinking lines in parent flock poultry houses . This will allow you to flush the drinking system without the participation of personnel every time after using vitamin preparations and liquid feed additives, as well as before vaccinations. By connecting a special temperature sensor, you can program the start of line flushing at a certain temperature. Regular flushing of drinking lines during the hot season will help manage heat stress and ensure high water quality.

Read more about the importance of watering hygiene in poultry houses here.

Broiler chickens ROSS-308 (ROSS-308)

The peculiarity of the meat breed of cross-country chickens “ROSS-308” is intensive growth, early maturity, low feed consumption, as well as high productivity (on average - 182 eggs per laying hen).

The potential of broilers of this cross is simply unique: the gain per day (average daily) can be at the level of 52-58 grams with feed consumption within the range of 1.8 quintals per 1 quintal of gain. The “powerful” muscles of broiler cross “ROSS-308” are formed at an early age. Age - 6-9 weeks is optimal for slaughter because... by this time they have already managed to reach a mass of 1.5-2 kg.

Main characteristics of broiler chickens ROSS 308:

• Fast growth, hence early slaughter opportunity
• Large muscle mass
• Bright skin
• Stunting
• High performance

Content . The room for receiving birds should be clean, with evenly distributed bedding, already stabilized temperature and humidity (60-70%), as well as good lighting. It is important to organize convenient access for the chicks to water and food, especially in the first hour after the chicks are planted. A minimum level of ventilation must also be provided to provide fresh air and remove harmful gases. Feeders and drinkers must be located directly under the heat source.

Feeding

Modern broiler crosses are characterized by high feed consumption, rapid growth and low feed conversion. After six weeks of fattening, chickens reach a live weight of 2.5-2.7 kg. Such rapid growth is accompanied by many metabolic disorders that do not have time to manifest themselves in broilers due to their short life span. The parent stock has the same genetic growth potential, but their production lifespan is 10 times longer, often exceeding sixty weeks. The strategy of feeding parents ad libitum leads to profound metabolic disorders, which are accompanied by high levels of mortality and culling of livestock, low egg productivity, poor egg fertility and chick hatchability. The main difficulty of broiler production is that the faster broilers grow, the more difficult it becomes to work with the parent flock.

Feeding broiler parent flock

3.1) Control of live weight of broiler parent flock

To raise a highly productive flock of parents, you need to strictly follow the growth schedules for hens and roosters provided by cross-breed producers. Strict control of the live weight of broiler parents allows:

1. delay the onset of puberty;
2. reduce the live weight of birds during the period of productivity (usually by reducing the amount of fat in the body);
3. increase the safety of breeding stock during the growing period;
4. reduce cultivation costs, even if it takes a longer period of time;
5. ensure better preservation during productivity;
6. obtain the maximum number of hatching eggs and chicks per initial laying hen;
7. get a larger hatching egg at the beginning of laying, therefore, more viable day-old young.

The main way to control live weight gain in a herd is rationed feeding. At the same time, limiting the amount of feed can reach 45% of the ad libitum level , which causes in birds a feeling of persistent hunger, a state of permanent stress and is often accompanied by aggressive behavior.

In addition to quantitative restrictions, strategies are used to reduce the feeling of hunger or reduce the voluntary consumption of feed by poultry. These include diluting calorie- with fibrous or bulky ingredients high in insoluble dietary fiber (such as oat bran), sometimes in combination with appetite suppressants , such as calcium propionate.

3.2) Access to feed

Restricted feeding makes it difficult for all birds to have access to food at the same time. To implement one-time feeding of the herd, you should pay attention to several important aspects:

• uniform distribution in the line;
• standard feeding front;
• sufficient time to eat food.

The first two problems are solved at the design stage of the feeding system , the latter is eliminated by effective feeding management.

3.3) Time of eating food

The timing of feed consumption has a major impact on the uniformity of the herd. If it is too short, the stronger bird will not allow others to go to the feeders until it has eaten its fill. The use of mixed feed in the form of scattering or crumbles helps to extend feeding time. It is important when maintaining broiler parent flocks that the use of pelleted feeds should be avoided, as they are consumed by the birds at maximum speed. In addition, when using them, it is often impossible to ensure a sufficient volume of feed in the line and, therefore, to guarantee its uniform distribution.

If feed time is less than 45 minutes after 5 weeks of age, a non-daily feeding program can be started. Thanks to it, it becomes possible to increase the portion of food on a feeding day, which will be followed by a day without food (“hungry day”). This bird feeding program is widely used in North America. In Europe, they try to avoid the feeding regime of the parent flock with “hungry days”.

3.4) Basic requirements for organizing a feeding system for broiler parent flocks

When feeding parent flocks, the most important tasks are: uniform distribution of feed in the system and simultaneous access to feed for all birds. The recommendations described below will be useful in solving the assigned problems and will allow you to organize an effective feeding system for the parent stock.

3.4.1) Storage, supply, weighing of feed

• The number of required outdoor feed storage bins depends on whether the chickens and roosters will be fed the same diet or different ones. When using different diets, two large bins are installed for chickens, and one smaller bin for roosters.

Parent stock silo

• If the length of the poultry house exceeds 70 meters, it is recommended to distribute feed from the center of the room. When the house length is less than 70 meters, feed distribution can be carried out from the front zone.

Feed supply from the front zone

Feed supply from the center of the hall

• The feed supply system to the hall must have sufficient capacity to ensure rapid filling of the receiving bins.
• If outdoor bins can only be installed in the front part of the poultry house, and distribution must be organized from the center of the room, it is recommended to install an intermediate bin for daily feed filling (in the middle of the length of the poultry house).
• It must be possible to weigh feed. The feed delivery system should be designed in such a way that each portion is sent to the scale. An alternative is to install a feed weighing system TC SWD , which allows dosed feeding directly from the bunker.

3.4.2) Requirements for the feeding system of young broilers

Feeding young broilers

Regardless of the type of system used ( chain feeding system, loop auger system ), the feed should be distributed throughout the house in less than 3 minutes. This avoids unnecessary stress and crowding of birds at feeders. If the actual feed distribution time takes more than 3 minutes, additional unloading points must be added.

The required feeding front for hens and roosters must be observed. All birds should simultaneously stand near the feeders and consume the feed.

Feeding front for hens and roosters of the parent flock up to 21 weeks

The feeding system during the breeding period should be designed in such a way as to ensure the distribution of different amounts of feed in each section. This will allow the use of different feed rates when feeding small, medium and large birds (after grading) and will ensure high uniformity of the flock.

Feeding system during the period of breeding young animals

It is recommended to provide for the possibility of raising the feeding lines by installing an electric winch.

3.4.3) Requirements for the feeding system of adult parent stock (laying house)

Feeding the adult parent flock (laying house)

The feeding system for breeding young and adult flocks should be similar so that the birds can easily adapt to new conditions.

In order to effectively control live weight during the productive period, it is necessary to separate the feeding systems of hens and roosters, to eliminate the possibility of theft of feed from each other. For this purpose, various types of feeders for roosters and chickens are used. Feeders designed for feeding broiler parent flock chickens (for example, the Kixoo feeder ) are equipped with a special grill that prevents roosters from “stealing” the feed. Feed for roosters is protected from being eaten by chickens by raising the feeding line to a height inaccessible to chickens.

Incorrectly planned feeding system

An example of an incorrectly planned parent stock feeding system. Insufficient feeding front for chickens; not all birds have simultaneous access to feed. Severe stress and competition for food between birds.

Result: low uniformity and productivity of the herd.

Sufficient feeding front for the parent stock

Sufficient feeding front.

Result: high uniformity and productivity of the herd.

It is necessary to provide sufficient feeding space for adult birds. All birds should be placed around the feeding lines at the same time.

Feeding front for hens and roosters of the parent flock from 22 to 65 weeks

Feed dispensing time is no more than 3 minutes.

Tips for equipping your adult breeder feeding system:

• Provide for the possibility of raising feeding lines using automatic winches in order to provide more space for birds to move, exhibit natural behavior, and also reduce the level of floor egg laying.
• Ensure rational placement of equipment in the house so that feeding lines do not block the laying hens' path to the nest and/or watering lines.

Schemes for placing feeding systems in poultry houses

Approximate layouts of feeding systems in poultry houses for laying eggs of various widths.

Success in parent stock maintenance is determined by how well the feeding system is planned and effectively operated. For a producer of breeding stock and/or broiler hatching eggs, the one-time costs of installing an effective feeding system will be much cheaper than the losses resulting from low productivity of breeding birds over the course of each subsequent production cycle.

Diseases and prevention

Cobb 500 chickens have good immunity. But improper care, feeding and maintenance provoke diseases:

• Dyspepsia. Affects small chickens when feed is administered incorrectly. Chicks have not yet developed enzyme systems; if they are given food that is inappropriate for their age, gastrointestinal upset occurs. The feces become liquid, with particles of undigested food. The disease is treated by correcting the diet; chickens are given plenty to drink to prevent dehydration.
• Bronchopneumonia. It occurs due to the activation of opportunistic flora due to hypothermia, drafts, and decreased immunity. Birds develop a fever, are panting, stretch their necks, eat poorly and move little. Bronchopneumonia is treated with antibiotics.
• Marek's disease. A viral infection that can infect up to 80-85% of the livestock in a short time. The pathogen attacks the nervous system. The chickens begin to limp, the wings and tail droop, sometimes conjunctivitis occurs, and the bird goes blind. Treatment is not provided, the entire flock is destroyed, the poultry house is disinfected.
• Avitaminosis. Cobb 500 chickens grow quickly and are therefore sensitive to vitamin deficiencies. With a deficiency of retinol, birds' feathers become dull and fall out, and their eyes become watery and inflamed. Group B deficiency causes paralysis, anemia, weakening of the body and slow growth. Deficiency of ascorbic acid and tocopherol causes decreased immunity. If chickens do not consume enough vitamin D, their legs become bent, growth retardation occurs, and heart problems occur.
• Aspergilosis. A fungal disease that is difficult to treat. The lungs are affected, the bird suffocates, mucus comes out of the nose, and after a couple of days it dies. The main reason is dampness in the room, weakened immunity due to improper feeding and maintenance.
• Salmonellosis. A bacterial infection, manifested by fever, green diarrhea, dehydration, in the final stage all organs and systems are affected. Meat from birds that have died from salmonellosis cannot be consumed; the infection can be transmitted to humans.

Weighing birds

Throughout the entire period of keeping the parent flock, it is important to constantly monitor live weight. Traditionally, this was done manually, which required a lot of time, additional personnel, and also caused stress for the birds. Automatic weighing systems with a high level of accuracy have now been developed

Weighing the parent flock

Installing them in poultry houses allows daily weighings to be carried out at a given time and without the participation of personnel. This will ensure regular monitoring of weight and quick response to any changes, successful management of the herd.

Chickens Broilers COBB 500 (KOBB 500)

Cobb 500 is bred to maximize white meat yield at slaughter. A special feature of the KOBB-500 cross broilers is the yellow skin of the carcass. This property is very useful for the retail market, since even if these broilers are fed a non-pigmented diet, the skin will still have a yellow tint. The plumage of these broilers is white. The broiler cross "KOBB-500" is also very productive in growth in a short period of fattening. The optimal slaughter period is from 35 to 42 days. The average broiler carcass weight at 35 days should be about 1.9 kg, and at 42 days the average weight should be 2.4 kg.

Characteristics of the broiler cross COBB 500:

• efficient growth
• good uniformity of individuals in the herd
• low cost of chicken meat production
• When slaughtered, the yield of white meat is maximum
• high rate of muscle mass gain
• excellent feed conversion rate
• the survival rate should be between 94 and 98%
• The average carcass yield is 73%.

But I would like to remind you that the data shown is the average statistical data. When grown at home, they may differ, because the growth rate, the efficiency of muscle mass gain and the final result - the weight of the carcass - are influenced by many factors.

Microclimate system

The parent flock is housed in closed poultry houses. This makes it possible to control the indoor climate.

Several technological systems are involved in creating an optimal microclimate: ventilation, heating, lighting, cooling. All systems must work in harmony, which is only possible when they are connected to a microclimate control computer ( microclimate computer ).

The optimal microclimate parameters in the room are set by the controller menu settings in accordance with the technological schemes of the enterprise. Comparing the data received from sensor sensors (temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, ammonia, air rarefaction sensor) and the specified microclimate parameters, the controller starts or turns off the operation of the equipment.

Microclimate computer for parent stock

Installing a dispatch and remote access allows you to combine all control devices of a poultry farm into a single network for continuous monitoring of production processes, remote control of equipment operation, receiving emergency alerts, and access to production data from any digital device at any time.

Air exchange, parent flock ventilation system

5.1) Air exchange, ventilation system

To create optimal conditions at any time of the year, the poultry house for maintaining the parent flock is equipped with:

• minimal and transitional ventilation , which is realized by the operation of supply vents and exhaust shafts ;
• tunnel ventilation - installation of supply blinds and tunnel fans .

In warm climate zones, where the daytime temperature exceeds 30ºC, a cooling system is additionally equipped: PED-cooling, irrigation.

It is important for parent flock poultry houses to ensure complete light insulation. For this purpose, light-impermeable filters are installed on all ventilation openings - light protection.

Ventilation of the parent flock house

5.2) Heating

The heating system must create a comfortable temperature regime in the poultry house even at the lowest outside temperature. At the same time, it is important to guarantee temperature uniformity throughout the entire area of ​​the poultry house, for which accelerating fans are installed.

The choice of heating equipment depends on climate conditions, the design of the poultry house and the ability to use a certain type of fuel. However, the most environmentally friendly and safe at the moment is the installation of water heaters or closed combustion heaters.

5.3) Humidification system

The processing time for breeding chickens in the hatchery and the time for transporting them to the poultry house are long. It is extremely important that after the birds arrive in the house, the humidity in the house is between 60-70%. Otherwise, dehydration quickly develops and mortality increases. In the first days of planting, comfortable humidity can only be achieved by installing a humidification system (fogging, nozzle spraying). In addition, the system can be used to cool poultry during periods of extremely hot weather.

5.4) Lighting

The lighting system in the poultry house of the parent flock should provide uniform illumination of the entire area of ​​the hall in the range from 0 to 100 lux, have an adjustment step of 1 lux, and produce a smooth increase in lighting intensity according to the “sunrise-sunset” principle. At the present stage, the optimal solution for organizing lighting is the use of LED lamps for poultry houses. They perform all the necessary tasks, have low power consumption and are controlled using a microclimate computer, according to a given program.

Example of a light program at CV-10% or less.

Large breeds of chickens (color broiler)

Today, the market values ​​the precocity, beauty and good taste of poultry. Colored broiler combines all these qualities in the best possible way. The parent flock of color broilers of the Hubbard cross was brought to Russia from France. They belong to the meat and egg category; their main purpose is domestic breeding. In terms of their unpretentiousness, they are similar to ordinary domestic chickens, both in temperature and in other conditions of their keeping, and easily adapt to any climatic conditions. Weight gain is characterized by higher rates than in domestic ordinary chickens.

Redbrough . These outwardly attractive birds adapt well to any climate, have a live weight of a chicken from 3.0 kg, and a rooster from 4.0 to 4.5 kg. The meat-egg direction of the breed makes it possible to obtain about 130-160 medium-sized eggs per year from laying hens.

Master Gris (Gray) . They are unpretentious and have good survival rate of young animals (98%). They gain weight well. At 45 days they weigh about 1.5 kg, and by two months they weigh more than 2.5 kg. An adult chicken reaches a weight of 4 kg, and a rooster weighs more than 5 kg. The meat is very tender and tasty. They begin laying eggs at the age of 4 months.

• Colored broiler grows quickly, and the taste characteristics are close to the meat of the Adler silver breed.
• The weight of a colored broiler at 63 days is approximately 2.5 kg.
• Egg production reaches 92% (150-160 pieces in 8 months)
• Safety – 98%

Author: · Published · Updated

Broilers of the Cobb 700 cross have gained the same wide popularity as broilers of the Cobb 500 cross. Growing is carried out both in industrial enterprises and on private farms. Cobb 700 has not yet gained such popularity as Cobb 500 broilers, but in terms of productivity they are in no way inferior to them.