Male Breeder Management. related to poultry

Male Breeder Management

1. Male Breeder Management PS-503 Breeder production and Management

2. The key to obtaining good hatchability from today’s broiler breeders is to develop feeding and management programs that allow a correct development of the male’s reproductive system while controlling their growth potential and capacity to deposit breast muscle. The male growth profile is the single most important factor that correlates with flock fertility. Males should be weighed at least weekly from one to 30 weeks of age and at least every other week thereafter.

3. Male frame size is strongly influenced by the bodyweight growth curve over the rearing period, with most frame development occurring in the first 12 weeks. The 7-day bodyweight target for males is 145 to 150 g (0.32 to 0.33 lb ) on ad libitum feed but monitor average daily feed intake per bird.

4. Separate the heaviest and lightest males at 3 to 4 weeks. Attempt to get these males back on standard bodyweight by 8 weeks of age. Grading males is more important than females, but male bodyweight can be overlooked. Controlling the bodyweight gain from 12 (puberty) to 20 weeks will help to prevent oversized males and control their sexual development.

5. Male density in rearing should be around 3.6 to 4.3 males/m² (2.5 to 3.0 ft²/male). Apply beak conditioning in the hatchery. At 8 weeks of age, handle all males and remove any with obvious visual (phenotypic) faults that do not meet quality standards, including crooked or bent toes, skeletal abnormalities, and beak abnormalities.

6. Male Fleshing or Breast Conformation

7. Male Feeding - Separate Sex Feeding For males, use 20 cm (7 7/8 in) of feeder space with a track system, 8 to 10 males per round feeder and 10 to 12 males with an oval pan feeder. The height of the feeder system is important for all the males to eat comfortably. Normally apply a height that is close to the upper crop height of the males.

8. Separate sex feeding (SSF) allows the use of special male rations. Male diets are widely used in the industry. Furthermore, research and field results confirm that male diets improve fertility. Male rations with lower protein levels (13 %), a 2700 kcal (11.25 MJ/kg) energy level and 0.50 % available lysine, control male bodyweight and breast muscle growth. With specific male rations, it is even more important that the SSF system prevents females from eating out of the male feeder.

9. Spiking Males During Production Spiking, the periodical addition and/or replacement of males during the production period, can be an effective way to increase the level of fertility at an later age of the flock. However, spiking brings a bio-security risk as well, and when not practiced correctly, it's effect can be limited or zero

10. Intra-spiking is effective if done before 40 weeks, and if males are uniform, in good mating condition, and at the proper weight. By swapping males on the same farm, the biosecurity risk is low compared to all other options. However, older primary males are not as active as new spike males, so more are needed to see any result in fertility.

11. Back-spiking removes spike males from a spent production flock and places them with a second flock, but only high quality makes can be used because they are 35-45 weeks old by this point. It’s a time consuming and labor-intensive process to hand pick males from a flock, so back-spiking isn’t a popular choice.

12. Guidelines to follow that may smooth the spiking procedure There are a few Spiking with around 20% additional males to an existing flock will produce best results. They should be healthy, uniform, and mature enough to compete with existing males. Spiking males and primary males should have the same amount of feed and floor space. Increase feed just after spiking so males have enough nutrients and energy to sustain their increased mating activity .