poultry production and management options for graduating classes.ppt

Poultry management
The aim of management is to provide the conditions that ensure optimum performance of the birds (Bell and Weaver, 2001). Given reasonable conditions, broody hens are very successful at hatching their chicks, but good hatchability using artificial incubation (both large and small) relies on careful management of temperature, humidity, ventilation, position and egg turning. During incubation, the egg loses water vapour through its shell. The rate of water loss depends on both the shell structure and the humidity of the air surrounding the egg. The quality of the hatch also depends on the age and health of the breeder flock, and on the evenness and cleanliness of the eggs set.

Factors involved in poultry management
Poultry management involves monitoring poultry health; ensuring that the poultry house is maintained with appropriate brooding, rearing, growing and laying conditions; and ensuring that recommended vaccinations are given and appropriate feeding programmes are used. In developing countries, it is often difficult to achieve optimum performance from birds, owing to less-than optimal housing conditions and lack of quality feed, vaccines and trained staff.


Breed effects
Owing to their superior production, commercial hybrids of high genetic merit are often used in developing countries, but are not well-suited to tropical environments. These birds are sensitive to changes in the diet and to high ambient temperature, and require skilled stockpersons to manage them. Indigenous poultry can cope better with the harsh conditions often prevailing in developing countries, and good management will improve their performance. This can be achieved by using good housing, protecting the birds from predators, and providing them with the environmental conditions that allow them to achieve maximum profitability.

Temperature effects
Farmers need to compensate for undesirable climatic conditions by manipulating control systems or modifying the house to ensure that the welfare and environmental needs of the birds are satisfied. Environmental extremes (heat and cold stress, excessive or inadequate ventilation, poor air quality) can be managed if the design of the poultry house is appropriate for the conditions. Birds require adequate space, sufficient feed to meet their nutritional requirements, and an adequate supply of good-quality water. Use of a stringent quarantine programme to prevent disease is an essential element of good management, and farmers must be able to recognize disease and treat it as soon as possible. A suitable vaccination and medication programme is essential in commercial operations.

Effects of nutrition
Managers need to ensure that the diets provided to birds in commercial operations meet the nutrient requirements of each age group and strain of chickens (see website on Poultry feed availability and nutrition in developing countries).

1. POULTRY PRODUCTION AND HATCHERY
MANAGEMENT

2. 1. Introduction
•Poultry keeping often holds a prominent place in the development
plans of many countries due to:
–Economic and dietary reasons
–Preference of the consumers for poultry products
–Low space requirement
–Short generation interval
–Converters of low quality feeds to high quality animal origin
foods

3. •In Ethiopia, the economic contribution of chickens is
not proportional to their huge numbers, attributed to:
»Technical constraints like breed, feed and
husbandry practices
»Non technical constraints including socio-
economic and institutional constraints

4. Measures to promote the poultry industry

5. 2. Types of poultry
Chicken
Turkey
Duck
Geese
Guinea fowl (Numida meleagris)
Ostriches (struthia camelus)

7. Categories of chicken breeds:
A) Commercial broilers
–Broiler starter: between the age of 0-1months.
–Broiler finisher: with the age of 1-2 months
B. Commercial layers
–Brooding/ baby chicks -day old to about 8 weeks of age. 
–Growers/pullets: (8 to 20 weeks).
–Layers: until the end of the laying period (20 to 78 weeks).
–Cockerels: - young male chicken before sexually matured.
–Cock: Male matured chicken used for breeding purpose.

8. 3. Poultry production systems in Ethiopia
•Poultry can be reared in various management and
production systems based on:
–The objectives of the producer,
–Breed type,
–Input and output level,
–Growth rate,
–Number and types of birds kept on the farm.

9. 1. Free-range/Traditional(backyard) poultry production
system
–Home consumption and as source of additional income
–It covers 95-98% of the chicken production system of the
country
–It contains small flock size (5-20 birds/hh)
–The chicken does not have their own constructed chicken
house
–does not produce more than 60 eggs/hen/year with average
egg weight is low ranging from 39 to 42 gm.

10. 2. Semi-intensive poultry production system
•uses inputs like supplemental feed, vaccine, etc.
•a small house for night time with laying nest and
feeders.
•contains 50-200 birds/hh which are improved
breeds.

11. Semi-intensive ...Continued
Fig. Semi-intensive production system

12. 3. Intensive chicken production system
•uses more inputs (feeds and feeding, breed, health, housing,
etc.) than others and it is market oriented.
•number of chickens involved are relatively high (>200 chicken).
•chicken breed used is specialized improved breeds (layer or
broiler).
•Further categorized in to deep litter, slatted and cage rearing
system

13. Fig. Deep litter system

14. Figure 4. Cage system

15. Poultry farm facilities
i. Housing
•Housing is essential:
–To protect against predators, thieves, rough weather
(rain, sun, colds, dropping night temperatures),
–To provide shelter for egg laying and broody hens,
–For efficient production and convenience of the
chicken farmer.

16. •A properly constructed poultry house, regardless of its size and the
materials used has certain essential features:
 
–A watertight roof
–Proper ventilation
–Inner surfaces which are easy to clean
–Rat and wild bird proof floor, walls and roof
–Away from residential houses to reduce the spread of diseases,
–Placing the house in an east-west direction with optimum
temperature 20-30 oc
– site should consider future expansion.

18. Deep litter poultry housing system

19. •Battery/cage housing system

20. •Slatted poultry housing

21. Poultry house categories based on the environmental
Temperature
1.Open Houses (All side open chicken house)
2.Open Front Houses (One side open chicken house)
3.Closed Houses (All side closed chicken house)

22. 2. Poultry housing equipment's
Brooder •Infra red bulb

23. •Brooder guard •Feeder

24. •Drinker •Plastic egg filler flat

25. •Layer nest •Candler

26. •Catching mesh •Sprayer

27. •Weighing balance •Layer perches

28. •The type and number of feeders to be prepared should
consider the age and productivity of the chicken
Feeder typesBroiler Growers Layers
Long feeder 5 cm 9 cm 12 cm
Round feeder 2 cm 4 cm 5 cm

29. Drinker and nest space requirement per bird
Drinker types Broiler Grower Layer
Long drinker 2 cm 2 cm 2 cm
Round drinker 1 cm 1 cm 1 cm
Nest types
Individual nest (hens/nest) 7 5
Communal nests (hens/m2) 50-75 30-50

30. 3. POULTRY NUTRITION
–Feeding accounts for 60-70% of production cost.
–A well balanced ration save feedstuffs by reducing
the quantity of feed/unit of product there by it
reduces production costs.
–Allows the producers to make maximum use of
genetic potential of poultry.
–Increases resistance to diseases

31. Six essential characteristics of good quality poultry feed
•Balanced nutrition: increased weight gain and greater profit are
realized with a balanced diet.
•Diversified in feedstuffs: different feedstuffs allow for diet
balancing.
•Succulent: poultry consume more feed if it is fresh and appealing.
•Palatable: poultry consume more feed if it tastes good.
•Economical: Low cost, high quality diets keep the producer in
business.
•Suitable for the animal: Livestock or ruminant animal feeds are
not appropriate for poultry.

32. •Maintenance
–Energy to support
essential physiological
functions.
–Maintenance of body
temperature.
–Repair of body tissue.
•Production
–Reproduction,
–Growth
–Egg and meat production
–Extra activity (for
walking in search of feed)

Nutritional requirements of poultry

33. Nutrient in poultry ration
Nutrient requirement of the bird depends on: age, level of production and function:

–Carbohydrates and Fats (Energy)
–Protein and Amino acids
–Vitamins and Minerals
–Water
–premix
–Other additives (synthetic lysine and methionine, pigments)
Isocaloric and Isonitrogenous nutrient requirements
Layers need 12 MJ ME/kg feed ≈ (2800 kcal/kg) and 14-16% CP
Broilers need 12.5-13.5 MJ ME/kg feed ≈ (2950-3200 kcal/kg) 18-22%CP

34. •Nutrient Requirement of birds
Class of Poultry
Protein %Energy kj/gCa %P %
Chick starters (0-8wks) 20 11 1 0.5
Growers (9-20wks) 18 10.5 1 0.43
Broiler starter (0-8wks) 23 12.5 1 0.43
Broiler finisher (8-12 wks)20 13 0.80.40
Pullet (8-22wks) 12 10.5 0.8 0.40
Layer (>22wks) 16 11.5 3.50.50

35. Table. Ration formulation for starter, grower and layer
Ingredient Starter (%)Grower (%)Layer (%)
Maize 45.9 52.9 50.4
Wheat bran 7.5 7.5 7.5
Dried & grounded trifolium 2 2 2
Grounded bone and meat 4 4 4
Noug seed cake 37 30 30
Limestone 1 1 4.5
Grounded bone 2 2 1
Salt 0.35 0.35 0.35
Vitamin & mineral mix 0.25 0.25 0.25

36. Chicken ration formulated by feed win software using different
ingredients
Ingredient Starter (%) Grower (%) Layer (%)
Noug seed cake 10 10 10
Maize 45 60 55
Wheat bran 10 10 10
Brewery dried grain 3 5 5
Soya bean meal 12 3 8
Salt 0.5 0.5 0.5
Alfalfa 3 0.5 1
Limestone 1.5 2 3.5
Sesame cake 15 9 7

37. In order to formulate a ration, we need to realize the
following points:
1. Chemical composition of the available feedstuff or
nutritive value has to be known.
2. Feeding standard or nutrient requirement of the animal
has to be known.
3. Price per 100kg of feed

38. •We can formulate a ration using the following
methods:
1.Trial & error method
2.The Pearson square
3.Computer software

39. 2. Pearson’s Square Method
•The Pearson’s Square method is a simplified process for
computing the proportions of feeds in poultry diets.
•Suppose a ground corn (9% CP) and concentrate (41%
CP) are available. How much of each is needed to
formulate a 16% protein feed.
•Presume this concentrate will contain all the additional
minerals, vitamins and other feed additives necessary to
produce a complete feed.

40. •Gr.Corn:25/32= 78.12%
•Concen.:7/32 = 21.87%
•To produce a 16%
protein ration using
ground corn (9%) and
concentrate (41%),
78.12Kg. of ground
corn is mixed with
21.87Kg. of concentrate.

41. INCUBATION AND HATCHERY MANAGEMENT
•Incubation: is a method of developing an embryo of
an egg in to a chick within the shell up to hatching
time.
•Incubation Period: Chicken embryo develops inside
the egg for 21 days until a chick pecks its way out of
its eggshell and is hatched.

42. •There are two basic differences in embryonic
development of the chicks from mammals.
–1
st
most of the development of the chicks takes place
outside the body of the mother and the development is
much faster than in the case of mammalian embryos.
–2
nd
the chick embryo utilizes food materials stored in
the egg, unlike mammals that drive their nutrition
from the mother directly.

43. Selection of hatching eggs
•Collect from healthy hen.
•Preferably use eggs that are stored not more than a
week (7 days) stored at a Temp. below 14 oc.
•Use fertile egg in presence of 1:6-8 cock to hen.
•Apply candling for blood and meat spot.

44. A. Natural incubation
•Natural incubation is practiced
under scavenging system of poultry
keeping by broody hens.
•Local breeds of birds are good
incubators and good mothers.
•Hatching success rates are often
higher with natural incubation
since the mother hen can regulate
the temperature more effectively.
B. Artificial incubation
•An artificial incubator is a closed box
for egg incubation and simulated with
broody hen.
•Correct humidity controlled by
ventilation rate and water application.
•Correct oxygen and carbon dioxide
concentrations controlled by
ventilation.
•Turning of the fertile eggs by
approximately 90 degrees several
times per day by manual or automatic
means.

45. Conditions for Artificial incubation systems
–Control of temperature (37.5-37.8oC)
–Control of ventilation (optimum oxygen is 21% &
0.5% Co2 ).
–Relative humidity (60-75%)
–Turning at 90oc
–Set egg large end up

46. Artificial incubator with eggs set with large end upwards

47. Embryonic development and hatching process
i. Egg Candling
•Candling is a method used to observe the growth and development
of an embryo inside an egg which uses a bright light source behind
the egg to show details inside the shell during incubation time of day
1-18.
•This test may be conducted at early (7
th
), (14
th
) and (18
th
) day of
incubation, in order to eliminate the infertile or clear eggs and the
dead embryos.

48. a) Fertilized egg b) Unfertilized egg

50. ii. Fertility
Fertility and hatchability are two major parameters that highly
influence the supply of day-old chicks.
 
Fertility refers to the percentage of incubated eggs that are
fertile at day 7 and computed by using the following formula:

52. iv. Chicken management
Brooding
•Brooding is the rearing of chicks from 1 day old until 2months.
•There are two main methods used for brooding.
–Natural brooding
–Artificial brooding.
•Chicks are kept in a brooding house in which food, water
and heat requirements are provided for their growth .

53. Heat source/brooders:
•Provide heat from Kerosene lump, Charcoal heater, electric
brooder, Bulb with 60-100 watt as well as Hay box can be
used as brooder/heaters.
•Brooding house maintains the following temperature:
1st week – 32
o
C – 35
o
C
2nd week – 29.7
o
C – 32.2
o
C
3rd week – 26.6
o
C – 29.7 oC
4th week (25-20 o C).
•Put thermometer in a brooder house to daily heat level

54. Hay box (solomon) brooder
What do you do if no power availability?
•It can be made from timber, straw and mesh wire. The
sizes of the timber differ according to the number of chicks
to be reared.
•In this type of artificial brooder, it is possible to rear 10-
70 chicks and it has two parts.

55. •Size of hay box brooder by the number of chicks to be reared
Number of chicksSize of brooding box (cm)Size of run box (cm)
10 30x26x26 30x56x56
20 30x37x37 30x80x80
30 30x45x45 30x98x98
40 30x52x52 30x113x113
50 30x57x57 30x127x127
60 30x63x63 30x139x139
70 30x68x68 30x150x150

56. •Feed and water facilities in the brooder house
Number of
chicks
Brooder
space
Lamps
60 W
DrinkerFeeders
Up to 50½ m2 2 2 - 32 – 3
50 to 1001 m2 3 3 - 43 - 4
100 to 2002 m2 3 4 - 54 - 5

57. Confinement /Hover guard: To confine the chicks around the
source of heat, feed, and water it is necessary to erect a so called
brooder guard about 50 cm high.
Debeaking is required: It is the cutting of the upper and lower beak
to control cannibalism (picking) and can be carried out
 between one
day and six weeks of age.
Vaccination is required: Vaccination for New Castle and mareks
disease are usually done at a day-old before placing chicks in the
brooder house.
Stocking density
•During the first few days 50-60 chicks per m2 and latter reduced to
20-30 chicks per m2.

58. Brooder house preparation
Before Arrival of Chicks
Clean and fumigate the house
Leave the house empty for at least 15 days.
Place good litter material on the floor at 5 -10 cm depth.
Warm the brooder to a temperature of 32-35C some 24 hrs before the arrival
of the chicks.
•Collect uniform, alert and chicks with no deformities,
•Transport the chicks in well-ventilated boxes without direct exposure to
sunlight, wind or rain.
After arrival of chicks
•Start by giving them wholesome drinking water, vitamins, glucose and
liquid paraffin.
•Feed them based on their nutrient requirement.
•Vaccinate against new castle and fowl typhoid
•Ensure the temperature is well regulated at all times.
•Remove the chicks from the brooder when they are 8 weeks old.

59. Grower/pullet management
•After 8 weeks of age, the grower feed is used in place of the
starter feed up to 20 weeks.
•After about 14 weeks of age, the grower feed can be replaced with
developer feed for pullets, which prepare young chicken for egg
production.
•Uniform body and Sufficient body weight at onset of lay
•Additional space to minimize heat stress.

60. Lighting Program
•Starting chicks on a lighting program with 4 hours light and 2
hours darkness alternatively for improved uniformity
•and reduced mortality compared to conventional lighting with
16 hours light and 8 hours darkness.
• Extra lighting around midnight
 has the advantage of giving the
birds additional feeding time during cooler parts of the night and
•Does not disturb the lighting program, as long as at least 3
hours of darkness are provided before and after the extra light
period.
•A similar program can be used during the laying period.

61. Water Temperature
•Environmental temperature is the most important factor
determining water intake.
• Pullets drink at least twice as much per day at 38°C compared
to 21°C house temperature.
•Most authors agree that the optimum water temperature is about
23°C.
•The water temperature should never exceed body temperature
of the birds.
•Feed intake is reduces if water temperature exceeds 35°C,
further on detrimental effects on performance.
 

62. •The water temperature should never exceed body
temperature of the birds.
•Feed intake will reduce if water temperature exceeds 35°C,
and drinking water of 35-40°C has significant detrimental
effects on performance.
 
•Feed intake decreases not only when temperatures rise but
also when energy is increased in the feed.
•Egg weight increased when feed energy was increased from
2645 to 2976 kcal/kg and decreased when temperatures
increased from 16.1 to 31.1°C.
 

63. Layer management
•Layer ration is designed to optimize egg production.
•Layer feed starts at the age of 20 weeks and contain higher
–energy and protein than grower feed.
–extra amount of calcium so the chicken can lay eggs with strong
shells.
•Phase feeding programmeme ( Phase-I and phase-II) could be used to adjust
their nutrient intake in accordance with the rate of egg production.
•Phase-I continues from 21-45 weeks and phase-II from 46-72 weeks.
•Layer feed for 46-72 weeks contains less concentration of nutrients, such as
energy, protein and amino acids, because feed intake increases with the
advance of age and increase in body weight.
•Phase feeding controls the feed intake and body weight of layers and thereby
also size of eggs.
Thus it minimizes the production cost.

64. 1.Phase-I: This phase is most critical period starting from 20 to 45 week
of age. In this phase egg production increases from zero to peak (90-
96% production).
•Egg size is increased from 40g to 56g and the body weight of birds is
also increased.
2. Phase-II: From the age of 46 weeks, when bird’s egg productivity comes
down to around 90%, the protein level is changed (16% CP) according
to the level of production
1.to reduce the cost of production.
2.It is also further suggested that after reduction of egg production to
75%, crude protein level may be reduced to15%.

65. POULTRY FARM RECORD KEEPING
•Information on record keeping forms
A)Mortality (death) of birds – every day a record should be taken of
any birds that did not survive.
B)Feed used – daily records need to be taken on the quantity of feed
fed to birds.
C)Cost – Financial records must be kept of any items bought or sold,
e.g. feed, veterinary costs, equipment, supplies, birds, etc.

66. D) Vaccinations – Specific vaccinations may be needed, depending
on the bird and location of production facility.
•An accurate record must be kept to insure sufficient withdrawal
times.
E) Hens removed – Periodically hens must be removed from the
flock when their productivity is too low.
•Be sure to keep record of which bird, when she was removed,
and the reason for removal.
F) Eggs produced – Eggs must be collected and recorded daily.
•Be sure to include any inconsistency noticed.

67. •There are neither hard and fast rules nor any particular
format as to the poultry records that should be kept
•Roughly speaking two types of records are distinguished
a) Primary records: These records are kept daily
–quantity of feed consumed per day per hen
–number of eggs collected per day

68. b) Summary records: these records are based on the
primary records.
e.g -Total feed consumption for a certain period
-Total egg production for a certain period
-Mortality in a given period of time
•After the relevant information (data) is taken from the
primary records and correctly entered into the summary
records, the primary records may be destroyed.
•Summary records are kept and used for further reference.

69. •For primary records, the period usually taken is 4 weeks,
summary records usually cover either the full life cycle
of a laying hen or part of it -e.g. growing period or
laying period.
•The most important rule in record keeping is to record
very neatly and clearly.
–Unreadable records some times later become useless
and may cause mistakes.

70. •Other records are:
–Flock history report for laboratory diagnosis (to be
sent with dead birds to lab)
–Medication report (record any medication given to the
flock)
–Vaccination report (to record all vaccination given to
the flock)

71. POULTRY DISEASES AND PARASITE
•Identification of healthy and unhealthy chicken
•Detecting unhealthy or sick bird is important for
producer to initiate the right action.
–It is important to isolate unhealthy or sick birds from
the healthy flock in order to ensure a minimum of
loss.

72. •Characteristics of healthy chicken are:
–Externally they are clean and alert
–Have normal position head and neck
–Well to move and walk freely
–Have strong leg and normal voice
–Have bright eyes and comb
–Eat and drink normally
–Lay eggs normally and have smooth and neat feathers
–Soft and compact droppings
–Breathe quietly

73. •Characteristics of unhealthy chicken are:
–Heavy head and close their eyes
–Tired and lifeless
–Dull eyes and comb
–Sit or lie down
–Eat and drink less
–Lay less or stop laying eggs
–Ruffled and loose feathers
–Wet droppings with blood or worms
–Diarrhea, cough, sneeze and breathe noisily, drooping wings
–Waste material on body parts mainly around anus
–Unable to move and abnormal voice
 

74. Causes of chicken disease
•Causes of chicken disease are divided as living and non living
agents.
•From this perspective, chicken disease causing agents are three
types.
•These are:
–Microorganisms,
–Parasitic worms & pests and
–Inappropriate nutrition
 

75. Economically important poultry diseases
1. Newcastle disease (NCD)
•The disease is very common during dry seasons and is often seen in young chicks
but also in adults.
Ways of transmission
•The disease can be communicable from one area to the other in different ways.
•Breathing in waste from diseased chicken, contaminated water and feed
•Introducing diseased chicken to healthy chickens
•Carrier wild birds
•Contact with human vehicles, by wind/air
•Utilization of equipment

76. Clinical signs
•The clinical signs vary widely and are dependent on factors such as:
–The strain of the virus,
–The species of bird infected,
–The age of the host, (young birds are the most susceptible),
–Concurrent infection with other organisms,
–Environmental stress and immune status.
•Rapid onset with symptoms appearing between two and twelve days after
exposure, and spreads rapidly through the flock.
•Attack the nervous system, others the respiratory, or digestive systems.

77. Other Clinical signs include:
– respiratory signs - gasping, coughing, sneezing and rales;
– nervous signs - paralyzed wings and legs, twisted necks, and
paralysis;
– digestive signs – diarrhoea;
– a partial or complete drop in egg production may occur.
•ubnormal in egg color, shape, or surface, with watery albumen;
– mortality is variable but can be as high as 100%.

78. 2. Gumboro disease (Infectious Bursal Disease, IBD)
•Is the disease introduced to our country in associated with introduction of
improved commercial chicken breeds.
•It makes the chicken to lose their immune and to be exposed easily to different
diseases.
•Only seen in chicks younger than 6 weeks and normally only in large
flocks kept in confinement.
•Not common in small-scale village based systems.
•The disease causing agent is virus and attacks white/disease protecting blood
cells.
•Once it enters to the internal body part of the chicken, it multiplies outside
the body part around bursa of Fabricius.

79. Common symptom
•Diarrhoea, occurrence of swelling or reducing the size of bursa
•When the bursa swells, it becomes red, contain water
•Under skin, it seems splashed with blood, sudden death of the
chicks
Prevention:
•The disease is viral, so there is no treatment.
•Vaccine is available.
•Removal of the dead chickens,
•Prevent entrance of human being and animals to the farm,
•Prevent introduction of purchased chickens.

80. 3. Feed related chicken diseases
•During ration formulation, it should contain the different nutrients like
energy, protein, minerals, vitamins, etc.
•Lack of adequate nutrition/balanced ration exposes the chicken to different
diseases.
Common symptoms
•Bone deformation and feather loss, walk with difficulty, they limp
•Legs will be deformed, some deficiencies may cause feather loss 
Prevention
•Feed diversification and ration formulated should contain the nutrient the
chickens require.
Treatment
•If detected in time, supplementary vitamins and calcium and fresh grass
•Nutritional diseases may be avoided when the chickens have access to normal
vegetation and are therefore rare in scavenging chickens

81. General chicken diseases control and prevention methods
•Generally, either in traditional or modern chicken production system to control
and prevent different chicken disease the following points should be considered.
•Monitor the chickens not exposed to transmittable disease
•Allow the chicken to scavenge in and around the chicken house rather far from
the house.
•Separate chicks from the adult chickens
•Separate and remove immediately the dead and diseased chickens from
healthy chickens
•Prevent introduction of new chicken from other area during occurrence of
seasonal diseases

82. •Place in quarantine of new comer chickens/purchased or gift/ at least
for one month
•Quarantine /put in separate place the chicken back from the market
•Careful control of visitors of production station
•Do not borrow as well as give the production equipment
•Supply clean water and balanced ration to make the chicken strong

83. •If you find an unhealthy or sick bird, isolate the animal and call for
the veterinarian or health assistant for disease identification and
further advice
•If the chicken dies, burn it or bury it; you should remove dead
chickens, so that the germs are not left on the ground to be passed on
to the other chickens
•Construct a separate house for the chicken a little bit above the floor
•Keep the environment clean

84. –Utilization & spray of antimicrobial chemicals/ disinfectants
such as iodine, phenol, formalin, etc.
–Non-chemical disinfectant such as use of warm water, air
drying, sun drying
–Utilization of drugs for prevention (medicine and prophylaxis)
•Prevention vaccination: it is provision of vaccine for chickens before the
occurrence of the disease which helps them to prevent the disease.
•Control vaccination: it is provision of vaccine when there is
disease outbreak to prevent expansion of the disease.

85. Marketing of poultry and poultry products
•Market may be described as what to produce? How much
to produce? How to distribute products?
•A location, a product, a time, a group of consumers,
or a level of the marketing system may also determine it.
•It is advisable to know the local situation very well
through detailed market studies and cost-benefit analyses
before deciding on the type of production to introduce.

86. •At village level, it will often be advisable to start
with a production based on local breeds, local
feeds, and local demands, before entering into a
more sophisticated production system.
•It is recommended that, farmers in a village form
a cooperative society in order to get better prices
for their produce and combine efforts for inputs
supplies.

87. Birds for sale
•Cockerels should be sold as soon as they can fetch a good
price, as 1:10 (cock : hens) per farm is sufficient to produce
fertile eggs.
•Old hens that are no longer laying eggs should also be
sold or slaughtered.

88. Birds for sale … (Continued)
•Birds usually start to lay at around 5 months (20-21
weeks) of age and continue to lay for 12 months on
average, laying fewer eggs as they near the moulting
period.
•The typical production cycle lasts at about 17 months of
age.
•Therefore, the birds should be culled at the end of their 1
st

year of production and sold for meat.

89. Preparing Eggs for sale
•Eggs should be collected and marketed while fresh,
especially if not cooled (if there is no cooling system).
–Producers should collect eggs at least twice a day
from the nests
•After collection, eggs should be prepared as follows:
•Eggs that are broken, deformed, soiled and those with
blood stains should be isolated

90. Preparing Eggs for sale … (Continued)
•If the eggs are dirty, clean with a clean, dry sponge or cloth
–Cleaning eggs with water may disturb the natural
protection of the shell and introduce infections into the
egg.
•Eggs of different sizes are put in different trap (example;
egg trays) with the sharp ends facing down, so that the air
space faces upward;
•Eggs should then be delivered to the consumers as soon as
possible

91. Preparing chicken meat for sale
•The preparation of chicken meat has three main steps,
namely;
–Plucking,
–Dressing and
–Evisceration
•Plucking
•Remove the feather immediately after killing the bird,
because it is easier to do it when the body is still warm

92. Dressing
•At this step, the unnecessary parts of the bird will be
removed
–E.g. head, neck, crop, wind pipe, entrails, gall bladder,
feet, etc.
•Once a bird is slaughtered, it should be hanged with its
head facing downwards in a cool place for about 24 hours
•The carcasses can then be sold to consumer through
hotels, and supermarkets, etc.

93. Cost-benefit calculation
•In order to calculate the profit in an enterprise, one should
estimate costs and revenues on an annual basis.
•It is assumed that the farmer uses family labour and hence
it is not including in the equation.
•Manure may also be included in locations where it is
normally sold.

94. Simple rules for marketing and financial analysis
•Analyse the market situation, demand for products and
prices, investment costs, running costs, and expected
revenue for different types of poultry production before
starting.
•If possible, make arrangements/a contract with a
middleman to buy the products.
•Make a thorough calculation of expected costs and
revenues for different production systems.

95. •Always keep records of the production and sale.
•Estimate the production of eggs and birds over the year.
•Plan before hand when and how to sell the birds.
•Sell birds if feed costs are too high or there are high risks of
diseases or decreasing market prices.
•Remember that costs involve investments, running costs,
labour, losses, and may be loan repayment and interest on
loans.
•Judge the risks involved in each type of production system
before starting a production.

96. Poultry Waste management
•On a global scale, much research has been conducted on ways of recovering
nutrients and value-added organic products from animal wastes, to improve
agricultural efficiency and mitigate environmental impacts.
•poultry manure or litter has been applied to land to enhance crop production for
centuries.
•When properly managed, this is an effective and beneficial option.
•Environmental pollution occurs when manure or litter is applied to the land in
excess of the receiving crop’s capacity to utilize the nutrients.
•Manure and litter storage should be planned to prevent contact with rainfall or
rain runoff.

97. Land application of crop nutrients
Environmental pollution occurs when manure or litter is applied to the
land in excess of the receiving crop’s capacity to utilize the nutrients.
Manure and litter storage should be planned to prevent contact with
rainfall or rain runoff.
Land application should be based on the agronomic uptake of the
receiving crop, accurate analysis of the nutrients contained in the
manure (particularly nitrogen, phosphorus, copper and zinc.

98. Animal refeeding
•Poultry litter has been estimated to be as much as three times more valuable as a feedstuff than as a
fertilizer for crop nutrients.
•However, such practices depend on regional regulations and public perceptions of the concept of
animals’ consumption of fecal material, regardless of its documented value and safety.
•Incorrectly processed poultry waste can contain potentially pathogenic microorganisms, including
Salmonella.
•The refeeding of poultry processing by-products is a common and acceptable practice in most, but
not all, cultures.
•Advances in the treatment and processing of feathers and offal to produce value-added feed
ingredients are making this practice more attractive in some regions, especially with the recent
increases for feeds derived from grains.

99. Bioenergy production
•Poultry manure and litter contain organic matter that can be converted
into bioenergy under certain processing technologies.
•One of the most common approaches for poultry excrement managed by
water flushing is anaerobic digestion, which yields biogas, a gas mixture
with varying concentrations of combustible methane (FAO/CMS, 1996).
•The biogas can be used as an on-farm energy source for heat or as a fuel
for various engines that generate electricity.
•An additional advantage is that, depending on processing conditions,
anaerobically digested manure solids and liquids are further stabilized
and more acceptable and safe for use as a fertilizer or feed supplement.

100. Records
•Record keeping and meeting production targets are good management practices that allow the
identification and solution of problems.
•Identifying the cause of and fixing a problem is an important part of the farmer’s knowledge
base, and is likely to assist in preventing a recurrence of the problem (Barnett et al., 2001).
•One of the most useful record-keeping documents is a diary, which can be used in
combination with record-keeping sheets to record major activities, problems identified,
equipment repairs, deviations from equipment settings, and any staff issues.
•Records of production, growth, feed, egg weights, mortalities, treatments given, and response
to treatments should be maintained to assist investigations of sub-optimal performance.
•In all production systems, signs of ill health can be detected when poultry reduce their food
and water intake; reduce production or growth; undergo a change in appearance, behaviour or
activity level; or have abnormal feather condition or droppings.

101. Chemical analysis of feeds and its formulation
A grab of feed samples will be taken each morning during weighing of the daily offer.
Dried feed samples will be milled to pass through 1 mm screen for chemical analysis.
Samples were analyzed for dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre and ash
according to AOAC (1990).
Calcium and total phosphorus content will be analyzed by atomic absorption and
vanado-molybdate methods, respectively (AOAC 1998).
 Metabolisable energy (ME) content of the experimental diets will be calculated by
indirect method from the equation proposed by Wiseman (1987) as ME (Kcal/kg DM) =
3951 + 54.4EE - 88.7CF - 40.8 ash.

102. Table 2: Chemical composition (% DM basis) of the feed ingredients and treatment diets
Ingredients and treatmentsDM (%) Ash CP EE CF ME NFE Ca P
Enset corm 86.3 5.4 3.2
3.2
2.1 3719 72.4 0.41 0.02
Maize 92.4 3.2 9.3
3.9
3.8 3696 72.2 0.14 0.30
Wheat short 91.8 4.6 15.7
3.3
7.8 2664 60.4 0.13 0.30
Noug cake 92.7 13.0 31.8
8.2
15.2 2519 24.5 0.31 0.60
Soyabean meal 91.9 6.1 44.7
1.4
12.6 2661 23.6 0.32 0.70

103. Table 1: Proportion of the feed ingredients used in formulating broiler starter and finisher rations
Ingredients
Starter Finisher
T1 T2 T3 T4 T1 T2 T3 T4
Maize grain 48 40.5 33 25.5 55 47 39 31
Enset corm 0 7.5 15 22.5 0 8 16 24
Wheat short 6 7 5 5 7 6 5 6
Noug seed cake 12 11 11 11 6 7 6 5
Soybean meal 30 30 32 32 28 28 30 30
Vitamin premix* 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Salt 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Limestone 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
L-Lysine 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
DL-Methionine 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Dicalcium phosphate 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
T1 = 0% enset corm replacing maize; T2 = 15% enset corm replacing maize; T3 = 30% enset corm replacing maize; T4 = 45% enset
corm replacing maize; *Vitamin premix 50 kg contains, Vit A = 2000000iu, Vit D3 = 400000 iu, Vit E = 10000 mg, Vit K3 = 300 mg, Vit B1
= 150 mg, Vit B2 = 1000 mg, Vit B3 = 2000 mg, Vit B6 = 500 mg, Vit B12 = 4 mg, Vitpp = 60000 mg, Folic acid = 160 mg, Choline chloride
= 30000 mg, Anti-oxidant = 500 gm, Manganese = 10000 mg, Zinc = 14000 mg, Iron = 9000 mg, Copper = 1000 mg, Iodium = 200 mg,
Selenium = 80 mg, Calcium = 28.2%

104. Table 2: Chemical composition (% DM basis) of the feed ingredients and treatment diets
Starter
T1 94.8 10.2 22.4 4.4 7.7 3092 50.4 1.05 0.44
T2 94.3 10.3 22.0 4.3 7.6 3091 50.6 1.04 0.43
T3 93.8 10.4 22.0 4.2 7.4 3099 49.7 1.03 0.43
T4 93.4 10.6 22.0 3.8 7.4 3069 49.6 1.10 0.42
Finisher
T1 92.9 8.1 20.5 4.2 7.1 3220 54.1 0.89 0.42
T2 93.5 9.3 20.4 4.1 7.1 3206 53.6 0.90 0.41
T3 93.0 7.4 20.3 4.2 6.9 3266 53.1 0.91 0.43
T4 92.5 9.6 20.0 3.2 5.9 3211 53.3 0.88 0.41
DM= Dry matter; CP= Crude protein; EE= Ether extract; CF= Crude fibre; T1 = 0% enset corm replacing maize; T2 = 15% enset corm
replacing maize; T3 = 30% enset corm replacing maize; T4 = 45% enset corm replacing maize; Ca = calcium; P = phosphorous; ME
=Metabolizable energy (kcal/kg DM); NFE= Nitrogen Free xtract

105. Table 1: Proportion of the feed ingredients used in formulating layers rations
Ingredients Treatments
T1 T2 T3 T4
Maize 43.5 29 14.5 0
Kocho 0 14.5 29 43.5
Wheat short 17 17 13 10
Noug cake 17 17 17 17
Soybean meal 14 14 18 21
Vitamin premix* 1 1 1 1
Salt 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Lime stone 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5
Dicalcium phosphate 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Total 100 100 100 100
T1 = 0% kocho; T2 = 33% kocho; T3 = 67% kocho; T4 = 100% kocho as replacement to maize; *Vitamin premix 50 kg
contains, Vit A = 2000000iu, Vit D3 = 400000 iu, Vit E = 10000 mg, Vit K3 = 300 mg, Vit B1 = 150 mg, Vit B2 = 1000 mg, Vit
B3 = 2000 mg, Vit B6 = 500 mg, Vit B12 = 4 mg, Vitpp = 60000 mg, Folic acid = 160 mg, Choline chloride = 30000 mg, Anti-
oxidant = 500 gm, Manganese = 10000 mg, Zinc = 14000 mg, Iron = 9000 mg, Copper = 1000 mg, Iodine= 200 mg, Selenium
= 80 mg, Calcium = 28.2%.

106. Table 2: Chemical composition (% DM) of the feed ingredients and treatment diets
Ingredients and
treatments
DM (%) Ash CP EE CF ME Ca P
Beta-carotene
(µg/100 g)
T1 92.8 15.8 16.5 3.6 6.9 2893 2.09 0.35 ND
T2 91.8 16.9 16.9 3.9 7.3 2827 2.12 0.33 ND
T3 91.7 17.0 16.9 4.0 7.4 2820 2.22 0.37 ND
T4 89.6 13.3 15.8 4.4 8.8 2868 2.23 0.31 ND
DM= Dry matter; CP= Crude protein; EE= Ether extract; CF= Crude fibre; T1 = 0% kocho; T2
= 33% kocho; T3 = 67% kocho; T4 = 100% kocho as replacement to maize; Ca = calcium; P
= phosphorous; ME =Metabolizable energy (kcal/kg DM); ND=Not Determined

107. Economic Analysis of chicken feed
Total Return (TR) was calculated as a total egg produced multiplied by price of egg during the experiment period. Net
return (NR) = TR-TVC (Total Variable Cost, in this case feed cost).
Change in total variable cost (∆TVC) was calculated as total feed cost of treatments containing kocho (termed as
experimental ration) minus total feed cost of treatments without kocho (control).
The change in TR (∆TR) was calculated as the difference between total incomes from the respective experimental
treatments minus total income of the control. Change in NR (∆NR) was calculated as NR of the respective experimental
treatments minus NR of the control experiment.
The marginal rate of return (MRR) measures ∆NR associated with each additional units of expenditure (∆TVC). It is
calculated as: MRR = ∆NR/∆TVC.

108. Table 6: Economics of feeding kocho to layers as replacement to maize
Treatments
Total cost T1 T2 T3 T4
Total feed consumed/ head (kg) 11.7 11.5 11.2 12.8
Total feed cost/head (Birr) 66.5 69.1 67.8 73.0
Total Variable Cost (feed cost) (Birr) 66.5 69.1 67.8 73.0
∆TVC (Birr) 2.6 1.3 6.5
Total revenue
Total number of egg produced/hen 35.0 39.0 41.0 40.0
Total Return (TR)(Birr) 87.5 97.5 102.5 100.0
∆TR (Birr) - 10.0 15.0 12.5
Net Return( NR) (Birr) 21.0 28.4 34.7 27.0
∆NR (Birr) - 7.4 13.7 6.0
MRR (%) - 2.8 10.5 0.9
∆TVC = Change in Total Variable Cost; ∆TR= Change in Total Return; NR=Net Return;
  ∆NR=Change in Net Return; MRR =
Marginal Rate of Return; Birr= Ethiopia’s unit of currency: US $ 1.00= Birr 22.00; Egg sale = 2.5 birr/egg; T1 = 0% kocho; T2 =
33% kocho; T3 = 67% kocho; T4 = 100% kocho as replacement to maize

109. able 9: Production efficiency and profitability of broiler ration containing different levels of enset corm as a
replacement for maize
Parameters Treatments SEM P value
T1 T2 T3 T4
Production efficiency
Starter PEF 127.2
a
128.9
a
124.8
b
109.5
c
2.88 0.032
Starter EBI 117
a
118
a
114
b
100.4
c
2.63 0.027
Finisher EBI 195.6 194.8 177.7 176.3 16.8 0.116
Entire period PEF 148.5
a
148.9
a
138.2
b
121.5
c
4.27 0.042
Entire period EBI 144.3
a
144.7
a
134
b
117.7
c
4.19 0.042
Partial budget cost (Birr)
Day old chick cost (Birr) 20 20 20 20
Total feed consumed/bird (kg) 3.9 3.8 3.9 4.0
Per unit feed cost (Birr) 6.0 5.8 5.6 5.4
Total feed cost (birr/bird) 23.4 22.0 21.8 21.6
Total variable cost (Birr) 23.4 22.0 21.8 21.6
Revenue
Average carcass weight (kg) 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.0
Price/kg of carcass (supermarket) 80 80 80 80
Total return (Birr) 88 96.0 88 80
Net return/bird (birr) 64.6 74.0 66.2 58.4
Marginal rate of return - 3.36 3.03 2.70
a,b,c
Means in a row with different superscripts differ (p < 0.05); T1 = 0% enset corm replacing maize; T2 =
15% enset corm replacing maize; T3 = 30% enset corm replacing maize; T4 = 45% enset corm replacing
maize; SEM standard error of the mean; production efficiency factor (PEF); Eropean broiler index (EBI).