ANSCI 1105 REVIEWER

Introduction to poultry production:

Inventory of Poultry Species and Breeds and Strains of Poultry

POULTRY PRODUCTION
Poultry were domesticated later than other farm livestock. Domestic fowl originated from Asia
in 2500 BC and probably the main source of modern stocks. Other poultry species domesticated
were geese from Egypt in 1500 BC, turkey from Mexico, mallard duck from China in 2500 BC,
Muscovy duck from Peru in 16th century AD and quail from Asia around 11th century AD.
Poultry were initially domesticated for religious, cultural and entertainment reasons and later
thought of as a food source both eggs and meat. As of April, 2020, the total chicken inventory in the
Philippines was estimated at 158.93 million birds. The chicken inventory was composed of
native/improved chicken (78.11 million), broiler (52.18 million) and layer (28.64 million). As of 2010,
the per capita consumption of chicken meat and egg are 8.92 kg per year and 3.69 kg per year,
respectively.

Problems of the Chicken Industry

a. High cost of feed ingredients due to e. Marketing and processing of products
importation of raw materials f. Capital
b. Inefficient management g. Climate
c. Insufficient housing and facilities
d. Disease outbreaks

Factors affecting profits in animal production

1. Capital 5. Disease Prevention
2. House and Equipment 6. Prices of Commodities and Inputs
3. Breeds 7. Marketing of Products
4. Feeds and Feeding 8. Manure Disposal

BREEDS OF POULTRY
Taxonomical classification of poultry species
Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Subkingdom: Metazoa (multicellular animals)
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves (birds)
Order: Anseriformes (ducks, geese, swans)
Family: Anatidae (dabbling ducks and geese)
Genus: Anas
Species: Anas platyrhynchos (domestic/mallard duck)
Genus: Cairina
Species: Cairina moschata (muscovy duck)
Genus: Anser
Species: Anser anser (goose)

Order: Galiformes (game birds)

Family: Phasianidae (pheasants)
Genus: Gallus
Species: Gallus gallus (wild chicken)
Gallus domesticus (domestic chicken)

Genus: Meleagris
Species: Meleagris gallopavo (turkey)
Genus: Numida
Species: Numida meleagris (guinea fowl)
Genus: Coturnix
Species: Coturnix coturnix (quail)
Coturnix japonica (japanese quail)

TYPES OF WILD CHICKEN

a. Gallus gallus or gallus banciva - It is a red wild chicken that is widely spread in the East-Java,
Burma, Thailand and Sumatra.
b. Gallus sonerati - It is a pale gray wild chicken that is widely spread in South
and West India.
c. Gallus varius - It is a Javanese wild chicken that is widely spread on the
Island of Java and lesser Sunda Island.
d. Gallus lafayetti - It is a wild chicken found in Sri lanka.
Standard Classification of Chicken

Economic Classification of Chicken

A. Layer Type - These birds are very efficient in producing eggs. They have small body
size,very active, have early sexual maturity, easily nervous and have no
nature to brood.
B. Broiler Type - These birds are very efficient in producing meat. They have big body size,
move very slow and have late sexual maturity.
C. Dual Purpose Type - These birds are efficient in producing eggs and meat. They have a
moderate body size and less active than layer type.
D. Fancy Type - These birds are usually raised for fun and decoration. They possess
beautiful feather that are attractive by their variety of colors.

Strains of Broilers and Layers

Native chickens in the Philippines

a. Banaba of Batangas d. Labuyo
b. Bolinao of Pangasinan e. Camarines of Bicol
c. Paraokan of Palawan

Improved chickens
a. Sasso cross to native chicken
b. Kabir cross to native chicken
Breeding Practices in Poultry
 The objective of the early poultry breeders of domestic fowl was to achieve perfection and their
breed standards.
 Later on, efficiency of production performance was the main objective. In 1950s, single comb
White Leghorn was used in the production of white eggs while in 1960s brown egg laying
strains were derived by crossing Rhode Island Red with White Leghorn. Domestic fowl used
for meat production was based on crossing Cornish with Plymouth White Rock breeds.

Systems of Breeding
A. INBREEDING - It is the mating of closely related animals by descent.
1. Close breeding - It is the mating of closely related animals as full brother and sister
parent and offspring mating.
2. Line breeding - It is the mating of granddaughter to grand sire, half-brother to a
half-sister among descendants of outstanding ancestors.
3. Ordinary inbreeding - It is the mating of more distantly related animals without regard to
single favored ancestors.
B. OUTBREEDING - It is the mating of unrelated animals or it is the opposite of inbreeding.
1. Upgrading - It is the mating of a mongrel to a purebred animal.
2. Outcrossing - It is the mating of unrelated animals of the same breed.
3. Crossbreeding -It is the mating of different breeds.
C. OTHER BREEDING PRACTICES
1. Strain crossing - It is the crossing of two strains that possesses similar productive traits.
2. Line crossing - It is the crossing of highly inbred lines.

Methods of Mating
a. Pen mating - It is a usual method of pedigree breeding of chicken to segregate a single male
with a group of females for the period of the breeding season.
b. Stud mating - It is the usual procedure to have a male confined at all times to individual pens
and female will be introduced.
c. Flock mating - It is a system by which two or more roosters go with the hens in the pen.

Recommended Male to Female Ratio

 HOUSING ENVIRONMENT
Location of the poultry house
a. Well-drained land, not subjected to flooding e. Availability of transportation
b. Near a source of clean water f. Near to processing plant and market place
c. Availability of electricity
d. Far away from noisy places and other poultry farm (at least 1-km)

Orientation of the poultry house

The house should be oriented in an east-west direction to provide adequate
protection against direct sunlight, strong wind and high temperature.

Types of housing

A. OPEN SIDED HOUSING - Long and narrow types of house, which are open on all
sides, are preferred because they provide better ventilation
and lighting. These houses are open to the extent that at
least one-half of the front and back of the house are open.
B. CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT- A controlled environment house is one in which inside
conditions are maintained as near as possible to the bird’s
optimum requirement.

Types of flooring

A. ELEVATED FLOOR
1. Slotted flooring - The slots are made of bamboo, wood or rattan. The width of slot materials
shall be 25-50 mm and the space in between slots shall be 25 mm.
2. Slot-litter flooring- The house constructed with slots approximately two-third of the area and
litter covers the one-third of the area.

B. UNELEVATED FLOORS
1. Litter Type - The flooring utilizes the most commonly available materials such as rice
hulls,rice straws, and wood shavings and saw dusts. The thickness of the
litter material shall be 50-100 mm over the cemented floor.
2. Cage Type - Wire or battery types of cages are commonly used in laying birds.
Floor Space Requirement

Equipment

c. Heater requirement - Artificial heat is needed to supply during the first two weeks of chicks’ life.
The recommended source of heat in large scale operation is the infra-red
heater or gas brooder (1 heater per 750-1000 birds) while in small scale
operation is charcoal, bulb or rice hulls enclosed in galvanized iron
sheet.
Air Contaminants of Poultry Houses and their effects
 FEED MANAGEMENT

Poultry Management

House preparation
A. Dry Cleaning
1. Dispose farm rejects immediately after each production to break disease cycle existing in the
farm.
2. Remove and dispose residual feeds.
3. Remove accumulated dust on top of dividers and curtain.
4. Remove and secure chicken manure away from the farm (at least 1.5 km).
5. Control program against biological vectors (rats, flies, mosquitoes).
B. Wet Cleaning
1. Spray the floor surface with water under low pressure to loosen up the adhering dirt
and dried manure.
2. Scrape and brush the top of the flooring to remove the dirt and manure.
3. Rinse with water under high pressure ensuring that all are visibly clean.
4. Thoroughly clean all equipment with soap and water.
C. Repair And Maintenance
 Properly fix all equipment and repair house flooring, sidings and dividers after
cleaning.
a. Disinfection - Disinfection is the reduction or elimination of pathogenic organisms in or on
materials so that they no longer pose a hazard. Disinfection is performed two
times
(first and second) and in between there will be rest period.

Brooding Management
 Brooding period starts as soon as the day-old chicks are placed in the farm and ends
up to 14 days depending on the management practices of the farm. It is the process of
providing the chicks with comport and other essential requirement for optimum growth.
Good brooding management will improve flock uniformity, proper weight gain and
results in a healthy flock.
Requirement For A Successful Brooding
- Good chick quality - Consistent supply of artificial heat
- Good supply of clean and dry litter - Timely floor space adjustment
- Correct curtain management - Correct feeding and watering management
a. Brooding set-up - Brooder set-up depends on the management practices of the farm.
b. Chick placement and acceptance
1. Pre-heating of the brooding area 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to chick arrival.
2. Check the brooder temperature (33 O C) and in-house temperature (28 O C).
3. Provide dextrose or electrolytes for the first 3 hours after arrival.
4. Provide good quality feeds.
5. Conduct chick counting and weighing.
c. Chick quality standard
1. Chicks should be healthy, alert and cleanly hatched.
2. Chicks should be uniform in size and color.
3. There are no physical deformities such as crooked legs, splaylegs, defective beak
and head.
4. Chicks should be freed from unhealed navel and navel infection.
5. The weight should be 40 grams or above.
d. Chick rejection
1. Extremely weak and dehydrated.
2. Presence of physical defects.
3. Presence of navel infection.
4. The chicks weigh less than 40 grams.

Litter Management
 A good quality litter will maintain dryness and cleanliness of the chicks to have a good
start. Good litter will also aid in maintaining the desired growing temperature
throughout the brooding period.
 The used of sacks, litter materials and newspapers laid in succession will be an ideal for
litter management. The moisture content of the litter should be 20-25%. Absence of a
moisture meter, practical guide in determining the moisture content are: a.) below 20%
level, litter is too dry and dusting become a problem and b.) above 25% level, litter
becomes wet and caked appearance.

Heating Management
 During the first two weeks of chicks’ life, they cannot regulate their own body temperature,
thus, they should be provided with an adequate artificial heat. Maintaining the proper
 brooding temperature throughout the period will allow the chicks to move, eat and drink
freely.
Recommended Brooding Temperature

Practical Guides For Correct Brooding Temperature

1. Too cold – the chicks will pile up under the heater.
2. Too hot – the chicks move away from the source of heat.
3. Drafty – the chicks pile up behind the heater.
4. Just right – the chicks are evenly distributed around the heater and move
comfortable.
Improper brooding management
1. Cold syndrome – caused by insufficient heating in the first week of age. This will
resulted to poor growth, poor flock uniformity, high feed conversion ratio, runting
syndrome and ascites.
2. Heat syndrome – due to excessive heat at brooding period. This will caused
immobilization of chicks, reduced feed consumption, intestinal problems and poor
flock uniformity.

Brooding space management - An ideal floor space expansion must be followed to prevent heavy
deposition of the fecal material in the brooding portion of the house
which will increase infection pressure such as respiratory and
digestive problems and possible cannibalism.

Recommended Brooder Space Allowance

Rearing Period for Layers - Rearing period starts as soon as the day-old chicks from the
hatchery are placed in the rearing house and it ends when the
 young pullets are sold or transferred to the laying house. Also, it
refers to the time upon purchase of the pullet and the moment the
laying period is starting. Normally, the pullets are bought 3-4 weeks
before
they will start laying to give them time to overcome the transfer.
Successful rearing period requires the following:
 The pullets are well developed and healthy.
 The age is 18-20 weeks old.
 The feed consumption is normal.
 The average body weight is 1.3-1.5 kg.
 They have a flock uniformity of 80% ± 10% of the advised or actual body weight.
 The depletion or mortality is about 3%.
 They have proper light program of 14-16 hours day length.
 They have proper medication and vaccination program.
 They are properly debeak.

Cannibalism - An abnormal behavior in growing chicken manifested by continuous picking in

the toes, wing and tail feather resulting to serious wounds and may lead to death
of other birds present in the flock.
Possible Causes of Cannibalism
 Imbalance ration
 Overcrowding and insufficiency of feeding and drinking space
 Poor ventilation
 Absence of feed and water
 Excessive heat and too much light in the growing house
Prevention and Control of Cannibalism
a. Give rations containing the right quality and quantity of protein recommended for the different ages
of birds.
b. Provide birds with adequate floor, feed and drinking space.
c. Maintain the right temperature and proper ventilation
d. There should be adequate and uniform light in the pen.
e. Debeaking or beak trimming – performed within 10 days of age by cutting the upper beak with
electric
cutter and cauterized from one-third to one-half of its length starting from the tip.

Laying Period - Laying period starts as soon as the pullet is transferred in the laying house and if
the first eggs laid at 5-10% egg production.
 Health Management
Medication Programs for Broilers Medication Program for Layers

Common diseases of poultry

Viral Diseases: New castle disease (NCD) Clinical Signs: Emaciation, rough
Most important disease of plumage, pasty vent,
poultry affecting all ages bloody wet drooping
Causative Agent: Paramyxovirus
Transmission: Direct and indirect contact,
aerosol
Clinical Signs: Gasping, coughing, Viral Diseases: Infectious bursal disease
paralysis and torticollis, (IBD)
greenish diarrhea Affects birds at 3-6 weeks
old
Causative Agent: Birnavirus
BACTERIAL DISEASES Transmission: Direct and indirect contract
A. COLIBACILLOSIS Clinical Signs: Depression,
Causative Agent: Escherichia coli incoordination, vent
Transmission: Fecal and oral route, picking, whitish diarrhea
contaminated eggs
Clinical Signs: Early embryonic and chick
mortality, pasty vent,
emaciation and B. CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASE(CRD)
Dehydration Causative Agent: Mycoplasma gallisepticum

PARASITIC DISEASES Transmission: Vertical and horizontal

transmission
A. COCCIDIOSIS
Clinical signs: Gasping, nasal
Causative Agent: Eimeria sp. discharges, decrease in
Transmission: Ingestion of oocyst egg production and poor
growth
 LAYER RECORD EVALUATION
Flock record is necessary to know technical and financial aspects of the farm.
Technical aspects include flock inventory, mortality, feed intake, feed conversion
ratio (based on dozen of eggs), hen-day production and others. On the other
hand, financial aspects are costs and revenues, gross margin and profit.

CALCULATION OF DIFFERENT TECHNICAL PARAMETERS

Layer Performance Parameters

1. Hen-day Production
 Total number of eggs laid by the flock in a given period divided by the product
of the number of days and the number of hens alive on each of these days.
 The resulting percentage is adjusted for mortality i.e. excluding the number
of hens that have died since the adoption of the batch.

2. Depletion/Mortality
 The number of deaths in a population during a given time or place.

3. Eggs Collected
 Number of eggs collected for a period of time.

4. Feed consumed (bags or kg)

 Amount of feed consumed (in kg or bags) of birds
Note: 1 bag = 50 kg

5. FCR/dozen egg
 Kilogram of feed to produce a dozen of egg
Note: 12 eggs/dozen

6. Feed Intake (g)/bird

  Amount of feed (g) consumed per bird

7. Hen-Housed Production (%)

 Equals the percentage of hens in lay based on the original number of hens placed in each
replicate pen.
 Progressive egg production record calculated on the basis of the number of birds
placed in the laying house at point of lay