Layer Production

Eggs produced by Egg type chickens without the benefit of fertilization are called

Table eggs

is considered an important part of poultry industry, are used for fresh egg consumption in the making of food products such as baked good and pastries, and in the tropics, are mostly produced from imported to commercial hybrid egg-type chickens.

Table Eggs

A type of housing setup where egg-type chickens are raised on a small scale using locally available materials like bamboo, coco lumber, cogon leaves, and nipa shingles.

Backyard poultry housing

This type of poultry housing includes facilities for brooding, growing, and laying, especially if starting with day-old chicks.

Complete phase housing

Housing setup where only laying facilities are provided because the farmer starts with ready-to-lay pullets.

Layer-only housing

These materials are commonly used for backyard poultry house floors and walls due to their local availability.

Bamboo slats and coco lumber

Traditional roofing materials used in backyard poultry houses in the tropics.

Dried cogon leaves and nipa shingles

Roofing materials commonly used in commercial poultry houses with a monitor style.

GI sheets and aluminum sheets

This type of commercial poultry housing may have bamboo slats, wire, or wood as flooring materials.

Grower house

These cages are usually made of prefabricated wire and can hold one or more birds each.

Layer cages

Other equipment and facilities used in raising egg-type chickens include the following:

heater, brooder guard, feeders, drinkers, debeaker, catching crate, weighing scales, and cart for feed and egg transport

For backyard operations, heat during brooding can be provided by

electric bulbs, infrared lamps, and burning charcoal.

In layer cages, which equipment are commonly used?

trough feeders and continous-flow-type drinkers

These chickens should have access to feed and drinking water for them to grow and produce the desired number and size of eggs. Adequate feeding, drinking, and floor space allowances should be provided to realize good production performance.

Egg type chickens

The used of _____________ is widely being practiced in raising egg-type chickens in the tropics. The stress related to transferring them from the brooding house to the growing house is avoided.

combined brooder-grower house

is equipped with heating units and other facilities for brooding. After the brooding period, the entire growing house is occupied by the pullets until they are ready for transfer to the laying house.

The brooder-grower house

Some raisers prefer the use of ____________________ in raising egg-type chickens. A battery type brooder with built in facilities for providing heat, feeds, and water for the chicks is used.

separate brooder and grower houses

can either be of the litter-floor type or the elevatedfloor type and can accommodate a large number of layers at a time. Feeders, drinkers, and nest are provided.

Communal pens

These _______ could accommodate a lesser number of layers.

Cages

These cages could accommodate from _________ heads per cage depending on the design and capacity

1 to about 10 heads

Two kinds of laying house for egg type chickens

Communal pens and cages

should be around 31 cm wide, 41 cm long, and 41–46 cm high. A floor space of 0.124 sq m per bird ensures enough room for feeding, drinking, and movement.

A one-bird capacity cage

the floor space allowance could be reduced to as low as 0.04 sq m per bird. If the caging system is reversed, more layers could be accommodated at a time.

multiple-bird cages

Duration of brooding

0-6 weeks

The duration is ________ with fast feathering chicks and during warm months of the year.

shorter

A _____ ______ for providing heat is required with slow feathering chicks and during cooler months of the year.

longer period

The appropriate density for pullet chicks from day-old up to six weeks of age is about _______ of floor area.

fourteen to fifteen head per sqm

_________ during the brooding period causes insufficient ventilation which may result in increased mortality rates due to respiratory and coccidial infections.

Overcrowding

approximately the same dimensions could serve the feeding space requirements of 100 chicks.

Flat feeders

The ___________ could be used as temporary feeders during the first few days. One ________ used as feeder could serve the feeding space requirement of about 100 chicks

lid of chick boxes

What type of drinker is commonly used during the early stage of brooding?

Fount-type drinkers

What sizes do fount-type drinkers come in?

¼ gallon, ½ gallon, and 1 gallon

Which drinker sizes are suitable for younger chicks?

Smaller drinkers (¼ or ½ gallon)

How many chicks can one 1-gallon fount-type drinker serve during the first two weeks?

About fifty chicks

How much linear drinking space should be provided per chick after the first two weeks?

2 to 2.5 cm per chick

is recommended to control cannibalism and to improve feed conversion.

Beak trimming

At what age can the tip of the beak of egg-type chicks be trimmed during brooding, and what tool is used?

At 6 to 9 days old, using a debeaker.

covers the period immediately after brooding up to the ready-to-lay stage. During this period, there is no need to increase the space allowances (floor, feeder, and the drinker) per bird.

The growing stage

Weeks of growing stage

6-20 wks

What types of feeds are given during the growing stage?

Grower feeds (6–12 weeks) and pullet developer feeds (12–20 weeks).

In what forms can grower and pullet developer feeds be provided?

Mash, pellets, or crumbles

What is the feeding space allowance per bird during the growing stage?

7 linear cm per bird, regardless of flooring type.

is the removal of undesirable birds from the flock. Undesirable birds include those with sexing errors, or are deformed and sick.

Culling

Males should be culled at once because only females are needed in a commercial egg farming operation.

Sexing errors

Chickens with deformities such as those with crossed beaks. crooked backs, or lame or runts

Deformed individuals

Birds that are obviously suffering from diseases must be _______ at once so that they would not contaminate the healthy ones

culled

can be in the form of toe or vent pecking which could result to injury or death of chickens.

Cannibalism

The following are the most common signs of pullets approaching sexual maturity :

• Increase in size of comb and wattles

• Reddening of the comb and wattles

• Becoming friendly and cackling

• Instinctively looking for nest

• Becoming docile and gregarious

• Pubic and abdominal spread become enlarged

At sixteen weeks of age, their _________ _______ will start to develop in preparation for egg production.

reproductive organs

Pullets which mature early do not have the physiological body size, hence, results in the following:

• Too many small-sized eggs are produced

• Egg production rate is low

• Mortality rate is high

• Incidence of vaginal prolapse is high

The surest sign of sexual maturity is the?

laying of the first egg

Delaying sexual maturity in egg-type pullets can be done in various ways. Some of these ways are as follows:

• Providing high fiber diet

• Providing low protein, specifically low lysine diet

• Skip feeding

• Reduction of light exposure

• Reduction on the amount of feed given

is considered to be the most popular because of the outstanding egg production performance.

Leghorn

Among the varieties of Leghorn, which is the most popular?

Single Comb White Leghorn

The strains of egg-type chickens available in the market include the following:

• Babcock,

• Starcross,

• Kimber,

• LohmanLSL,

• Hy-line,

• Dekalb,

• Hi-sex,

• Hand N

The following characteristics can be used as guides in choosing the strain off egg type chicken to be raised:

• high egg prod.

• big eggs

• small body size

• high livability during the growing period

  • low depletion rate during the laying period

not less than 250 eggs in a laying year

high egg production

average weight of not less than 60 g

big eggs

not more than 1.3 kg at point of lay

Small body size

94 to 96 percent

High livability during the growing period -

not greater than 1 percent per month.

Low depletion rate during the laying period

an egg-type layer will be able to consume between _________ of feeds per day

90 to 110 g

To stimulate feed consumption, feeding should be done at least ______ a day.

3x a day

What feeding method is used throughout the laying cycle of egg-type chickens?

Phase feeding

What are the two types of feeds used during the laying period?

Layer Mash 1 and Layer Mash 2

How does the protein content of Layer Mash 2 differ from Layer Mash 1?

Layer Mash 2 has 1% less protein.

Where must light fall to initiate light stimulation in chickens?

On the eye of the chicken.

What part of the brain is activated by light in chickens?

The anterior lobe of the pituitary gland.

What hormone is released when light activates the pituitary gland?

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

It stimulates the growth of ovarian follicles.

Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)

What hormone is responsible for the release of the mature ovum?

Luteinizing Hormone (LH)

is the removal of unproductive layers from the flock. _______ of undesirable layers should be done throughout the laying period. Sick and injured layers must be removed immediately from the flock. Layers which are poor producers should also be ______

Culling

What is the recommended daily light exposure for laying hens?

16 hrs per day

When should light exposure be increased for pullets?

around 20 wks of age

What are two examples of step-up lighting programs?

• Add 15 or 20 minutes per week until 16 hours is reached.

• Add 30 minutes every 2 weeks, then 15 minutes weekly until 16 hours.

What is the cardinal rule of light management during the laying period?

Never decrease light exposure.

What equipment is essential when practicing a lighting program for layers?

A stand-by generator for power backup.