Broiler Chickens

What is the brooder?

• A home for the chicks for the first couple of weeks you are raising them

• Clean sawdust (wood shavings) should be in the brooder at all times

• It is very important that there is always food and clean water available

• The beginning temperature of the brooder should be 90 degrees and should be decreased by 5 degrees each week that goes by

Is the brooder too hot or too cold?

Heat Lamp

Heat Lamp

Heat Lamp

Too hot. Chicks avoid the heat lamp and Migrate toward the outside of the brooder.

Just right. Chicks are scattered evenly throughoutbrooder and are eating and drinking.

Too cold. Chicks are bunched up under theHeat lamp

Handling chickens

• When young, be careful when handling the chicks

• As they age, it will be more difficult to pick up and move birds

• Be careful of wings and nails• Too much handling when older can stress the

birds and cause heart attacks

How much space does a chicken need?

• Each chicken will need 1 square foot of space • Waterers and feeders should be kept above

the shavings

Bedding

• Maintain clean bedding• Remove wet bedding daily and top dress as

needed • Pine shavings are the most ideal type of

bedding• We will have the chicks on newspaper for a

few days. Why do we do this?

Feed Management• Keep feed in cool and dry location

– Keep off the floor– Keep out insects, rodents and other animals

• Fresh feed should be added at least every morning

• Monitor feed consumption- if birds are not eating, there might be something wrong

How much lighting do birds need?

• In order to reach the proper weigh on time, you should have lighting on the chickens at all times 24/7

• Birds will start to gain weight very rapidly as they get older

Biosecurity• Measures taken to keep diseases away from

broilers– Bacteria, viruses and other disease-causing agents

• Three components– Isolation

• Keeping your flock from other animals– Traffic control

• Who or what visits your flock– Sanitation

• Keeping your equipment and buildings clean

Introduction to Poultry

Poultry involves: Egg layers Meat Chickens

TurkeysDucks

Geese

Quail

Guineas

PheasantsSquab

RatitesGame birds

Broiler Production History NCC

Year Days to Market

Market Wt. F:G Mortality

1925 112 2.50 4.70 18

2005 48 5.53 1.95 4

Change 57% 121% 58% 77%

Broiler Production

• 1934– 11,405 hatcheries– 24,224 eggs

average capacity– 276 million

eggs/time

Modern Day Broiler Production

• 2001– 323 hatcheries– 2.7 million eggs

average capacity– 862 million

eggs/time

“The Chicken of Tomorrow”• Arkansas contest – 1946• 1951 Finals sponsored by the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company

(Supermarket Chain)– Vantress Hatchery, CA won

• Cornish X White Rock

USDA Labeling• Broiler or fryer

– Tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and flexible breastbone cartilage

• Roaster or roasting chicken– Tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and

breastbone cartilage that may be somewhat less flexible than that of a broiler or fryer

• Capon– Surgically unsexed male chicken (usually under 8 months of age) that

is tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin

Meat Birds

Classification Age (days)

Dressed Wt. (lbs) Use

Cornish 30 1.5 - 2 Whole Bird

Fryer<42 2.3 - 2.8 Fast Food

40 - 45 3 – 4.75 Retail (Whole, parts, cut-up)

Meat Birds

Classification Age (days)

Dressed Wt. (lbs) Use

Roaster 47 - 60 5 – 6.75 Further Processing

Capon(Castrated ♂) 98 - 105 7 - 9 Specialty

Broiler Production (Head)

0.86 billion – combined

0.5 – 0.9 billion0.5 – 0.51 billion

1.05 – 1.38 billion

Excluded < 0.5 billion NASS, 2006

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

1962 1972 1982 1992 2002

Broiler Marketing

National Chicken Council, 2007Year

WHOLECut-up

Further Processing

US Per Capita Consumption

0102030405060708090

100

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

per c

apita

con

sum

ptio

n (p

ound

s)

Beef Pork Broilers Turkeys

USDA, 2001

U.S. Broiler Production (1934-99)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

19341939194419491954195919641969197419791984198919941999

mill

ions

of b

irds

USDA, 2000

Cycle of Broiler/Turkey Production

Broiler Supply Layers

Fertile Eggs

Incubators

Broiler Supply Pullets

Broilers

Chicks

Management• House (40 – 60’ X 500’)

– 50’ x 450’ = 30,000 broilers– Stocking density

• (NCC recommended)• Straight Run• Nutrition program• Lighting regime• Marketed ~42 days• Prepare for next flock

– 7 to 10 days– ~6 flocks/year

Live Wt. Wt./ft2

< 4.5 lbs. 6.5

4.5 – 5.5 lbs. 7.5

> 5.5 lbs. 8.5

Top 5 Broiler Companies, 2011

1 Tyson Foods Inc.

2 Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.

3 Perdue Farms Inc.

4 Sanderson Farms Inc.

5 Koch Foods

WATT Poultry USA (2011)