BVMS1

Domestic fowl, turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea fowl, quail, pigeons, ratites, pheasants, and partridges

• Egg (commercial layers) Production
• Meat (broiler chicken) production

• Good liveability & resistance to disease
• good feathering (chickens have high temps, need feathers to keep temp. w/o external source)
• extended egg laying season
• docile temperament & absence of brookiness
• slow growth rate & light mature weight
• efficient food conversion (min. nutrition for maintenance vs. production)
• *the parent stock/must also produce fertile eggs which hatch successfully and give rise to healthy and vigorous chicks

• Good liveability and resistance to disease
• good feathering
• rapid growth rate
• good leg health
• good food conversion ratio
• good conformation
• correct flesh colouring
• *broiler breeders: fertile egg production- healthy and vigourous chicks

Nucleus/elite stock (A,B,C,D)-->Grandparent stock (A,B,C,D)-->Breeder/parent stock (AB, CD)--> Broiler or commercial layer (ABCD)

• layer partent stock
• ferile egg production (85% hatch)
• Day old chicks are sexed and graded at hatchery (only DO females cont. males are culled)
• brooding and eraring period (DO-18 wks) cage or floor
• production unit (cages, barn, or free range) production of >300 unfertilized eggs (18-72 weeks)

• broiler breeder laying farms
• fertile egg production
• hatchery
• DO chicks
• grower farms 'broilers'
• <45 days (full grown)
• culled and processed

• Meat production
• Breeders (Toms/stags and hens)
• DO turkets are called poults
• 'commercials'- for meat
• not as highly selected as broilers (fast growth rate; good food conversion ration; correct flech colouring, good conformation, resistance to dz)

• fertile egg production
• hatchery
• DO "poults"
• grower farms
• 14-22 weeks
• culled and processed

duck, quail, geese, game birds, ostrich

• Poultry meat inspection
• non-specific advisors (nutrition, husbandry, welfare)
• veterinary diagnosis
• General Practice

• Key to bird health (effective bio-security, all in all out system)
• Vaccination programmes (depending on type of poultry, bird age)
• monitor bird health and productivity (routine swabbing and blood samples, PM's, Tx on a per flock basis)

• Meat inspectors (check and certifying meat, spot checks on farms, animal welfare in slaughterhouses, meat transportation and disposal)
• non-specific advisors (nutrition, husbandry/ADAS, Welfare
• Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories

• Small-scale "dabblers"
• Independent small scale production (egg sales at farm gate, bird sales/seasonal organic)
• Rare breed Entusiasts (small scale, fertile egg production, showing)
• birds tx on ind. basis
• Chickens as pets (small scale/traditional systems, more popular, seeking advice)

• Battery cages (ban on conventional cages by 2012)
• Alternatives??
• Leg Health
• Stocking Density (SDS, Ascites)
• Specific to broiler breeders: feed restriciton programs

• Breeder Farms: fertile egg production
• transport of eggs
• Hatchery: Artificial incubation (21 days)
• Day Old (DO) chicks transported
• "grower" or rearing farms
• *similar integrated structure is found in production of DO's for all types of poultry, but each industry is controlled by different companies*

• Broiler breeder, turkey breeder, commercial layer parent stock
• floor based systems are most common
• cockerels and hens (>1:10 ratio)
• AI for turkeys
• Strategies to maintain fertility: lighting and feed, spiking of males, feed restriction

• Automatec nest box and collection systems
• nest boxes- management to limit egg bacterial load
• eggs collected regularly
• only "clean" eggs stored in cool room
• transported to hatchery

• the focal point or hub
• separate hatcheries for broiler and layer industries
• risk of contamination is high
• importance of health status of breeding flocks
• ID and separation of high and low risk eggs
• (all farms are kept seperate, no cross contamination)
• Eggs arriving at the hatchery are sanitised and weighed then stored at below physiological zero (20-21C <7days)- stops embryo growth
• Eggs pre-warmed and fumigated prior to incubation

• hatchery work flow: separation of clean and dirty areas
• setters
• hatching rooms
• chick processing, holding and loading
• *one way flow!!!*

• eggs placed in single stage or multistage setters
• Temperature 37-78 C- critical
• humidity!: monitored by egg weight loss (optimum 10-12%)
• adequate ventilation for specific stage of development (varies): levels of O2 and CO2
• automated egg turning
• Eggs candled to detect viable embryos @ ~6 days incubation
• removal of infertiles or early embryonic deaths: bangers (if bacterial infection- a ring will show up. may explode!!)

• Day 18: eggs transferred to hatching trays
• eggs put in hatching rooms
• day 20-21: chicks "pip" then hatch
• (turkeys hatch around 28 days)

• break the air cell in egg
• possibility they might not get out and may die
• *hatching is not synchronized- early hatched chicks in hatching rooms may become dehydrated from heat*

• DO chicks are checked for quality, sexed (feather or vent) and vaccinated
• poor quality chicks are culled
• (for laying stock- males will be culled)

• Female chicks only required in commercial egg industry
• males and females in broiler and turkey meat industries
• feather sexing: males- all 1y and 2y feathers same length or 2y longer. Females- 1y feathers are longer than 2y
• vent sexing
• vaccination programmes begin at DO:
• depends on type of bird, geographical location
• major dz include: Mareks, IB, NCD, IBD, ET

• rapid growth rate
• good food conversion ration
• good skeletal development
• good conformation
• correct flesh coloring
• good liveability
• resistance to dz

• they are feed restricted to promote fertility
• control body weight gain
• **welfare issue**

• food restriction or "skip a day"
• frustration
• stereotypic behavior
• pecking
• other strategies: bulking up feed
• BUT!: improved immunity, less skeletal problems, reduced mortality (keeps them alive!)

• Chicks placed at DO
• brooding period
• growing period
• target weight(2.2Kg) <43 days
• FCR 1.8

• low cost, low profit margin
• >740mil broilers in the UK per year, 8.9bil in USA
• all in, all out crops on 36-42 day cycle
• high stocking densities (15-18 birds/m2)
• Large groups (20-50,000 birds)
• controlled environments
• light cycles to promote growth (~23hr daylight)
• emphasis on uniformity
• only 5% of birds are farmed according to higher welfare standards

• Birds: genetic potential of stock, chick quality
• Environment: correctly adjusted temperature (brooding vs. rearing), humidity, ventilation, lighting, stocking density, litter quality
• Diet: nutritional input-phase feeding
• health/welfare: stable health programme, biosecurity

• parent stock management
• good hatchery practive
• placement of only quality chicks
• efficient transport to grower farms

• elimination of pathogens in the litter
• effective disinfection and fumigation
• uniform state of immunity w/in stock
• site management: minimum site disturbance, maintenance of equipment, limits size of site

• house is wind proofed, insulated
• house is clean, disinfected and fumigated
• provision of litter of correct type and of sufficient depth
• pre-heat house 24 hr prior to chick arrival
• arrange feeders and drinkers w/in easy reach (provide supplementary ones to start w/)
• place chicls quietly
• first 7-10 days are crucial (may need to dip chicks beaks in h2o to incourage drinking/eating)

• litter quality
• stocking density
• temp and humidity
• ventilation
• lighting
• provision of feed and water

• protect the broilers from damage
• provide a dry warm covering to the concrete floor (>8-10cm thick)
• good litter:
• good absorptive properties
• biodegradable
• low dust levels (NO sawdust)
• comfortable (no wood chunks)
• obtained from biosecure source
• free of contaminants
• **poor litter leads to hock burn, foot pad dermatitis, breast necrosis and blisters, leads to downgrading at processing plant**

• high humidity (wet)
• poor material or insufficient depth
• poor drinker design and adjustment (wet/muck)
• poor ventilation
• high salt/protein diet (feces)
• high stocking density
• poor quality fats (feces)
• enteritis due to dz

• overstocking:
• reduces: growth, liveability, litter quality and leg health
• EU broiler welfare directive:
• 33 kg/m3 (15 birds @ 2.2 KG)
• or 39kg/m3 if stricter welfare standards are met
• 42kg/m3 if exceptionally high welfare standards are met over prolonged period

• initial brooding temp: 32C
• temperature then reduced by 2-3C per week
• final broiler house temp: 21-23C (over ~ 28days)
• relative humidity should be high! (60-70%)

• prevents: build up of noxious gases
• provides: circulating oxygen
• helps maintain: optimum temp and RH.

stockman to judge if the environment is uniform throughout the house (too hot, too cold, drafty, just right)

• up and feeding!!
• age 0-7d light is 23 hours daylight, 1 hour dark
• 7-3 days pre slaughter: 20L, 4D (may alternated 5 hours L, 1 hour D)
• preslaughter: 23L, 1D
• **need to have dark b/c they will panic if not used to dark (and power outage) will huddle together and sufficate- this "trains" them to understand dark

• water supply:
• essential- required 24 hours a day
• inadequate water supply results in reduced growth rate
• sudden increase or decrease in consuption can indicate stress, disease or poor feed
• water quality is important! (runing h2o is best, but watch for leaks/freezing)

• Chain feeders or pan feeders
• birds fed ad libitum
• paper trays for first
• 2 permanent types (see above)
• daily height adjustment
• feeding space very important (2.3cm/bird)

• consideration:
• age of bird/ phase feeding form
• age and live-weight bird is to be when processed
• separate or mixed sex growing
• fat level in carcass to meet markets
• skin color (corn feed=yellow skin)
• try to follow broiler growth profile chart (monitor death rate)

• fall off in growth rate
• excess abdominal fat
• excess carcass fat
• reduction in breast meat yield
• increased late mortality (ascites, flip-over)

separate sex growing results in better flock uniformity

• broilers marketed in juvenile state, therefore vaccination program simplified
• retain some protection through maternal antibodies
• (see notes for chart)

• antibiotic growth promoters/digestion enhancement enzymes (antibiotic resistance, antibiotic growth promoters banned in UK 2006)
• coccidiosis: ubiquitous in broilers- very resistant, coccidostat drugs (in food/removed prior to market), good litter condition
• human food safety: salmonella (in birds intestinal tract), campylobactor (major zoonosis concern)

• major metabolic Dz of broilers:
• sudden death syndrome (SDS) or flip-over
• ascites- water belly
• leg heath:
• skeletal system cannot cope
• tibial dyschondroplasia
• femoral head necrosis
• foot pad dermatitis and hock burn
• (being investigated= pain? welfare? some supermarkets won't take damaged birds)

• Catching must be done CALM!!, may change lighting
• slaughter:
• 1) wash
• 2) electrical stun
• 3) neck cutting
• quickly transported
• 4)hot water bath
• 5) feathers plucked
• 6) de-gut
• 7)chilled (10 hours)
• 8) packaging

• EEF= (liveability (%) x liveweight (kg))/age(days) x FCR) all multiplied by 100
• FCR= food conversion ratio

• parent stack (25-70wks) 260 eggs
• fertile egg production ~ 89% hatchability
• DO chicks sexed and graded at hatchery
• (only females proceed)
• brooding and rearing period (DO-18wks) caged or floor
• transfer of pullets
• production unit: cages, barn or free range. production of >300 unfertilized eggs (18-72 weeks)

• single age, controlled environment sites
• floor rearing: suitable for all types of production
• rearing in cages: suitable only for layers destined for cage production
• *site hygiene, preparation and testing of equipment 24 hours before chicks arrive is critical to success*

• Floor: partitions are often used during the early brooding period
• 40 chicks/m2 week 1
• 30 birds/m2 week 2
• 20 b/m2 week 3
• 6-8 b/m2 week 4+
• cages:
• 50 chicks/m2 week 1-4
• 20 b/m2 week 4+

• optimum temperature relative humidity and ventilation:
• gas brooders or whole house heating
• decrease over 5-6 weeks
• min= 21C
• relative humidity: 60-70%
• *cold birds eat more= more cost*

• aims of lighting programme during the rearing phase:
• control sexual maturity
• encourage growth
• achieve recommended weight at onset of lay
• basic rules:
• never increase the number of hours or its intensity during the rearing period!!!
• never decrease the numbers of hours of light or its intensity during the production period!!
• (easiest to apply in windoless house)

• 1-2d= 22hours high intensity
• 3-4d= 20 hours lower intensity
• 5-6d= 18hours
• 6-8d= 16 hours lower intensity
• 9-10= 14 hours
• 11-12d= 12 hours
• 13-14d= 10 hours
• 15-119d (17 weeks)= 8 hours @ low intenisty

• week 18= 9 hours
• week 19= 10 hours
• week 20= 11 horus
• week 21= 12 hours intensity increases
• week 22= 13 hours
• production period:
• week 24-74= 15 hours light (more light does not increase egg production)
• ovaduct and LEFT ovary stimulated by light increase
• vestigial during winter

• programme depends on type of stock and age
• Diseases which affect layers:
• mareks dz, newcaslte disease, infectious bronchitis, infectious bursal dz, ipidemic tremor, avian influenza
• vaccination begins at DO
• constant monitoring: cloacal swabs, serotyping
• mass medication by spraying or in drinking water

• 4-6 days- cauterisation using hot blade or infra-red laser
• necessary if chicks are destined to floor based production units
• to reduce feather picking and canabalism

• An egg is produced approx every 24 hours (want @ lease 1 egg per day once mature and stimulated (will get about 320/365 days)
• only left ovary/oviduct. starts at OVA in ovary, goes into infundibulum gather albumen (3-4 hours), isthmus will gather shell at shell gland (~18 hours) and leave out the cloacha
• * if fertilized will be done at oviduct (sperm can be held in oviduct)
• **yolk is from the liver, as it rotates down oviduct it gathers albumen, and forms shell at shell gland (whole process is about 24 hours)

• Debate of wheather white or brown eggs are better?
• probably no difference- just genetics and pigment

• 2003: no new installations (in europe), 550cm2/hen for 3 birds per cage, 50cm feed trough/hen
• height 45cm @ 65%, min 35cm
• slope <14%
• claw shortening device
• 2012:
• EU council directive 1999/74- ban all conventional cages by 2012
• pros:
• easily controlled environmental conditions
• reduced outbreaks of vices due to small colony sizes
• good disease control
• separation of eggs from feces
• no threat from predators
• cons:
• lack of space prevent expression of certain normal behaiors
• confinement leads to weak and broken bones
• damage to feathers and feet common

• nest, litter perch space 15cm/bird
• min cage size 2000cm2
• 750cm2 area per bird
• feed trough space 12 cm per bird
• complies 5 freedoms
• expression of more "natural" behaviours
• still being developed- design varies 8-100 birds
• pros:
• environmental control is optimised
• good disease control
• no threat from predators
• if <10-15 birds production results are similar to that of conventional cages
• cons:
• more labour intensive (cleaning)
• eggs more expensive to produce
• eggs at risk- damage and higher bacterial load
• bead trimming when >15birds
• feather and foot damage
• confinement- weak bones and bone breakages

• deep litter/ perchery/aviary or barn eggs
• free range

• 250cm2 littered floor/hen
• max 7 hens/m2
• 1 nest box/ 7 hens
• confined but free to move around- some daylight supplimented by artificial daylight

• also sold as barn eggs
• 3D use of space (max 4 levels)
• max 25hens/m2
• 15cm perch space/bird
• communal nests- 1m2 nest space per 120 hens
• some eggs laid on floow= egg loss
• floo rises at night to stop hens from sleeping there

• pros:
• freedom to move around
• normal behaviors can be expressed
• nest boxes, perches and dust bathing
• protection against predators
• improved bone strength due to increased activity
• Cons:
• beak trimming necessary to prevent outbreak of vices
• hens can be injured (ckns don't fly well/fall)
• increased risk of extoparasites (red spider mite)
• waste management difficult
• higher feed consumption
• labour intensive
• eggs more expensive
• *if one bird bleeds- all birds will attack that bird*

• max stocking density
• outside: 1,000 birds/ hectare
• inside: 7 birds/m2 (deep litter w/ feeders/drinkers, etc)
• sheds at night, wander during day

• max stocking density
• outside: 1,000 birds/hectare
• inside: 25 hens/m2 (perchery)
• pop holes to leave hens outside (if closed=illegal)
• highly populated

• pros:
• freedome to move and express normal behaviors
• diet augmented by access to pastureland
• improved bone strangth
• inside house nest boxes, perches and dust bathing facilities
• cons:
• break trimming to prevent vices
• birds at risk to predation/disease
• climatic effects lower production
• egg qulity is less predictable
• labour intensive
• feed and land costs are higher
• eggs are more expensive to produce
• safety of eggs? (bac, etc)

• % liveability- chicken death
• % hen day production- how many lay egg per day based on how many in house
• % hen housed production- based on original number of birds
• Average egg weight- larger eggs come from oldest birds- have poorest quality
• Preak production (between 24-28 weeks)
• POL (point of lay)

• nutritional program (feed and water quality and availability)
• Temperature and ventilation (influences feed intake)
• Lighting program (basic rule)
• housing system (cage vs. alternative systems)
• bird health and welfare status
• *layers kept longer- so vax and health more closely monitored*

shelless, wrinkled, extra Ca2+ deposits, dip in production