Size variation in your poultry is bad

At Ms Imelda Aketowanga’s poultry farm in Anaka, Nwoya District, three workers are deployed inside the perimetre fencing to ensure hygiene, safety, and proper feeding among the birds.

Their routine ranges from providing the flood point at the entry with disinfectants to ensure that the workers and any other visiting farmer are clear of possible infection to the birds.

They also make sure the water troughs and feeders are filled with feeds and water besides treating and ensuring that every bird is healthy and safe.

On farm visit 
During the technical visit by a team of researchers from Makerere University to the farm, everything appeared to be perfect until one of the visitors noted something terrible.

Among the 2,800 three-week-old birds stuffed inside two separate units, Aketowanga appeared to have not realised or ignored that other birds looked to be one-and-half weeks younger than the rest even when they are of the same age.

While the majority of birds appeared to be two weeks away from market, others needed another month to gain the weight.

But she is aware that her buyers based on stock uniformity, which she admits they usually assess visually and subjectively to weighing bird by bird. However, she is not aware that the level of uniformity dictates the final result; implying that poor flock uniformity goes hand in hand with delaying growth, and rejects.

“These were birds stocked on the same day and have all been subjected to the same feeds and same environment but the variation in the sizes always confuses me,” says Aketowanga.
“Earlier on, I switched feeds and the breeder and my problem subsided for about five months when they brought the birds and helped me to organise the units but it is reoccurring,” she says.

Remedy 
To satisfy the demands of the modern distribution network, bulk buyers that process and supply dressed chicken require uniform flocks with the correct average body weight. 

Because the percentage of carcasses within the desired weight range is a very important measure for a processing firm, when a broiler flock is processed, a complete histogram on the range of carcass weights is generated. In the end, uniformity is a good indicator of the production process.

Aketowanga’s dilemma is not limited to her alone. At another farm at Pece Pawel, in Gulu East Division, Gulu City, Ms Jacky Arach is experiencing the same situation.

She blames the variation on the supplier whom she says was supplying her for the first time.

“Somehow I think my problem stemmed from the dealers who supplied me since I did not go to the farm where they do incubation from myself and perhaps they served me rejects,” says Ms Arach. 

Broiler flock characters

All technical or health problems, starting from the day-old breeder up to the broiler delivered to the processing plant, impacts the broiler uniformity at the time of slaughter.
According to Richard Ojera, a specialised breeder, several factors can explain why the sizes of birds in a flock may vary.

“Before reviewing the principal factors affecting uniformity, it is necessary to define the characteristics of a “standard” broiler population because there are several reasons that explain why sometimes minority or majority weights of the birds are systematically inferior to the average weight of the flock,” he says.

According to Ojera, a key reason is purely statistical; “This is because a flock of “as hatched” broilers consists of equal numbers of males and females, each with their level of uniformity.”

“Upon achieving the body weight target with regular weekly weight gain during the first three to four  weeks of their life, the subsequent feed management and the correct level of sexual maturity for the breed are the most important criteria that will determine the uniformity of the chicks,” Ojera says. 

That will require good brooding conditions, moderate feed restriction before four weeks, blackout rearing, and sufficient feed equipment, he adds.

Another factor Ojera attributes to the disparity is the incubation conditions and mixing of the chicks.
“Trying to achieve maximum chick uniformity by weighing the eggs from the many different aged donor flocks or by storing eggs from a few breeder flocks, does not guarantee good final flock uniformity,” he says.

He says eggs that are stored for more than seven days and eggs from very young breeder flocks require longer incubation time than the others. 

Bad practice 
Denis Olam, a commercial poultry breeder in Gulu City says he usually discourages raising a flock from first-time layers and those about to be laid off.

“If the birds were hatched from the eggs laid by hens that started laying for the first one or two weeks, it is not advisable to hatch the eggs since their performances are always not good and also hatches from birds that are about to be laid off, do not do well,” says Olam. Ideally, Olam says mixing chicks from young breeders and those from breeders older than 35 weeks destroys uniformity. 

Furthermore, the absence of pre-warming the eggs, especially when they have been stored for long periods, increases the hatching time between the first and the last chicks, with the risk of dehydration of the early hatching chicks.

The temperature requirement of the chicks from young breeders is about 2°C higher than those from older breeder flocks. Whatever temperature is used, some of the chicks will be either under or overheating. 

Management 
Olam says the different sizes among birds of the same age may also arise due to agronomic practices.
“When it comes to management, sometimes a farmer mixes their feeds, they do not do it so well where you find the levels of carbohydrates or proteins are higher than each other, and it impacts on their growth. Sometimes diseases attack and they succumb so badly due to weak immunity,” he says.

He says sometimes when he visits farmers who bought their flock from him, he finds the sizes of the birds varying from farmer to farmer due to the management practices and feeding systems applied.
While giving an example of broilers and Kuroilers, he also says some breeders dupe farmers (buyers) into buying F2 breeds that are mixed with F1.

“Like Kuroilers currently, few people deal in F1 (Sassos) and most breeders give F2, which are children or grandchildren of the original (F1). In this case, you do not expect them (F2) to perform at the same level and uniform such as the original (F1),” he says.

Look out for
Inadequate brooding conditions are usually the first cause of poor uniformity. During this period the daily weight gain is considerable. 

During the first 10 days, the chicks increase their weight by 20 percent per day compared to four percent between 30 and 40 days, provided that they do not have to struggle to survive. 
When chicks are struggling to survive, they use a small amount of available energy to maintain vital body functions. 

It is always useful to remember that chicks cannot regulate their body temperature before 10-15 days, are stimulated to eat by light, and limit their intake when access to water or feed is difficult.

It is also important to note that the chicks are not all equal when they arrive at the farm. Firstly, at hatch, they have different maternal origins and embryonic conditions. 

Secondly, they hatch at different times, have been transported in different positions in the delivery vehicle, and finally, because the living conditions are never perfectly equal throughout the whole house.

Key facts
From the day a layer chick hatches, the chicken takes about five months before it starts laying eggs. As a poultry farmer you must be prepared to meet the expense of rearing these young birds (pullets) through this period. Feeding the young pullets is a major challenge.

In an effort to cut down costs, many farmers make the mistake to underfeed the birds during this pre-lay period.