Important points for higher egg production

One should remember following points to get higher egg production.

• Quality Birds

Select the strain that will perform best and is known to have good livability under reasonable environmental conditions. Good chicks may cost more but they will perform better and pay more too.

• Housing

There should be ample fresh air, free from drafts. High levels of non-desirable gases decrease growth rate and increase flock’s susceptibility to respiratory disease. Therefore, air must be circulating. Ensure that the litter is dry. A well managed litter helps the birds in putting on feathers and improve feed conversion. It also reduces coccidiosis problems.

• Crowding

Avoid overcrowding as it increases mortality, stress, as well as production cost.

• Feeding

Always ensure adequate fresh feed. There will be less production if birds starve for 6 hours and a 12 hour starvation will result in moult of wing feathers. There should be adequate feeder space for the birds. Guard against feed wastage. Maintain records of daily feed consumption. It will enable to determine feed utilization and bird’s performance.

• Watering

Provide plentiful and clean disinfected water. Water restriction is a quick way to accidentally force the flock to moult. Ensure that the waterers are so placed that they are easily accessible to birds.

• Lighting

The duration of light should be 16 hours per day, but not beyond 17 hours. No advantage is obtained by exceeding this limit. The amount of light given to the flock in one day should never be less than that given the day before. A decreasing day length can prematurely cause hens to go out to production. One 40 watt electric bulb is sufficient for 200 sq. ft area.

• Vaccination

Ensure that all birds are vaccinated for Marek’s Disease and Ranikhet Disease.

• Debeaking

Follow correct debeaking programme. Poor debeaking can adversely affect egg production.

• Culling

Unsuitable and uneconomic birds should be timely culled.

• Health

Watch for early signs of disease for its timely treatment before it flares up in a big way. Some of the symptoms that indicate the onsetof disease problems are : Drop in egg production and feed consumption, increased morbidity and mortality, inactivity and lack of vigour, droopy ruffled appearance and respiratory distress. Look for any sudden change in egg quality.

• Sanitation

Sanitary measures are very importance in poultry. Keep roundworms, tapeworms and caecal worms under control. External parasites are a serious farm hazard, and can reduce production if unchecked. Deworming at regular intervals should be practiced.

• Egg Quality

Respiratory and intestinal diseases should be kept under control for the maintenance of quality of egg shells. Indiscriminate use of sulpha drugs can affect the egg shall quality. However, the use of tetracyclines can improve it.

Routine Checking: Critical items of management should be listed on a daily, weekly or seasonal checklist. Every item must be checked. It helps to locate the cause of trouble when it occurs. Routine checks are : Cleaning and refilling of waterers and feeders, cleaning the house and spraying insecticide, stirring the litter, dusting, culling of birds, egg collection etc.

• Records

A daily record of feed consumption, egg production, mortality, income and expenditure is essential to help improve farming efficiency and pinpoint troubles and their solutions.

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(Egg Production)