Detailed Explanation of Key Points for Early Management of Broiler Chickens

Modern broilers grow much faster in the early stage than broilers of the past; body weight at one week is about 3 to 4 times the birth weight. Properly carrying out the brooding work in the first few days and giving chicks a good start is of extremely important significance to broiler production. The key factors affecting the final production performance of broilers include: chicken house hardware facilities, environmental conditions inside the chicken house, and management.
　　
I. Maintaining Comfortable Environmental Conditions
In the hatchery, chicks live in a relatively humid environment. To prevent chicks from dehydrating in the chicken house, humidity in the house should be carefully adjusted during the first week. Chicks can only regulate their own body temperature at about 1 week of age. Therefore, before the chicks arrive, the chicken house should be pre-warmed and comfortable temperature and humidity should be maintained.
During the first seven days, the temperature and relative humidity inside the house should be checked frequently, at least three times a day, and after that, at least once a day. To more accurately detect the environment in which the chicks are located, temperature probes should be as close to the chicks as possible; in addition, conventional thermometers should be used to calibrate the electronic probes of the automatic control system.
During the first three days, relatively high humidity and temperature should be maintained so that the chicks have a process of adapting to the external environment. The relative humidity inside the chicken house can be kept at around 70%. Low humidity (humidity below 50% during the brooding stage) will lead to dehydration and have a negative impact on the production performance of the chickens.
Air quality during the first week is also very important. Through reasonable ventilation, temperature and humidity are kept at appropriate levels, and harmful gases are discharged outside the house. From the very beginning, a minimum ventilation program that can provide fresh air and remove harmful gases should be established. In addition, using circulating fans inside the house also helps improve air quality.
Close attention should be paid to the behavior of the chicks; chick behavior is the best indicator of how they perceive temperature. Because temperature and humidity determine the perceived temperature of the chicks, the relationship between temperature and humidity is very important.
　　
II. Layout Inside the Chicken House
In order to seize all growth opportunities, chicks should establish a healthy appetite with good feeding and drinking behavior as soon as possible. Ultimately, we should strive to allow 1-day-old chicks free and easy access to feed and water. To reduce stress on the chicks and ensure good early growth, the chicken house layout should be prepared before the chicks arrive, minimizing the distance the chickens must walk to eat and drink. Pre-arrival preparation work should follow the following guiding principles:
Cover 30% of the brooding area with paper.
Spread the feed evenly on the paper, about 50 grams to 70 grams per chicken on average (equivalent to three days' feeding amount).
Place the chicks on the feed rather than letting the chicks find the feed themselves.
The feed particle size should be appropriate, such as sieved crumbled feed.
Failure to reach the optimal 7-day body weight is usually due to the chicks being unable to eat enough feed and water. If the brooding house temperature is too high, the chicks' appetite will be suppressed, feed intake will decrease, and their growth rate will also be suppressed. Flocks that do not meet the 7-day body weight target will also have poorer uniformity. Therefore, in order to give the chicks a good start, it is necessary not only to improve the environmental conditions of the chicken house, but also to make it easy for the chicks to obtain water and feed. A good start will promote chick growth and improve flock uniformity, feed conversion efficiency, and survival rate.
　　
III. Management and Checking the Actual Effect of Management
　　
It is important to check the chicks' start of feeding. By checking the fullness of the crop, an assessment can be made of the chicks' feeding and drinking conditions during the first 48 hours. Ideally, if the chicks are eating and drinking normally, the crop should be full of feed and water, round, and the contents should feel like a soft little ball. If the crop is flat, or the contents are hard and feed particles can still be felt through the crop wall, then the chicks have not eaten enough feed or have not drunk enough water.
If 8 hours after the start of feeding, 80% of the chicks have full crops; and 24 hours later, 95% of the chicks have full crops, then this indicates that all the chicks are able to obtain enough feed and water. If crop fullness is lower than the above targets, then it is necessary to increase the paper area, adjust the temperature and humidity inside the chicken house, or provide additional feed. If the chickens show signs of water shortage 24 hours after arrival, then the water pressure should be adjusted so that water droplets hang on each nipple within 24 hours, or enough water should remain in the water trays so that each chick can drink enough water.
Measuring 7-day body weight is also an effective method for evaluating the chicks' start-of-feeding condition. At 7 days of age, sample-weigh the chickens, calculate the average body weight and uniformity. These two indicators will show the effectiveness of early management.
According to the characteristics of the chicken farm and the company's management system, design a detailed record form for recording crop fullness, average body weight, and uniformity, to be used to evaluate the feeding management work of the first seven days. This record form is an effective tool for evaluating and improving broiler feeding management. It should be incorporated into the quality control system of the broiler farm, and the record form should be carefully filled in and kept in daily work.
　　
IV. Transition to the Automatic Feeding System
After the feed spread on day 1 has been eaten and the automatic feeding system begins to operate, the chicks face a second challenge that affects growth and feed shortage. The following methods will help solve this problem:
· Add feed on the paper once more so that the chicks have enough time to find the feeders.
· Move the paper with feed spread on it close to the automatic feeding system.
· Fill the feeders with feed.
· Once again evaluate crop fullness, sample-weigh the chickens, calculate the average body weight and uniformity, and use this to evaluate the feeder transition work.
　　
In summary, in order to achieve the growth potential of broiler chickens, the chicks must be given a good start; in order to develop appetite as early as possible, it is important to manage the broiler house environment well and ensure that the chicks eat enough feed and drink enough water.