How to manage laying hens during the laying period? Master these key points

Laying hens are a major direction in chicken farming, and laying hens are also a very important farming project in China. The most critical thing in raising laying hens is the laying rate, and many friends find that the egg production of laying hens is pitifully low. In fact, a large part of the reason is poor management during the laying period of the hens, so how should laying hens be managed during the laying period? Below, the editor brings you the key management points for laying hens during the laying period. Let's take a look!

1. Move the flock at the right time

When raising laying hens, vaccination, deworming and putting them into cages should be done before they reach one and a half years of age, so that the hens can become familiar with the surrounding environment as quickly as possible. If the flock is moved too late, it is easy to make some hens stop laying, or cause problems such as yolk peritonitis. Therefore, moving the flock at the right time is very important, and a series of work such as vaccination must be done well before moving the flock, so as to ensure the healthy growth of the hens and reduce stress reactions.

2. Switch the feed

The weight gain of laying hens and the strengthened production system have relatively large nutritional demands, especially for calcium. When the hens are one and a half years old, we can begin to switch the feed to layer feed, and one month later properly feed peak-period feed. We can also appropriately increase the proportion of vitamins in the feed, and must not restrict the hens' intake, ensuring that there is always feed in the trough so that the hens can eat at any time.

3. Control lighting

Many friends use the natural lighting method when raising laying hens. At one and a half years of age, if the hens' weight is up to standard, then we should appropriately increase the lighting time, adding about half an hour every half month. Until the hens reach their maximum egg production, the lighting time during this period should be kept at more than 15 hours. If the hens develop slowly and are light in weight, then the time for increasing lighting should be postponed. Note that the lighting time must not be shortened, nor should the light intensity be reduced.

4. Environmental management

During the laying period, a comfortable and good growing environment should be created for the laying hens. The optimal temperature when the hens are laying should be kept at around 18 degrees, the temperature in winter should also be kept as far as possible not lower than 10, and in summer the temperature should be controlled below 30 degrees. Also pay attention to ventilating the chicken house, reducing noise interference, cleaning the chicken house regularly, and doing disinfection work well to reduce the stress reactions of the laying hens.

5. Disease prevention and control

After the laying hens enter the rearing house, appropriate amounts of antibiotics and other medicines should be added to the feed and drinking water, about once a month, mainly to prevent gastrointestinal diseases in the laying hens. The vitamin content in the feed can also be increased, because laying hens need a large amount of vitamins for egg production, and this can also reduce the stress reactions of the laying hens and improve their body resistance. Then regularly disinfect the chicken house, carry out a reasonable immunization program, prevent the invasion of pathogens, pay attention to the impact of the external environment on the laying hens, strengthen hygiene management, and reduce the incidence of disease.

The above is a brief introduction to the key management points for laying hens during the laying period. The laying period of laying hens is the most critical period in farming. If management is poor, the laying rate of the hens will drop severely, and the quality of the eggs will also be greatly affected, making problems such as soft-shelled eggs and rotten eggs prone to appear. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you for your reading and support.