Starting a broiler farming business can be a profitable venture for small-scale growers and entrepreneurs in South Africa. One of the most crucial stages in broiler production is the brooding phase. Proper brooding ensures strong, healthy chicks with good growth potential. This guide will help you understand the key requirements for housing, brooding conditions, and the essentials needed to successfully rear broilers.
Housing Requirements for Broilers
Proper housing is essential for maintaining optimal chick health, growth and profitability. Small-scale growers must ensure that their broiler house meets the following requirements that can be easily remembered as “FLAWSSS” which stands for Feed, Light, Air, Water, Space, Sanitation and Security:
- Feed: The feed must be bought from reputable supplier* who ensures that the feed is nutritious and balanced for the young day-old chick. In addition, the form of the feed must be such that the particle size is suitable for the young chick to eat. *(Link to Meadow Feeds Website)
- Light: For improved growth and performance, ensure sufficient light in the house, enabling more than only natural day length for eating.
- Air or ventilation: Good airflow is necessary to remove stale air like ammonia and excess moisture from inside the houses while keeping fresh air circulating. The structure should help maintain the required warmth, especially during the brooding period. Young chicks are unable to control their body temperature during the first two weeks. In addition, chickens do not have sweat glands.
- Water: Clean, fresh water is essential for disease prevention. Water should be tested and treated accordingly. Chlorine treatment of water assists to kill pathogens, such as the most common bacterium in chickens called E. coli.
- Space Allocation: Overcrowding leads to competition for feed and water, as well as increased disease risk. Allocate 10 to 15 chicks per square meter for the first few weeks, then gradually reduce the stocking density.
- Sanitation: The houses must be cleaned, disinfected and left empty for at least 14 days before placing the chicks. The floors must be made out of concrete and lined with bedding material such as wood shavings to help prevent the chicks from being in direct contact with the cold floor.
- Security / Protection: The house should protect chicks from extreme weather, predators, wild birds and disease. Security against theft is essential to prevent breach of biosecurity in poultry facilities.
Brooding Conditions for Healthy Chicks
Brooding is the process of providing artificial heat and care to young chicks until they can regulate their body temperature. In South Africa, temperature fluctuations can impact chick survival, so proper brooding management is vital.
1. Temperature Control
- Chicks require a starting temperature of 32-34°C, which should gradually decrease by 1.5-2°C per week until it reaches not less than 20oC from 4 weeks of age. Use gas brooders, infrared lamps, or coal stoves as heating sources, depending on availability and cost.
- Place thermometers at chick level to monitor temperatures accurately.
2. Bedding and Litter Management
- Use dry, absorbent materials like wood shavings or chopped straw.
- Maintain a depth of 5-10 cm to absorb moisture and provide insulation.
- Regularly turn and replace the wet litter to prevent the build-up of stale air and harmful gases like ammonia that will trigger respiratory diseases. Wet litter will also damage footpads through which the infection can enter resulting in lame birds and feet that cannot be consumed.
3. Ventilation and Air Quality
- Maintain fresh air circulation without exposing chicks to direct drafts or cold.
- If possible, control humidity (moisture in the air) levels through optimum ventilation. This will help prevent respiratory diseases. An ideal humidity is 50-70% but this is mainly controlled by the availability of rain (high humidity) or lack thereof (low humidity).
- Keep ammonia levels low by ensuring litter stays dry and clean.
4. Water and Feed Management
- Provide clean, fresh water at all times. Use shallow drinkers to prevent drowning and place them at chick height so that the young chicks can easily access the water.
- Preheat water in cold months to prevent temperature shock. The ideal water temperature is 18-21oC.
- Use high-quality starter feed containing at least 22-24% protein for optimal growth. Reference and link to Meadow Feeds. The form of the feed must be such that the particle size is suitable for the young chick to eat.
- Adjust feeders regularly to ensure chicks can easily access feed without spillage or contamination.
5. Lighting Program
- Chicks need 23-24 hours of light for the first week of their life in order to encourage water and feed intake.
- Gradually reduce lighting to 18-20 hours per day from 7 days of age.
- Use a mix of natural and artificial light to maintain proper growth stimulation.
Basic Requirements to Grow Healthy Broilers
Beyond brooding, small-scale growers should focus on biosecurity by keeping the disease out of the farm / house through strict hygiene practices and physical barriers, , and proper management:
- Biosecurity Measures: Restrict access to the broiler house, disinfect equipment, avoid keeping young and old birds together or very close to each other, do not mix different types of birds (layers and broilers, broilers and ducks or geese, etc.) in the same house or near to each other, wear dedicated or disposable clothes before entering the chicken houses. Also keep rodents and wild birds from entering the houses as they are likely to introduce disease to the chickens and also eat feed which is the highest input cost.
- Vaccination and Disease Prevention: Follow recommended vaccination programs for Newcastle disease, infectious bursal disease (Gumboro), infectious bronchitis (IB) and other common poultry diseases. National Chicks has various options for vaccination in the hatchery so that no vaccination is required on the farm if broilers are not kept alive on the farm for more than 35 days of age. Talk to your technical advisor for more information.
- Record Keeping: Monitor daily mortality, sick birds, feed consumption, and weight or growth rates. This will ensure good production performance of the broilers when disease and / or other management / husbandry issues are detected early.
Conclusion
Brooding is the foundation of a successful broiler farming business. By ensuring proper housing, temperature control, ventilation, nutrition (feed and feeding), water quality and availability and disease prevention, small-scale growers in South Africa can maximize chick survival rates and achieve optimal growth. Investing in good brooding practices will set your poultry business up for long-term success in the competitive independent market through sale of healthy and heavier broiler.
