Page 219 - Agriculture_Form_Three

Agriculture for Secondary Schools

During rearing period, observe the age of the birds and see whether the beak is
overgrown at 10 to 12 weeks of age. In case of overgrowth, the debeaking exercise
has to be conducted. Figures 9.13 (a) and (b) show chicken with untrimmed and
trimmed beak, respectively.

Figure 9.13(a): Chicken with untrimmed Figure 9.13(b): Chicken with trimmed
beak beak

Deworming: Birds should be dewormed whenever some signs of worm infestation
are noted. Failure to do so will reduce the flock performance in case of infestation.
Preferably, this is done after every three months. Seek advice from the livestock
expert for a successful deworming.

Managing laying birds
Birds are placed in a laying house just before the onset of laying period. This starts
at the age of 5 to 6 months for indigenous type and 4 to 5 months for commercial
breeds. It lasts for 12 to 14 months for optimal production. During this period,
important management aspects that should be observed are feeding, provision of
water, ventilation, disease control and sanitation. In case of cage system, the birds
are introduced to the cages a few days before the onset of laying period. This is to
make them familiarise with the new confinement.

Laying boxes: Laying boxes are also termed as laying nests. They are to be placed in
the laying house well before the hens are brought in. For the hatching eggs, you have
to make sure that you place the nesting facilities in order to avoid getting dirty eggs
which are potential carriers of disease-causing organisms. The nest boxes should
be provided with plenty of good clean wood shavings or other nesting materials to
avoid cracked eggs which are not good for incubation. They should also be placed
in relatively lower height compared to perches. This will discourage chicken from
using them to roost and also avoiding chicken and eggs from becoming dirty.

Feeding: A laying bird requires 120 g to 150 g of layers mash per day. Feed the
birds twice a day using appropriate feed and feeders placed at distance to allow free

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