Page 220 - Agriculture_Form_Three

Agriculture for Secondary Schools

movement in case of litter system.
Water: Provide cool and clean water throughout the day (ad libitum). Check if water
consumption is normal because if there is any problem with the flock, consumption
is reduced.

Ventilation and lightening: The houses for laying birds should be well ventilated
to allow air circulation but with limited light. Lightness and darkness in the laying
pen should be maintained. A layer will require 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours
of darkness for optimal laying. Decreasing the length of the light days as the pullet
grows increases the age at maturity and vice versa.
Stocking rate: At this stage, the stocking rate should be maintained at 6 birds per
m for light breeds and 4 - 5 birds per m for heavy breeds. In case of battery cages,
2
2
there can be 2 - 4 birds/cage.
Collection of eggs: Collect eggs twice a day from the laying boxes/laying nests or
from the floor for the houses with no laying boxes. Delaying collecting eggs may
result into egg eating.

Egg storage: Eggs should be stored at a cool temperature which makes the eggs last
longer. It is important to monitor the conditions in each of these situations as closely
as possible to avoid sharp changes in temperature and humidity, which can lead to
condensation (sweating) on eggs (eggs being chilled or overheated). Temperature
fluctuations must be avoided during transport and storage. Eggs can be stored on
paper trays or on plastic trays by placing the eggs tip point pointing downward.
Hatching eggs should be stored and incubated within 10 days after they have been
laid. Only eggs from breeder hens are suitable for hatching.
Marketing of eggs: Eggs as products from your enterprise can be sold as table eggs
for human consumption or can be sold as hatching eggs (fertile eggs) for incubation
(refer to the previous chapter of handling and processing of livestock products on
the sub-section of handling and processing of eggs).
Record keeping in poultry: Record keeping is a process by which information is
systematically collected, organised and stored. Poultry production can be a highly
competitive business which involves high capital for investment and high risks
as well. For the success of the enterprise, as the owner, you have to record all of
the farming activities and do some analysis. This will enable you to determine the

financial viability and sustainability of the farm. Poultry farm records like mortality,
egg production, and feed consumption, expenditures and revenues must be kept on
daily basis. An example of poultry record which you must have is indicated in Table
9.3.

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