The World Poultry Foundation (WPF) has made it their mission to im­prove lives through the sustainable production of poultry, and empowering farmers in developing regions.

They achieve this through various training programmes and resource dis­tribution. In the first part of this series, we discussed what you will need to set up a poultry house and how to house your chickens.

In this article we discuss the health and nutrition of your poultry.

Birds should always be healthy and well cared for. Neglecting the health and nutrition of your chickens can have a huge impact on your bottom line and be more costly in the end.

The health of your chickens

There are several factors that can influence the health of your chickens. These include diet, clean water, hous­ing, parasites, diseases, environmental stress and predators.

Diet

Providing your chickens with the right feed will help their growth and develop­ment, egg production, immune sys­tems, energy levels and feather quality.

If you bring in a new flock of chicks, ensure you already have food and water put out when your birds arrive. You can purchase blended feed from a reputa­ble vendor or mix your own. Make sure the particle size of the feed is appropri­ate for the size of your birds; it is also very important to keep in mind that you should store your feed in a dry rodent-proof area.

The UGA Department of Poultry and WPF developed a FeedMixer app that has been downloaded by poultry farm­ers more than 9 000 times.

This incredible app is not only for seasoned farmers but for anyone who wants to ensure their chickens get the best nutrition. The app makes it easy to optimise your feeding rations and improve your flock performance all from your phone. The app will help you to create a poultry feed mix with local ingredients at the lowest cost.

It provides you with the nutritional facts of your feed mix, tells you what quantities of ingredients you need and even allows you to select the breed and age of your chickens.

If there is no grass or vegetation for your chickens to forage, you will have to provide supplemental feed.

Here is a guide for feeding your chickens:

Day old chicks

  • The feed for the day-old chicks is 2 to 3 mm in particle size
  • Place the feeder trays and paper for ground feed in the chicken house
  • Check that the number of feeder trays is sufficient for the number of chicks (one feeder tray for every 50 chicks)
  • Ensure the feeder trays are full and there is some feed on the paper as well
  • Ensure the volume of feed is sufficient (approximately 40 to 50 grams of feed per chick for first feeding)
  • After the first feeding you can remove the paper and only use the feeder trays
  • There should be supplemental feeder trays in place (for the first 7 days)
  • There should be a minimum of one feeder tray for every 50 chicks
  • The trays should not be overfilled with feed (the chicks will play in the feed)
  • Check the crop fill of the chicks after 12 hours
  • Remove all caked litter and any mouldy feed daily
  • Ensure feed is stored properly

You must check your chicks’ crops no longer than 12 hours after delivery. The crop is a little pouch at the bottom of the neck just before the breastbone. The crop should be full and soft.

If it is empty the chick is not eating, if it is hard the chick is eating but not drinking enough water to push the feed through its digestive system. For every one gram of feed a chick eats, it will need to drink 2,5 grams of water.

After 12 hours from delivery ran­domly pick up 10 chicks and feel their crops. At least eight out of the 10 should have feed in the crops and after 48 hours, all chicks should have feed in the crops.

Should the crops not be full, it could mean they do not have enough water, or the water quality is poor, the feed size is too large, or the feed and water is poorly distributed, unsuitable or not accessible. It could also mean the chicks are too hot or too cold, the stock density is too high, or the chicks are distressed or sick.

If there is a problem, you should work to correct it and continue to check the chicks’ crops every four hours.

Week old chicks

  • After the first seven days you can transition to larger feeders
  • You can have one hanging tube feeder for every 70 chicks
  • The top of the feeder lip should be halfway up the wing of the small­est birds
  • Assure the height of the feeders (and waterers) is appropriate
  • Remove all caked litter and any mouldy feed daily
  • Clean and disinfect trays every three days

After five weeks, dual-purpose breeds need only small amounts of supple­mental feed.  You must weigh your chicks to ensure they are growing at a healthy rate. You can do this by weighing a total of 30 chicks at 14 days old in a bucket. Ten chicks at a time, with three separate weigh-ins.

By adding these three weights and subtracting the weight of the bucket then dividing that reading by 30 you will get an average weight for every chick.

Clean water

Healthy birds are hydrated birds, this is why you should always ensure your birds have access to enough clean water.

According to the WPF, a chicken typi­cally consumes twice as much water as feed at normal temperatures. This water consumption can double or triple when temperatures rise.

The first water a chick drinks must be at room temperature to avoid chill­ing the chick, which can lead to stunt­ing. Clean water is an absolute neces­sity and if you wil not drink it, you cannot give it to your animals.

Ensure you regularly wash waterers with soap and water and apply a simple disinfectant. You can place one waterer for every 50 chicks and space them evenly around the room, paying careful attention to the height of the waterers ensuring the chicks can reach it, but litter is also kept out of the waterer.

Placing many waterers around your yard will encourage grown chickens to forage. These drinkers do not need to be expensive and can be made from recycled materials.

Environment

Another aspect that contributes to the health of your chickens is their envi­ronment. By keeping the area around your chicken house clean you can ensure that rodents are not attracted to your chicken house.

Your chicken house needs to have the correct heating and a minimum of 5 cm of bedding material.

Cleaning and disinfecting the poul­try house after each flock is a critical component of successful brooding. This means all organic matter must be removed from the house and disposed of properly.

It is recommended that the house sits empty for 14 days before your next flock.

Dual purpose birds love to scavenge and should spend most of their day roaming freely and foraging for food. On average you will need 10 m² per bird to scavenge. They will eat insects, worms, snails, grains, seeds and berries. This means there must be grass and vegeta­tion for your chickens to find food.

If you live in a very dry, dusty area without vegetation your birds will need more supplemental feed as there will be less opportunity for them to scav­enge for their own food.

Diseases, parasites and bio-security

To ensure you buy healthy chickens you can buy dual-purposes poultry from a brooder unit where they have been vaccinated and well cared for. This way you know you are buying high quality chicks.

Do your best not to mix the poultry in your flocks. Do not keep ducks and pigeons or turkeys with your chickens, as each bird can carry its own diseases and infect your chickens.

Wash your hands before and after handling your chickens. This is not only for their safety, but yours as well. Chickens can carry parasites that can be transmitted to you or vice versa.

Keep an eye on your birds to ensure they are acting normally: Are they foraging freely, walking normally and growing normally? Inspect them regu­larly to look for diseases and check their droppings for worms.

You should also check your birds for ectoparasites like fleas, lice and mites. They are found between the feathers, under the wing, on the eyes, the comb and wattles, and on the legs and cloa­cal areas.

If you suspect your bird is sick, quar­antine the sick birds from the rest of your flock and keep them separate until they are healthy. Get in touch with your local vet or a representative of the brooder unit for assistance with sick birds.

Do not eat a bird that you suspect has died of a disease. Bury the dead bird at least hundred metres from your chicken house. Only use chicken ma­nure on your fields if they are far away from your chicken house.

Here is a list to help you ensure your poultry house is disease and parasite free:

  • Ensure the grass around your poultry house is cut short and overhanging tree branches are removed
  • Remove any trash around your poultry house
  • When cleaning your poultry house, check the floors for cracks and repairs that must be done
  • Inspect the roof of the house daily to ensure repairs are made in a timely manner
  • Inspect the sidewalls and mesh of the house daily to see if repairs must be made
  • Ensure all lights are working cor­rectly
  • Lock the poultry house at night
  • Ensure there is a clean set of plastic boots outside the poultry house door to wear when entering the house. These boots must be cleaned daily
  • Keep feedbags off the floor to pre­vent rodents, people and pets from contaminating the feed
  • Limit the visitors that enter the poultry house or the area where your birds forage
  • Do not allow young children to handle or hug the chicks
  • Ensure everyone washes their hands before and after handling the chicks
  • No dogs or other pets are allowed into the poultry house

Stick to a routine

The WPF has put together a morning and evening checklist that you can follow to help you raise happy and healthy chickens.

  • Clean feeders (remove any feathers, waste, other materials)
  • Top-off feed
  • Replace any broken lights
  • Check and record temperature inside the house (at chick level)
  • Is there a strong odour of ammonia, mould or wet litter?
  • Are the chicks behaving properly (not huddled under or away from the heat source)?
  • Adjust temperatureif necessary
  • Adjust curtain height if necessary
  • Clean waterers/water fonts
  • Add clean, room temperature water
  • Clean boots before entering house
  • Wash hands before and after handling chicks
  • Remove any dead chicks
  • Record number of dead chicks
  • Remove any caked litter and replace with dry bedding
  • Lock chicken house when done

The information in this article was kindly provided by the World Poul­try Foundation. Visit their website at https://worldpoultryfoundation.org/ for more helpful information.

Download the FeedMixer app today: Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/feedmixer/id6448705400