Title: Poultry Essentials
1Poultry Essentials
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
2Facilities
- Expensive housing is not needed
- Housing must be clean, dry, and well ventilated.
- Brooder or heat lamps must be present to warm
chicks. - Feeders and waters needed
- 2 sq. feet needed per broiler
- Have three open sides for clean fresh air to
enter - Floor should be at least 6 inches tall to prevent
water from entering
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
3Topics to Discuss
- The following topics will be discussed
- Facilities
- Facility Preparation
- Rearing
- Lighting
- Nutrition
- Health
- Selecting the Exhibition Entry
- Conformation
- Handling and Transportation
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
4Facilities Preparation
- Clean and disinfect poultry house, feeders, and
waters before chicks arrive - Wash house with soap and water
- Spray commercial disinfectant labeled for use in
poultry houses. - Be prepared 2 days in advance
- Put at least 4 inches of litter on the floor
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
5Facilities Preparation cont.
- Electric heat lamps are good heat sources for
brooding chicks - Two 125-watt bulbs per 50 chicks are recommended
- Lamps should be secured so they do not fall to
the litter. - Should hang 18-24 inches from litter
- Lamps can be raised or lowered depending on
temperature.
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
6Rearing
- Temperature should be 60-75 F at 4 weeks of age.
- When weather permits during winter months house
should be partially opened to improve airflow - Additional heat may be needed when low
temperatures are present - Fans or evaporative cooling systems may be needed
when hot temperatures are present (birds should
be at least 4 weeks old)
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
7Lighting
- Lights should be on 24 hrs/day
- 24 hour lighting improves feathering and
increases weight, especially during summer months - Have 40-watt bulb at least 6 feet above birds
after removing heat lamps
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
8Nutrition
- Optimum performance is dependent on proper
nutrition - Fresh feed is important
- Must have high quality poultry feed with at least
20 protein - Turkey or game feed may be used in the beginning
to stimulate early growth - Feed higher protein first two weeks, then switch
broiler feed for remaining feeding period
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
9Nutrition cont.
- Small amounts of broiler feed lightly moistened
with cooking oil and fed several times during day
will stimulate older birds to eat more. - Do not put more moistened feed than the birds can
eat in 10 to 15 minutes. - Do not moisten the feed until feeding time
- An adequate level of vitamins is required to
prevent leg weakness - Water soluble poultry vitamins can be added to
water for first seven days. - Do not add vitamins past first seven days
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
10Nutrition cont.
- Feeder
- One pie or cookie pan for feed and one chick
waterer per 25 chicks are needed the first seven
days. - First 4 weeks one tube-type feeder per 25
chicks - After 4 weeks one tube-type feeder per 15 birds
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
11Nutrition cont.
- Water
- Clean fresh water must be available at all times
- First 4 weeks One 2-gallon waterer per 50
chicks - End of 4 weeks One 2-gallon waterer per pen is
required after birds are culled - Waterers should be rinsed daily and scrubbed
twice a week.
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
12Nutrition cont.
- Feed should be kept in front of birds at all
times for maximum growth to occur. - Tube feeders are preferred over horizontal
feeders - Feeders and waterers should be kept adjusted so
that trough portion is level with the back height
of the birds - Walk through birds and stir feed three to five
times per day - Will provide exercise and increased feed
consumption
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
13Health
- Keep all other poultry away from broilers and
roasters. - Medication should not be given unless birds are
sick or stressed. - Chicks purchased from late August to early
November should be vaccinated for fowl pox by 14
days of age. - Parasites are seldom a problem where birds are
properly managed and sanitary conditions
maintained
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
14Selecting the Exhibition Entry
- At show time examine birds carefully for physical
defects that would cause them to be sifted. These
include - Cuts and tears
- Broken and disjointed bones
- Skin or flesh bruises anywhere other than on the
wing tip - Breast blisters
- Insect bites
- External parasites (lice, mites or fleas)
- Extremely dirty birds
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
15Conformation
- Length. The breastbone should be long, straight,
free from defects such as dents or knobs and
carry well forward and back between the legs. The
breastbone should be parallel to the backbone. - Width. The back should be long and wide with a
broad spring of ribs. - Depth. The body should be full and deep.
Body-depth must be consistent with breast width.
Length, width and depth should be well balanced. - Fleshing (the amount and distribution of muscle
or flesh on the bird) The breast, thighs and
drumsticks carry the bulk of meat and should be
examined closely. The breast meat is the most
valued part of bird and should be given maximum
consideration. Breast muscle should be wide
throughout the length of the keel bone. The
muscle should carry well up to the crest of the
bone. A dimpled breast is desirable. The thighs
and drumsticks should be heavily muscled.
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
16Conformation
- Uniformity. Each broiler should be as near a
carbon copy of its pen mates as possible in size,
shape, fleshing and finish. - One bird can affect, the rating of the entire
pen. - Uniformity is not a factor with roaster entries
unless pens of two or three birds are shown. - Finish. (amount of fat in and immediately under
the skin) - Without adequate finish, a well-fleshed broiler
will lose a great deal of eye appeal. - Fat deposition between feather tracts on the side
of the breast is the best indication of finish. - Do not confuse finish and pigmentation (skin
color). - Skin Pigmentation. Skin pigmentation results from
the deposition of yellow or yellow-orange
pigments in the outer skin layer. It is not an
indication of finish. Only minor emphasis should
be placed on pigmentation
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
17Handling and Transportation
- Record leg bands of birds selected for show
- Large cardboard boxes are ideal carriers.
- Never place more than four broilers or two
roasters in a box when transporting them to show - Put 4 inches of litter in the container so
breasts will not bruise or become reddened - Be certain to cut adequate air holes in side
- Avoid bruising birds while taking them out of
container - DO NOT DROP CONTAINERS!
- Check birds carefully for bruises one final time
before presenting them to the sifter.
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
18Show Broiler Management - Timeline
- Please refer to pg. 51 of the Managing County 4-H
Livestock and Horse Programs User Guide
Texas 4-H and Youth Development
19Conclusions
- The importance of adequate facilities and
facility preparation - The importance of properly rearing birds
- Sufficient lighting is important for feather
growth and warmth. - Proper diets and nutritional information about
feeding birds should be identified. - Importance of health in raising poultry.
- Selection of birds for show is based on many
factors. - Confirmation of pen is a must in order to be
successful - Mishandling and transportation to show can be
detrimental to the success of the birds.
Texas 4-H and Youth Development