Monitoring development
A weekly control of the growth is a must to check the real evolution of the flock: early detection of
abnormal weight gain is of extreme importance to determine what corrective actions must be taken.
Late attempts to correct low body weight are not efficient at improving body composition and frame
size. In addition to this, monitoring of body weight is essential to calculate the appropriate quantity of
feed to be issued, as requirements vary according to the energy level of the diet, the house
temperature and the health status of the flock.
Method of weighing control:
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The time of weighing should be fixed, preferably in the afternoon.
We advise carrying out individual weighing and using histogram type weighing sheets
which shows at a glance the weight distribution within the population.
A sample with a minimum of 100 birds should be taken to obtain a good estimate of mean
bodyweight and uniformity. However, if the flock is divided into separate pens, it is
necessary to take a sample of 50 birds from each pen and then to calculate the overall
mean.
When rearing in cages, one should weigh all the birds from 5 or 6 cages chosen at
random in different parts of the poultry house to make up a sample.
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The quality of a flock is judged, as much as anything else, by its uniformity. A batch is uniform when
at least 80 % of the weights lie within ± 10 % of the mean.
If uniformity is outside the target range, it is necessary to identify the causes and to check:
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feeder space and position
speed of the feed chain
quality of beak trimming
vaccination status
diseases and parasitism...
Male management
We recommend that cocks and pullets are reared together as this gives satisfactory results in terms of
liveability and production and prevents stress due to social interaction that usually occurs when males
are placed into the females flock at a later age. However, males may be kept separated during the
first weeks, and then spread evenly among the females before 4 weeks of age. If males are reared
separated until the end of the rearing period, they should be gradually introduced into the females
flock to minimize possible problems derived of aggressiveness (see “Sexual behaviour”)
Monitoring developmentA weekly control of the growth is a must to check the real evolution of the flock: early detection ofabnormal weight gain is of extreme importance to determine what corrective actions must be taken.Late attempts to correct low body weight are not efficient at improving body composition and framesize. In addition to this, monitoring of body weight is essential to calculate the appropriate quantity offeed to be issued, as requirements vary according to the energy level of the diet, the housetemperature and the health status of the flock.Method of weighing control:---The time of weighing should be fixed, preferably in the afternoon.We advise carrying out individual weighing and using histogram type weighing sheetswhich shows at a glance the weight distribution within the population.A sample with a minimum of 100 birds should be taken to obtain a good estimate of meanbodyweight and uniformity. However, if the flock is divided into separate pens, it isnecessary to take a sample of 50 birds from each pen and then to calculate the overallmean.When rearing in cages, one should weigh all the birds from 5 or 6 cages chosen atrandom in different parts of the poultry house to make up a sample.-The quality of a flock is judged, as much as anything else, by its uniformity. A batch is uniform whenat least 80 % of the weights lie within ± 10 % of the mean.If uniformity is outside the target range, it is necessary to identify the causes and to check:-----feeder space and positionspeed of the feed chainquality of beak trimmingvaccination statusdiseases and parasitism...Male managementWe recommend that cocks and pullets are reared together as this gives satisfactory results in terms ofliveability and production and prevents stress due to social interaction that usually occurs when malesare placed into the females flock at a later age. However, males may be kept separated during thefirst weeks, and then spread evenly among the females before 4 weeks of age. If males are rearedseparated until the end of the rearing period, they should be gradually introduced into the femalesflock to minimize possible problems derived of aggressiveness (see “Sexual behaviour”)
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