Planning
The expected delivery date, time, and number of chicks should be established with the supplier well in advance. This will ensure that the appropriate brooding set-up is in place and that chicks can be unloaded and placed as quickly as possible.
Placements of broiler flocks should be planned to ensure that differences in age and/or immune status of donor parent flocks are as small as possible. This will minimize variation in final broiler live weights. One donor flock age per house is ideal. If mixed flocks are unavoidable, keep similar parent flock ages together.
Avoid mixing chicks from parent flocks under 30 weeks of age with chicks from parent flocks over 40 weeks of age.
Vaccination of donor parents maximizes maternal antibody protection in the offspring and is successful in protecting broilers against diseases which compromise performance (such as infectious bursal disease, chicken anaemia virus, and reovirus). Knowledge of the vaccination program of the donor flock provides an understanding of the initial health status of the broiler flock.