Farm records
As your business grows larger, you are strongly advised to improve
your business administration so that you record the most important
production figures. You can use these data to identify the weakest
points in your business, so that you can tackle those problems better.
To be able to do this well, you need to have some idea of the most important
data of an egg-laying business.
A reliable administration must be kept up to date daily. This takes time
and money, but it is the only way to make your business run efficiently.
11.1 Important data
The most important data are:
? laying percentage and length of laying period
? egg weight
? feed consumption
? chicken losses.
Laying percentage and length of laying period
In countries where the poultry industry is well-developed, the hens
start laying when they are about 20 weeks. The production of the
whole chicken stock then rises quickly to a peak after another eight
weeks. At that point, most of the chickens lay an egg almost every
day. There are almost as many eggs to be gathered every day as there
are chickens. This ratio of the number of chickens to the number of
eggs gathered on one day is called the ‘laying percentage’. When the
peak in production is reached, e.g. when the chickens are 28 weeks,
the laying percentage can be as high as 90%.
Productive poultry stock is characterised by a quick rise of production
to a peak. The peak production is high and maintained for some time.
It then only slowly decreases. This results in a high average laying
percentage over the whole laying period.
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Depending on the production level, the price of eggs and of nonproductive
chickens at the end of the laying period, the laying period
for a well-run poultry business lasts 12-14 months. After this the
chickens are sold or slaughtered. This can be shown on what is known
as a production curve.
Instead of getting rid of the chickens at the end of the laying period,
they can be given a rest period, when they are allowed to moult. They
can then go through a second laying period, and perhaps even a third.
Chickens in the tropics are said to naturally start moulting after laying
for a year. This tends to happen in the season with shorter days. The
moult can be stimulated by using extra artificial lighting. It is also
possible to trick the chickens into moulting. Limit the first production
period of the chickens to only 8-10 months. Then force them to moult
by giving them less and poorer quality feed. After the moult, the production
increases again and the quality of the eggshells improves too.
Making use of a moult can be worthwhile if:
? the purchase price of chickens is high
? the egg price is low at the time
? the price received for old chickens is also low
? better eggshells raise the price received for eggs.
The price received for old hens which have stopped laying is usually
high in the tropics. Since it is difficult and risky to get all the chickens
to moult at the same time, it is probably preferable to keep layers for
only one laying period.
Egg weight
In many countries eggs are sold by weight, so the weight of eggs is
also of importance. The first eggs at the start of the laying period are
small. The weight of the eggs increases until the end of the laying period.
The egg weight partly depends on the chicken breed. It can also
be influenced by the feed given and the environment, in particular the
temperature. The egg weight is measured by weighing a number of
eggs from time to time.
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Feed consumption
Feed costs are, as a rule, the greatest expenditure of a poultry farm. It
is therefore important to have a good idea of how much feed is eaten,
and in particular the amount of feed needed per egg or per kg of eggs
or meat. This is called the feed conversion.
On a commercial poultry farm using bought compound chicken-feed,
the feed consumption per chicken per day is 100 to 120 g. This depends
on the kind of chicken (light or medium weight), the feed quality
and the air temperature. If you give the chickens home-made feed,
consumption may be higher, especially if the feed contains a lot of
crude fibre such as bran.
Chicken losses
During the laying period, chickens will regularly die. In general, a reasonably
well-run poultry farm loses a total of about 6-8% of its chickens
each year, or just over 0.5% per month. If you lose more than this,
it is important to find out why.
