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4-5 weeks old. 9.2 Artificial incubation A reliable power supply is essential for satisfactory egg incubation. A thermostat is needed to control the temperature at 39.5 oC and the relative humidity needs to be > 50%. Small-scale poultry breeders have successfully built small incubators to hatch 50 - 100 fertile eggs. A light bulb (s), controlled by a thermostat, provides heat although heating coils are also used. A tray of water on the floor of the brooder keeps the humidity above 50%. The eggs are turned 3 - 4 times a day. Ideally this should be done by marking the egg so that one complete turn is achieved each day but the eggs should not be rotated end to end. 34 A homemade incubator Paraffin or kerosene incubators used to be common many years ago. Heating is provided by a burning wick in a lamp similar to a conventional kerosene lamp for lighting purposes. The warm air is flowing constantly into and out of the incubator chamber. A damper controls the amount of warm air that enters or escapes from the chamber to outside is set manually once the temperature has stabalised at 39.5 oC at egg level so there is always need for an accurate thermometer. 35 9.3 Pullets They are usually raised indoors in the same way as broilers. They grow slowly and may need brooding until 4-6 weeks old. They are then given more space than broiler chickens. If there is an out doors fenced area, they can go there during the day. They should be given 500 g of broiler starter feed for the first 4-6 weeks. When this feed is used up it is replaced with a lower-quality pullet-rearing diet until 17 weeks of age. They are then given a layer diet which is high in calcium (3%) and phosphorous (0.5%). This is needed so that they can lay eggs with hard shells. Pullets will now be transferred to their layer house as they will shortly come into lay. 9.4 Battery cages can hold 1-5 hens per cage (50 x 40 cm x 45 cm high for each hen) are expensive but can be made from local material hens may peck one another and may need to have their beaks trimmed (a specialized job) can scratch one another if claws are long with loss of feathers from the back must be given a high-quality layer diet will lay more eggs and eat less feed than hens in any other housed system may be in future welfare issues as birds have little space. This worries the public 36 9.4.1 Small scale semi-commercial cage unit This is designed for a household wanting to keep only a few hens and have eggs for their family and to sell a single cage unit of 3 compartments holding 12 layers. See trainer’s manual (10.3.1) cage on legs or on a stand or legs constructed cheaply from bamboo can be moved easily out of rain and bad weather to a safe place thatched roof or without a roof if kept under cover bamboo feeders and home-made drinkers (see illustrations 4.1, 4.2) hens must receive high-quality feed to lay 9 - 10 eggs /day system sustainable if 5 eggs sold and 4 - 5 eggs consumed by the household money from egg sales is used to buy more feed hens sold after 12 months for eating or force moulted (see section 9.7 ) money from egg and hen sales used to buy replacement birds or layer chicks and grown to pullets but starting these 20 weeks before selling old hens 9.5 Barn hens hens kept indoors and on the floor with adequate floor space house must be well constructed and safe from thieves feeders, drinkers, perches and nest boxes must be provided floor litter is necessary and later used for fertilizer or compost on gardens some eggs will be laid on the floor and some of these will get dirty(should be cleaned) green feed (grass, cassava, sweet potato tops) can be given to hens 37 9.6 Free range similar to the barn system except allowed outside need a docile (quiet) breed who will not fly over the surrounding fence hens are allowed to scavenge in a secure outdoor enclosure during the day allowed to go indoors at any time. Floor space 7 - 8 hens per square metre locked up at night house similar to that for barn hens with nest boxes, drinkers and feeders Drinkers are also provided in the outside enclosed area. Space per bird in the house is a little less than for barn hens Advantage: free range system is that hens can scavenge for some of their feed and pick up some essential nutrients. Hens need green feed and there should be two separate outdoor pens which can be rotated. One will be rested to allow the grass to grow back. Sunlight provides birds with vitamin D. Disadvantage: hens will eat a little more feed and lay fewer eggs than a battery (caged) hen. They are more likely to pick up a disease (parasites) outside. The hens will not get much nourishment from the pasture and if raining will stay indoors EXERCISE Do you understand the different systems of housing poultry? If not write down what you do not understand about them and what you do understand about them 39 9.7 Force moulting This is to stop old hens from laying for about 4 weeks. Reasons: replacement pullets are expensive egg production drops when hens get old (i.e. production is less than 1 egg/2days (uneconomical) egg shells will get thin and break when birds get old may be economical to put hens through a second laying cycle hens are put out of lay by feeding a poor-quality diet for 3 - 4 weeks when about 60-70 weeks old but must always have water very few hens will be now be laying. They are then put back on a layer diet and will come into lay 2-3 weeks later eggs will now have sound, hard shells hens will lay more eggs than before and for at least the next 20 weeks will lay large eggs Disadvantage: hens are out of lay for about 3 - 4 weeks during moulting and come into full lay over the next 3 - 4 weeks so there will be loss of income 40 9.8 EGG QUALITY 9.8.1 Internal eggs get stale quickly in hot weather store eggs in a cool place when the egg yolk spreads into the white the egg is stale a stale egg may not taste different from a fresh egg some people like eggs with a deep orange-yellow yolk others like the yolk a pale yellow colour colour can be measured with a yolk colour fan there are sometimes blood spots in the egg yolk but we are not sure why 41 9.8.2 External quality eggs can be misshapen, soft-shelled, with pimples and rough surfaces egg breakage occurs easily especially if the hens are old these eggs are classified as seconds and fetch a much lower price in the market dirty eggs, blood stained eggs and fly marks on the shell make the eggs unattractive to the customer should be cleaned before selling or eating consumers prefe
