Poultry Breeding Management Quiz

Breeder Management - Fertility & Hatchability

• Lecture presented by Dr. Mohammad Q. Al-Natour, DVM, MPH, Ph.D.
• Department: Pathology and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
• University: Jordan University of Science and Technology
• Location: Irbid, Jordan
• Contact: [email protected]

Housing for Breeder Broilers

• Source: J. Sell, Iowa State University
• Images of chicken houses/buildings provided
• Housing is critical in breeder management for optimal fertility.

Breeder Flock Flowchart

• Shows a flowchart starting with breeder flock
• Leading to fertile eggs, hatcheries, broiler chicks, then broiler grow out
• And finally, processing to reach the ready-to-cook broiler stage

Breeder Management Practices

• Biological Isolation: Crucial for avoiding pathogens like Salmonella (Pullorum disease) and Mycoplasmas.
• Separation of Breeding Birds: Birds should be separated by sex (males and females) for a number of weeks to minimise pecking and disputes. Separating by sex for periods of 4, 9, or 20 weeks are discussed.
• Decreasing Stress: Separating by sex helps reduce stress in breeders

Importance of Weight During Growing

• Managing body weight (body wt) during the growing period is a high priority for successful breeder flocks

• Egg Type Breeders: Egg-type birds do not put on excess weight like meat-type strains. Feed restriction is often recommended during the growth and laying periods for egg-type strains of leghorns and medium-sized eggs.

• Meat Type Breeders: Maintaining optimal body weight is extremely important for broiler breeders. Overfeeding during the growing period of meat-type crosses leads to too much weight for optimal egg production later.

• Monitoring Weight: Body weight should be checked as early as 3 weeks of age.

How to Weight Breeders

• A representative sample of 5 birds should be weighed every 6 weeks.
• Controlling growth weight leading to sexual maturity, with good fleshing but minimal excess fat, improves body weight uniformity, delays the start of egg production, and increases the size of developing eggs.
• This yields greater production in the laying cycle and reduces laying house mortality.
• Decreasing the cost of producing eggs.
• Improving the hatch rate for eggs.

Housing Practices for Breeding Birds

• Brood-Grow-Lay System: The same breeding quarters are used for both rearing and breeding.

• Brood-Grow System: Egg-type strains often stay in the same house until 18-21 weeks of age when they are moved to a specific breeding area.

• Grow-Lay System: This method keeps birds in a brooding house for their first 10 weeks and then moves them to a grow-lay house

Breeder House Specifications

• Floor Space: All birds need ample space, with different standards for leghorn, meat-type, mini leghorn, and meat type standards. More space than laying birds is needed.
• Floor Type: Consideration of wire floors is not recommended for meat-type birds, as this may affect the fertility rate; a solid floor is often better.

Nests and Lighting

• Nests: There should be one nest provided for every 4 pullets.
• Lighting: Adequate hours of light are necessary for maximum egg production and hatchability. Lighting programs should exist for different types of breeder birds. This also affects their maturation

Feeder Space for Breeders

• Feeder space for breeders is generally wider than for laying pullets.
• Exact trough specifications are given for egg-type and meat-type birds

Ratio of Males to Females

• Breeder birds need specific ratios of males to females to optimise mating. This is different for many different lines of birds

Importance of Male Body Weight

• Males should be at the right weight for high quality.
• Excess weight is detrimental.

Handling Males

• Males should be handled carefully to avoid injury

Replacing Males in a Pen

• Replacing old males with younger males improves fertility, but it can be costly.
• The cost of replacing males should be considered

Egg Production Standards for Breeders

• Standards exist for hen-day, hen-housed egg production, percentage of hatching eggs, and overall hatchability.
• Egg production is typically lower for breeder birds compared to commercial egg-laying birds.
• Exact figures are given for different types

Best Age for First Eggs from Meat-Type Breeders

• Timing egg production for meat-type breeds can increase the size of the egg and increase overall production. This involves adjusting lighting, feed and breeding to optimize these traits

Best Age for First Eggs from Egg-Type Breeders

• Egg-type breeders attain 5% egg production when approximately 22 weeks old if breeding is optimised. This is then adjusted to 23-24 weeks when these birds are shifted.

Light Effects During Growing

• Light length significantly affects the age of sexual maturity in pullets.
• Decreasing the light day during the grow phase increases the time it takes until eggs start to be produced
• Increasing the light day decreases the time it takes for egg production to start

Results of Light Control

• Controlled lighting procedures impact sexual maturity and other production elements
• Increasing/decreasing the length of the light day in controlled phases will shift the time it takes to reach sexual maturity for better egg quality.

Light Threshold

• Sexual maturity and egg production rates can be impacted if the light day length is below 11 to 12 hours.

How Light Stimulates the Layer

• Light falling on the chicken's eye stimulates hormone release.

Light Intensity Threshold

• The ideal light intensity is one foot-candle.

Early Egg Size Affected by Light During Growing

• When the timing of egg production is delayed, initial eggs produced are typically bigger. This can involve delaying feed and/or changing other elements of the growing program

How Light Affects Males

• Light affects the amount of semen produced, with lower intensities leading to lower volumes.

Rearing in Light-Proof Houses

• Pullets raised in light-proof conditions receive light. This adjusts the timing of when eggs start to be produced.

Time Required for Egg Formation

• Different stages of egg formation have different time requirements.
• The different sections / organs in the chicken are involved.

Egg Production

• This shows observed numbers of eggs produced at different intervals.

Female Reproductive System: Ovary

• Mature ovaries have many developing follicles.
• They look like a cluster of grapes

Fertilization

• Insemination follows recognition of sperm binding sites by the ovum.

Fertile and Infertile Eggs

• Images of fertile and infertile eggs

Effect of Egg Storage on Hatchability

• Hatchability rates fall significantly over time.

Hatching Egg Management

• Removing dirty or damaged eggs improves hatching success

Hatchability Controlling Factors

• Controlling factors are divided into farm and hatchery categories.

Egg Handling Prior to Incubation

• Temporary stopping of embryo development by lowering egg temperature is crucial.

High to Low Storage Temperature

• Charts show the correlation between different storage temperatures and overall outcomes.

Incubation Duration

• Different birds have different incubation periods

Hatch of Fertile

• Data table listing hatch percentages by hatchery, along with fertility rates

Test your knowledge on best practices for poultry breeding management, focusing on space requirements, breeding ratios, lighting, and flooring. This quiz covers essential aspects to ensure optimal conditions for egg-type and meat-type birds in a breeding house.