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Management of Large Broiler FarmsMichael P. Lacy |
Cooperative Extension Service
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
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Management of Large Broiler FarmsMichael P. Lacy |
Labor Requirements
Broiler Health
Feeding Birds
Watering Birds
Preventive Maintenance
Environment
Litter Disposal
Dead Bird Disposal
In the early days of the broiler industry, a flock of a few hundred birds was considered large. Today, improvements in management, equipment, vaccines and medication allow larger numbers of birds to be grown on the site. Recently, the industry has moved toward bigger broiler farms with flocks of between 150,000 and 300,000 birds becoming fairly common.
Advantages to large farms include reduced fixed costs and labor requirements. Also, growers increase their profits by handling more birds. Although advantages to large farms are significant, there are also inherent disadvantages. Labor problems, disease, equipment maintenance and waste disposal magnify as farm size increases. Recently, some broiler companies have experienced such serious production problems with large farms that they have limited farm size to six or fewer houses. Large broiler farms can overcome these problems with proper management and equipment.
Labor is the most serious problem associated with large farms. With today's automated equipment, it is estimated a grower can care for 20,000 birds per hour. From this, it is easy to assume that one person could care for 160,000 birds in an 8-hour work day, but growing broilers it not a 9-to-5 job. Every aspect of the operation -- from equipment to environment -- must be checked continually throughout the day, every day. There are early morning, late nights and no holidays. As a result, finding reliable, competent workers is difficult.
Training hired help is essential. Universities and poultry trade organizations sponsor educational seminars and provide publications that are excellent training tools. Some large farm operators encourage employees by profit sharing. Job satisfaction increases when workers can contribute ideas toward operation improvement. As a result, employees believe their hard work is rewarded and that are part of a team working toward the same goal. For more information on these programs and publications, contact your local county extension agent.
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| Figure 1. Reliable, competent workers are a necessity, particularly when chicks first arrive at the broiler house. |
Each breeder flock has distinctive health and immunity profiles, so chicks from different breeders do not respond to vaccines and diseases equally. Broiler companies try to fill a farm with chicks from a single breeder flock, but some broiler farms have gotten so large, their capacity exceeds the hatchery's production. Therefore chicks from different breeder flocks must be mixed.
This presents a considerable challenge to large broiler farm operators. Rolling vaccine reactions as well as field exposure to diseases are unavoidable. This makes diseases frequent and difficult to eliminate. Minimize diseases by following strict sanitation and biosecurity measures. Never allow unnecessary visitors onto the farm. Keep all animals, including wild birds, pets and rodents, away from the broiler houses. Keep foot baths filled with fresh disinfectant at each broiler house entrance.
Prevent diseases through frequent clean-out and disinfection. This improves health and feed conversion and decreases the change of condemnation at processing. A minimum of 10 to 14 days between flocks also minimizes disease by reducing the change of new chicks being infected by disease organisms surviving from the previous flock. For more information on biosecurity and sanitation, contact your county extension agent.
Feeding chicks their first week of life is time-consuming. Alternative methods eliminate the hand labor of filling feeder lids several times a day. The most popular method used is the feeder ditch system (Figure 2). Approximately 7 days of feed is deposited into a paper-lined trough constructed underneath the regular feeding system. Feed is delivered into the trough through closable holes cut into the feed line or by tractor-powered feed auger. When the chicks have consumed this, they are large enough to use the pan feeders. The paper breaks up as the birds become heavier and completely disintegrates by the end of the growing cycle.
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| Figure 2. A properly constructed feeder ditch minimizes waste. |
Waste is inevitable using the feeder ditch system. Constructing the ditch carefully and putting out just enough feed minimizes waste. Certain growers and companies prefer using feeder lids because less feed is wasted. Attachments are made for feeding systems that mechanically fill the feeder lids and reduce the labor involved.
Paired or dual feed bins are a necessity. Keeping track of feed inventories is demanding, and mistakes are unavoidable. Use two feed bins per house or pair the bins of adjacent houses. This decreases the chance of broilers going without feed for extended periods of time. Two bins allow you to keep starter, grower and finisher feeds separate, give you easy access to medicated feed, and make it easier for bin clean-out.
As mentioned before, feed inventories are difficult to keep up with. Make sure that feed arrives on time and is placed in the correct bins. Label bins clearly to reduce the chance of mistakes.
The time and labor involved in cleaning open-type waterers makes them impractical for large broiler farms. An enclosed watering system that needs little or no cleaning is preferred. Although enclosed waterers minimize labor, they require as much or more management as open waterers. Their height is critical and must be adjusted daily. Pressure regulators also require frequent monitoring and adjustment.
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| Figure 3. Using enclosed waterers saves labor but requires careful management. |
An effective filtering system is essential when using enclosed systems. Inspect filter cartridges weekly and replace as needed. Perform routine flushing and preventive maintenance after every flock.
Water meters are useful and are recommended for large farms. Monitor and compare water consumption between houses and flocks to identify disease and production problems quickly. An alarm system that alerts the grower when water pressure drops in a house is also a worthwhile safety feature.
While automated equipment enables growers to care for more birds with less labor, serious problems occur when equipment malfunctions. Today's large farms have so much equipment, something always needs repairing. As a result, birds are frequently neglected.
Minimize time spent working on equipment with a preventive maintenance program. Between flocks, inspect and tighten all fan belts, clean dust and debris off fan motors and shutters, flush out the entire watering system, and completely clean out the feeding system. Keep an inventory of spare parts (including fan and feeder motors, belts, water nipples, fogger nozzles, pumps for fogging systems, PVC pipe, water filter cartridges and light bulbs) on hand at all times. Develop a maintenance checklist based on the recommendations of equipment manufacturers. Include scheduled maintenance dates and check them off as maintenance is performed.
Another way to minimize maintenance is to use energy efficient equipment. Using fluorescent bulbs saves time and money. Fluorescent bulbs last much longer than incandescent bulbs (10,000 hours com-pared to 1,000 hours) and use considerably less electricity. Increase fan motor life by cleaning the motor housing, fans and shutters frequently. Using furnace-type brooders also minimizes maintenance because fewer are needed to heat a house.
Growers managing large farms do not have time to fine-tune ventilation systems. Set timers and thermostats so houses are slightly over-ventilated. A fan staging system with adequate backups maintains proper broiler house temperature and air quality and conserves fuel.
Computerized monitoring systems regulate the broiler house environment and are becoming more practical and affordable. Analyzing the data from these is invaluable in discovering and correcting problems.
Alarms are essential in detecting power outages and temperature extremes inside broiler houses. New alarm systems call programmed telephone number to alert personnel of broiler house problems. Check all alarm and emergency systems monthly to ensure proper performance.
Automatic standby generators are extremely expensive but can be worth the investment for the peace of mind they provide at night and when the farm is unattended. The losses incurred during a single power failure more than pay for the generator. Be sure to test generators once a month.
Broiler manure is a big problem on large farms. Litter disposal is a sensitive issue as more land is taken out of agricultural production and as concern over pollution of streams and lakes grows. One broiler house (20,000 birds per flock, 6 flocks per year) produces approximately 180 tons of manure per year. If this manure is used as pasture fertilizer at a rate of 3 to 6 tons per acre, 30 to 60 acres of pasture will be needed for litter disposal. A practical, economical and environmentally sound waste disposal plan is essential for a large farm.
Litter cannot always be disposed of immediately. If it must remain on the farm, store it as far away from broiler houses as possible. Cover litter with plastic if it is stored outside for more than a few days. Composting is an excellent way of reducing the volume of litter as well as minimizing insects, pathogens, weed seeds and odors. Contact your county extension agent for information concerning composting and litter use on crops and pasture. Prevent litter storage or disposal from contributing to surface or ground water pollution.
Dead bird disposal is also a concern on large farms. Typically, dead birds are placed in disposal pits, which fill up quickly if there is high mortality during a growing cycle.
University of Maryland researchers developed a way to compost dead birds. Begin with a simple wooden container and follow this recipe: 2 parts dead birds, 3 parts caked litter, 2 parts straw and 1 part water. Contact your county extension agent for more information on dead bird composting.
Large farms require conscientious management to avoid disasters. Develop detailed management and maintenance plans to prevent problems. If you react to problems after the fact, you have no time to care for the birds. Disease ruins many large broiler farms. Biosecurity and strict sanitation are important. It is difficult to eliminate a disease once it is established -- prevention is essential. Automated equipment saves time and labor but also requires skill and understanding to operate. Train personnel thoroughly to have an efficient, productive large farm.
Leaflet 419/Reprinted April, 2002
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