Proper management is key to ensuring a strong broiler house. The correct nutrition and housing of day-old chicks makes all the difference when it comes to rearing healthy and productive birds.

Let’s get started:

GET THE REARING HOUSE READY

It is very important that everything needs to be ready in the rearing house before the one-day old chicks arrive. Make sure have planned your vaccination programme.

HOUSING CONDITIONS & BEDDING

The house should be clean and thoroughly sanitized using suitable disinfectants; thereafter the bedding material should be positioned – before you place the chicks inside the house.

How to place the bedding material?

1. 2.5 cm of Wood Shavings
2. 2.5 cm of Dry Sawdust
3. 1 kg/m2 Chopped Straw
4. 5 cm of Sunflower Hulls

FEEDING EQUIPMENT

Make sure that you have enough drinkers and feeders for the amount of chicks you have ordered.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?

Drinker:

Bell: You need one per 100 birds.
Nipple: 12 Birds per nipple

Feeder:

Pan: 45 birds per pan
Tube: 45 birds per 40cm tube feeder

HEATING EQUIPMENT

• Make sure that the heaters/brooders are in a good working condition and at the correct height.
• Manage the temperature – make sure that you measure and record the minimum and maximum temperatures in the chicken house with a thermostat.
• Start heating the house two days before the chicks arrive.
• Put the feed and water inside the house a day before the chicks arrive so that it will be room temperature.
• The floor temperature must be 32 °C when you place the chicks.
• Carefully regulate the temperature especially during the first 14 days.

PLACING OF THE CHICKS

• The chicks should be gently placed on the litter, and there should be water and feed available.
• Use paper to cover 50% of the brooding area; there must be 50 – 70 grams of feed per chick.
• Weigh some of your day old chicks and record their starting weight for performance tracking purposes.

FEEDING TIPS

• The starter feed must be in crumble form.
• The feed for the following phases should be in pellet form.
• The amount of feed per bird is just a suggestion.
• Broilers should never be without feed.
• From day two onwards: feed should also be put in feeding troughs (so that chicks can learn to eat from it).
• Do not place any feed/water directly under the heat source as this may cause the chicks to eat or drink 
less than they should.
• Select the most appropriate Epol broiler feed to suit your requirements or speak to an Epol Technical Advisor.

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*Reworked from our Broiler Feed PDF (Available for download here)