Brooding

This is looking after chicks immediately after they are hatched. Separate them from the mother hen and brood them artificially. Put wood shavings on the floor to protect your chicks from colds. Provide heating starting at 350c at day one and reduce this by 50c every week until it is at 200c at three weeks, then the heat source is removed. The chicks can then be transferred to the grower rooms. Laying hens When the hens have reached sexual maturity, they will start lying and studies have shown that this could be reached in 4 to 5 months. Provide communal nests and remove eggs on daily basis for incubation. In a semi-intensive housing system the communal nest is usually in the house. The laying nest should give the hen her privacy

to avoid cases of egg peritonitis. Incubation of eggs Eggs should be kept for about a week at temperatures below 120 C to stop embryo development. Once enough eggs have been gathered they can be transferred to the incubator. This increases production because the hen does not have to brood the eggs, rather she will get back into production in a short time. It is important that eggs are clean; this would reduce the infection rate after hatching and increase the survivability of the chicks. Eggs should also be of average size to avoid hatching very small chicks which have a lower survival rate after hatching.

Eggs hatching in an incubator after twenty-one days of incubation

NUTRITION PROGRAM

Ministry of Agriculture

Department of Agricultural Research

Animal Production and Range Research Division

Private Bag 0033, Gaborone.

Phone: 267-366-8100

MANAGEMENT OF INDIGENOUS CHICKENS

Introduction

These are chickens produced under the traditional production system. This system is based on free range or scavenging feed resource base and raising of indigenous

flocks under little or no controlled breeding. The indigenous poultry production is based on low input- low output. Most of these birds are not housed exposing them to diseases, predation and accidents. Major diseases are New castle, Fowl Pox and Fowl Typhoid and more deaths are experienced in chicks. In traditional chicken production systems, water is either provided sometimes or regularly showing lack of understanding by farmers on the importance of watering their flocks. Indigenous Tswana chickens are low producing, most probably as result of poor management and low nutritive supply to supplement the scavenging feed resource base. The hen day

production is low at about 30% while the hatchability is 67%.

Purpose of Keeping Indigenous Chickens Traditional chickens are kept for Home consumption Source of income Source of protein in meat and eggs.

Status especially in rural areas. Traditional beliefs These resources are mainly owned by women at rural level

and can be used as a tool for rural development and women empowerment

Semi-intensive housing system with feeding, watering, roosting and laying areas

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

Improving the Indigenous Tswana Chicken Production Systems Improved productivity in any production system is based on improving the management aspects to allow animals to reach their production potential. Indigenous flocks are late maturing, but with improved feeding and husbandry systems, sexual maturity may be achieved earlier. Feeding The feed resource base for indigenous chickens is scavenging; despite occasional supplementation with

kitchen leftovers, cereal bran and small amounts of cereal grains these do not provide the required nutrients for normal activities and growth. Lysine is the most limiting amino acid in poultry production systems and if not supplemented production will be compromised. Cereals especially sorghums contain anti-nutritional factors which impair protein digestion. This reduces the availability of

proteins to the chickens. It is therefore, necessary to provide indigenous chickens with some amount of balanced ration to supplement the scavenging feed resource base. With improved feeding and nutrition the hen day production can increase up 60% and the hatchability will improve. An example of a feed ration follows:

Ingredient Inclusion (%)

Maize crushed 93.0 Sorghum crushed 1.0 Soyabean meal 1.0 Sunflower oil 1.8 Limestone (Feed grade) 1.1 Dicalcium Phosphate 1.2 Salt 0.4

Vitamin and Mineral Premix 0.1 DL-Methionine 0.2 L-Lysine 0.2

Note: this diet was formulated for 40% production. Do not produce this diet for commercialization. Watering

Birds should be watered frequently especially in summer; the water should be clean to reduce infections and should be kept at room temperature and located where birds can access it easily in a shady area. Preferably, water should be changed twice daily. Studies have shown a positive relationship between water and feed intake. This means that when your flocks are given enough and clean water, feed intake will increase and the growth rates will improve.

Feeding and watering Disease control Newcastle disease is the most common disease in poultry, especially indigenous flocks. It has been found that, when this disease is vaccinated against every three months the

infection rates are reduced substantially. As a working disease program, chicks should be vaccinated at day old with La sota vaccine, repeated at 21 days of age and then they can join the vaccination programme of the rest of the flock as growers. Fowl pox especially in chicks is a serious disease. To reduce the incidence of this disease, if hens brood their eggs, after hatching remove them from the nest, clean and dip the nest area and the rest of the house. However, hygiene and biosecurity are critical in poultry production systems. Housing for Indigenous Chickens

Housing is a critical component of poultry production because it protects the flocks from unfavorable weather conditions, reduces losses due to predation and other

unwanted practices. However, to increase production house your chicks from day old to 3 weeks in a brooding room, then move your growers to the grower rooms. This will prevent your chicks from predation. When they have reached sexual maturity at about 4 to 5 months then they could join the rest of the flock where they are now reared semi-intensively.

How does this increase production? Chicks are separated from the hen. The three months she was to take fostering the chicks is cut, so she goes back into production. The chicks grow faster and reach sexual

maturity earlier. After reaching this stage, cockerels that are not selected for breeding are sold and the extra female growers are also sold. This would reduce the amount of feed given to your flock, hence the increased profit.

A Schematic presentation of housing and feeding management options

ChickChickChickChickssss in a brooder room in a brooder room in a brooder room in a brooder room

Grower roomGrower roomGrower roomGrower room

Semi intensiveSemi intensiveSemi intensiveSemi intensive

Chick arrival (Day old-3 weeks) Starter crumbles

Brooder room

3 weeks to sexual maturity Grower pellets

Grower room

Sexual maturity to laying (4months onwards) Layer diet (40% production)

Semi intensive management