7 common mistakes poultry farmers make

Just like all other agro businesses, poultry business will fail when the right things are not done. Some of the mistakes made when raising poultry could lead to disaster such as the loss of all or almost all of your birds. These could result in a significant loss for the poultry farmer. If you ask any poultry farmer, they will likely give you a list of things they would have done differently in their poultry business. Every poultry farmer has made mistakes at one time or another including me too, some of them affect your birds a bit, but others can lead to your birds being seriously injured, or even death. However, every mistake or mismanagement in poultry farming should be avoided completely to ensure maximum profit for your birds.

Mistake #1: Lack of proper hygiene

This is obviously not new to you but you may not understand the principles behind proper hygiene in a poultry farm. Proper hygiene in a poultry farm is not limited to the health or welfare of the chickens, it encompasses all that relates to the birds; it starts with you.

As a poultry farm manager, you need to understand that the health and survival of your chickens lies in your hands, you are the most virulent potential pathogen or vector of diseases because the frequency of your relationship with the birds is higher than any other person. Of course, no one would restrict your movement on your farm.

Most poultry farmers underestimate or let me say do not believe in the existence and effect of microorganisms. This is why you see poultry farmers wear the same farm outfit within and outside the farm. This is very wrong!

Do you know that a strand of an infected feather can ruin a flock of over 1000 birds? Just one strand.

• Avoid having direct contact with your birds during operations. Use gloves. Dedicate a pair of gloves to a particular pen and not the whole farm.
• Have a different set of apron or farm coat for each pen. This is not too common in most poultry farms. Especially when dealing with chickens of different ages say brooding and layer pen.
• Use different slippers in different pen or production unit. This is a great mistake most poultry farmers make; most of the disease pathogens find their way into the pen through the sand and other particles that trap in the base of the slippers.

  

  How many poultry farmers have a footbath to wash their feet at entrance of their pen?

To inculcate proper hygiene in your farm, it is best you have different farm kits for each production unit.

Mistake #2: Activities within the poultry farm location

One of the actions you are expected to take before establishing a poultry farm is a site survey.

Did you bother putting the activities in that area into consideration?

Most of us want to site our poultry farm in a rural area simply because we do not have a way to control the poultry farm odour or the land in the rural area is cheap to secure.

This is fine but the activities of the area need to be greatly considered because of the water quality. Water is a very important poultry diet; feeds may be limited in supply but not water, water must be served in the right quality and quantity. In order to preserve the quality of the water, the activities of the area must be greatly reviewed. Do not site your poultry farm near or around a petrochemical company or a heavy metal processing company.

Mistake #3: Inadequate feeding and drinking equipment

I remember when I was working in a poultry farm; we used to have uneven growth habit in the chickens that were stocked the same day, I used to be very curious. I used to think it was probably as a result of their genetic makeup until the day we caged the bigger ones and left behind the smaller ones in the rearing unit.

Under a few weeks, a huge difference was observed in their growth rate. It was obviously not because of overstocking, we were cautious of that but I later detected that not all the chickens have access to the best or nutritious component of the feed we served. Only the agile and smart ones are fast at picking up grains and other beneficial components of the feed, leaving remnants from the chickens that could not find their way to the trough on time.

Feeding chickens should not be a model of the survival of the fittest. Provide enough feeding and drinking material such that the chickens would conveniently eat without anyone mounting the other or eating with menace. Probably you do not know that stress-induced during feeding also reduces the efficiency of the feed.

Mistake #4: Disposing mortality wrongly

Some farmers do not know how to dispose dead chickens. In most cases, 90 percent of mortality is caused by diseases, which could be transferred to healthy birds when the dead ones are not properly disposed of. Do not dump dead birds on the dumping site; it is best you bury them deep enough to ensure their remnants do not find their way up in the air.

Mistake #5: Feeding and stocking day-old-chicks on the day of arrival

Many would not agree with this but it is just the best but uncommon practice. Do not feed and stock day-old-chicks on the day of arrival.

Why?

The first faeces of the chicks are always green in colour; when you stock and feed on the day of arrival, the chicks would pass out the greenish faeces into the feeding tray and in the process of eating, they ingest it back into their system. This may weaken their immune system and cause infection. Stock the day-old-chicks the second day of delivery and start the feeding with clean equipment.

Mistake #6: Improper storage of feed

Poor storage leads to poor quality and reduced efficiency of the feed. You should be wary of two factors; rodents and water. Ensure your feed storage unit is free from rodent attack; they are disease vectors. Their waste can contaminate the feed and in return cause serious health damage to both humans and the chickens. Similarly, water makes the feed cake up and facilitates the growth of fungi and other microorganisms. Keep your feed out of reach of rodents and water.

Mistake #7: Poor litter maintenance

Bedding is essential in a poultry pen. It mimics the natural environment of the birds. Examples of bedding materials are: wood shavings, groundnut husk, rice hull etc. The bedding material must be at least 6 inches deep for effectiveness. Change your litters every two weeks and not monthly to avoid ammonia build-up.

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