Practical Poultry Keeping E-Book

David Bland

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 243

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Practical Poultry Keeping is a clear, in-depth guide to this topical subject that will enable anyone to keep poultry for pleasure or profit. Fully illustrated throughout with photographs and explanatory line-drawings, it includes: poultry breeds and uses; poultry housing and equipment; breeding and sexing birds; common problems with eggs; natural and artificial incubation and rearing; nutrition and diet; rearing birds for the table; effective planning, management and marketing and recognizing and preventing common diseases.

Leseprobe

PRACTICAL

Poultry Keeping

David Bland

The Crowood Press

First published in 2011 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

This impression 2010

© David C. Bland 1996

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 972 8

Picture credits

All photographs supplied by Alexandra Bastedo, David M. and Barrie Bland, Brinsea Incubators, Chelwood Outdoor Feeders, Curfew Incubators, Ecostat Ltd, Lurgan Fibre Ltd, Julian Moores, Mike John, Jo Coates, Poultry World and SPR. Photographic technician – Dave J. Green.

All line-drawings by Debra Syme and Annette Findlay.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Valerie Bland and Alexandra Bastedo for their help in reading and correcting the initial manuscript. The author also wishes to acknowledge the additional technical advice given by David Applegarth and David Spackman NDP BVSc MRCVS.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

  1.    Utility Breeds of Poultry

  2.    Housing

  3.    Ancillary Equipment

  4.    Breeding

  5.    The Reproductive System

  6.    Natural and Artificial Incubation

  7.    Nutrition and Digestion

  8.    Rearing Pullets for Egg Production

  9.    Rearing Heavy Birds and Preparing them for Table

10.    Planning, Management and Marketing

11.    Common Diseases

12.    Preparing Poultry for Exhibition

Glossary

Index

A NOTE ON PICTURE QUALITY

Please be aware when reading through this e-book that it was created from a printed original and not from digital files or printers’ film.

One of the results of this is that the pictures have a problem with moiré. This is a phenomenon that degrades the quality and resolution of graphic images. and is caused by photographs being reprinted in screened format.

Note that the moiré effect will vary according to the size that the image is displayed however. At certain sizes the effect will be radical and make pictures very difficult to view but if the size is changed the effect can disappear completely.

We would therefore advise that you experiment with changing the size of images or whole pages in your reader or desktop viewer should you experience these quality issues.

Foreword

In Practical Poultry Keeping David Bland makes a lifetime of practical experience available to his readers. Be they hobbyists, small-scale commercial farmers or simply have an interest in the development of the poultry industry, all will benefit from this accumulated expertise.

The book will be particularly valuable to those who wish to produce eggs and poultry in a traditional and less intensive manner than that currently employed by commerce. Other books concentrate on free-range methods, but here the author gives the reader the choice of several alternatives.

Peter DayFormer Chief Poultry Adviserto ADAS, MAFF, now runninghis own Poultry IndustryConsultancy

Introduction

This book has been written after forty-five years’ experience of practical poultry farming and will guide the reader step by step through each of the various stages of setting up and maintaining a unit, which will not only conform to welfare legislation but will be viable, avoiding many, if not all, of the common errors so frequently encountered at the cost of the producer. Units fail mostly because of ignorance through lack of training, and the problems often experienced by the novice can result in avoidable disease, severe injury and unacceptably high levels of mortality. It may be argued by some that to take on board all EC legislation will cause an otherwise successful business to fail. I hope to show the reader in the ensuing chapters how to achieve both viability and welfare.

Many large companies embark on alternative systems of egg production without understanding the fundamental requirements of the laying bird in these new environments. I say ‘new’ as since the late 1960s egg production has been increasingly intensified, moving away from an environment which was and is today very problematical. With the advent of battery units, mortality was greatly reduced and several diseases associated with extensive production disappeared.

During the late 1960s and until the early 1970s there were many advisors whose academic qualifications were backed by a sound practical background, financed by the larger feed companies and supported in Britain by the Government’s own National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS). During this period agricultural colleges were full of agricultural and poultry students, and some maintained long waiting-lists for poultry students. The overall standard of management of the farming community was very practical and knowledgeable, kept up to date by an exemplary advisory network.

Today, these same agricultural colleges, which in many cases have further expanded, attract very few, if any, students who wish to enter the field of agriculture. Instead, places are taken by those hoping for careers in the leisure business. Those highly respected advisors have long since retired and have been replaced by a much smaller band who seem unable to relate to the practical application of past systems. Now, unfortunately, advice emanates from those whose only training is in intensive environments and who fail to understand that extensive systems require different techniques, purpose-designed poultry housing, more specialized feed, hardier birds and a higher standard of management, which are all quite alien to their intensive counterparts.

1Utility Breeds

THE HISTORY OF THE SPECIES

The historical background of poultry is important because, with a better knowledge of its ancestry and background, poultry keepers are better able to understand the hens’ requirements concerning most aspects of management. Armed with this knowledge, they will be able to improve the welfare of their birds on a practical basis, providing a suitable environment for them.

Domestic poultry can be traced back to when people gave up nomadic life and settled in small villages. They gathered around them all the animals that could supply their daily needs and these included chickens. There is a lot of truth in Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories: the animals received, in return for sacrifice of liberty, comfort, protection and food.

Darwin’s first evolution theory that all poultry orginated from one fowl, Gallus Bankiva, was in later years rejected because there were definite differences of preferred habitat and natural behaviour between types of chicken. Gallus Bankiva, although varying to some extent in natural instincts and colour, depending on the Asiatic country in which it was found, is probably responsible for much of our present-day population of poultry, especially with regard to game birds and what are commonly known as light breeds.

However, it is difficult to dispute that our present-day heavy breeds have originated from a different source; this is evident from both their character and bone formation. These long, feather-legged heavy birds known nowadays as Cochins and Brahmas came from China and are altogether distinct from any other breeds of poultry. In-depth investigation by naturalists has not been able to explain the variations between the two main species, although these differences have been acknowledged by experienced poultry breeders the world over. To this day, no Gallus has been discovered from which modern heavy breeds are derived, and to which the Cochin and Brahma can be ascribed.

Cochin hen.

Cochin cockerel.

The importance of recognizing these two species of poultry lies in their differing characteristic habits which affect modern-day poultry keeping.

The Gallus Bankiva’s background is that of a jungle bird which perched, found shelter under shrubs and hedges, made nests in deep undergrowth and was very flighty and aggressive. The Brahma and Cochin (more popularly referred to as the Shanghai), nested on the ground in clear open spaces and tended to congregate as partridges do, flocking together in the centre of open ground. When these birds commenced laying, unless some kind of coop was available they chose some heap or mound to nest on, and laid browncoloured eggs. Bankiva, on the other hand, roosted in trees and nested in hedgerows or dense shrubs producing only pure white eggs.

UTILITY BREEDS

There are a great many different light and heavy breeds of poultry, the majority of which owe their continued existence to the enthusiasm of show breeders and exhibitors. Out of all the breeds there are now only about eight which are of any commercial interest for the economical production of eggs. Producers for many years now have been subjected to strains of hybrids. Work on these continues in an attempt to achieve an even higher production of large eggs while at the same time reducing the amount of feed intake. Feed represents some 70 per cent of the cost of production and is therefore a major concern of breeders and producers alike.

Rhode Island Red

Since its introduction, this has been the best and most popular of all brown-egg producing birds in Britain. The only disadvantage was that all Rhode cockerels, caponized and run on for table production, were downgraded because of the yellow pigmentation showing on skin and fat. In this country the customer has always preferred birds with white flesh and white fat, contrary to many other countries who acknowledge that yellow pigmentation stock are slightly more nutrious than white.

Today the Rhode is the major breed from which all brown-egg laying strains of hybrids are derived, the cockerels also being used with Leghorns to produce light cream eggs for many other world markets. In the 1950s it was still noted for slow feather growth which was a disadvantage to the rearer, but since then it has been improved so much that it feathers as well as any other brown-egg layer. For those wishing to breed their own stock replacement, then the Rhode Island should be the first breed to be considered provided it originates from a known utility line and not exhibition stock.

Rhode Island Red.

Light Sussex

The Light Sussex originated from the Speckled Barn Fowl before and during Roman times, and was to be found in most European countries as far as and including Russia. It was one of the genera of early table birds reared and sold at the same time as the Dorking Fowl. The latter was produced as the Sussex in the Weald of Sussex, their main market being Horsham. The Light Sussex, not regarded by purists as a true Sussex, was probably produced by out-breeding with Cochin blood, and as a result the egg colour became tinted and its proliferation of eggs was greatly improved. At laying trials after the war the Light Sussex, although regarded as a dual-purpose breed (for meat and eggs), proved its egg-producing ability by coming third to the Leghorn, with the Rhode Island coming top. Another advantage of this dual-purpose bird was that when crossed using a Rhode Island Red cockerel the progeny were sex linked. The pullet chicks are gold and the cockerel chicks yellow. Nowadays, without the advantage of caponization the cockerels are killed immediately after hatching, and used to supply the trade and charities to feed rescued birds of prey.

Two Light Sussex cockerels.

Plymouth Rock

This is an American breed produced before the turn of the century with the aid of the Cochin. At present, commercial breeding stock is held and bred in Scotland by one breeder, which he crosses with Rhode Island Red males to produce an excellent free range hybrid. Both these lines originated in America, and were later sold to South Africa. They were then brought to Scotland by Mr Peter Siddons, who produced a bird known as the Black Rock which is now distributed throughout the UK. Although this particular hybrid has not proved popular to intensive egg producers because of its greater size and slightly higher feed consumption, it has proved to be the ideal free range bird, coping better than any other with the extremes of our varied climate.

Wyandotte

The Wyandotte originated in America as the Silver Laced Wyandotte. Two of the original breeds involved in its production are the Cochin and Brahma. The feather lacing of the Silver-Laced Wyandotte came about in its original formation with the introduction of the Silver Sebright Bantam on either the Cochin or Brahma, plus the use of the Silver-Spangled Hamburgh. Some lines produced small eggs associated with the use of the Sebright in its origin, but other improved lines made it a very prolific producer of white or cream coloured eggs, sharing popularity with the other white-egg layer, the Leghorn.

The White Wyandotte is a sport of the Silver Laced which was developed in Britain before being exported back to the States, where it became an important and popular egg-producing breed. It is claimed that the White is a true British breed and is responsible in developing the White Rhode, which is now such a very important part of most of the modern-day hybrids.

It has been claimed that it produced more eggs than any other breed under cold wet conditions, which is a far cry from its present-day show counterpart. There are only one or two breeders left in Britain who still possess a true utility line. The colour of the egg has been mainly responsible for its downfall here. Its blood lines were included in the makeup of broiler breeds, and to this end it is important that the commercial utility White Wyandotte is maintained.

Maran

The Maran, which is still seriously sought after today by small breeders and hobbyist egg producers, is noted for its dark brown egg. At best it produces around 200 eggs per year, that is about 100 eggs less than its commercial rivals, and it also has a voracious appetite. Trying to improve its dismal egg production by breeding resulted in poorer shell colour, defeating the whole purpose of keeping the Maran. It is said to originate from the Carnac area of southern Brittany. The French version has lightly feathered legs, while the British breed is clean legged.

Maran pullet.

Welsummer

The Welsummer, from Holland, lays an equally brown egg with a matt shell rather than the glossy shell of the Maran. It is also a poor layer, but with a mediumsized body consumes less feed.

A trio of Welsummers.

Barnevelder

The Barnevelder also originates from Holland and is a larger-bodied bird, laying an excellent brown egg in small numbers. None of these three breeds ever became popular with commercial egg producers, but were confined to enthusiasts of the show bench.

Indian Game

The Indian Game (Cornish Game) originated in Cornwall before the Romans landed and is rumoured to have been brought in by the Phoenicians. Although they are extremely poor egg producers, their very broad compact breast with high meat to bone ratio was appreciated by early geneticists, who were responsible for breeding the original broiler table birds.

Old English Game

This is smaller than the Indian Game, but nevertheless was often used for crossing for table purposes.

Leghorn

The Leghorn is the most commonly known light breed today. It originated from the Port of Leghorn in Italy and was shipped by sea captains to American ports to be sold to local traders. They arrived in many colours and even at that time quickly established themselves as very prolific white-egg layers. One batch arriving just a few years later were White, one cockerel and several hens. These were purchased by a wealthy fruit and vegetable trader who took them home to his wife in the countryside. Both became smitten with these white birds, selling off their collection of Brown, Black, Cuckoo and Yellow Leghorns to concentrate on the White.

During the 1870s the first Whites were imported into Britain and Brown Leghorns followed a year or so later. The British breeders, attracted by this prolific egg producer, improved it still further. It was soon realized that by crossing the Leghorn hen with the Rhode Island Red male a very hardy, prolific crossbreed was achieved, with a lower appetite than the heavy breeds which made it even more viable. These crosses remained popular up to the late 1960s, at which time the public demanded and were prepared to pay more for brown eggs, causing the eventual demise of these white-egg producing birds in Britain.

It is interesting to note that during its heyday the three main breeds used when crossing were the Rhode Island × Black Leghorn (in demand by those living in the north of England), the Rhode × Brown Leghorn in the Midlands and the Rhode × White Leghorn in southern England. It is not clear how this division came about, but the Rhode × White Leghorn was the last to disappear from commercial laying units in Britain, although the White Leghorn hybrid is still in demand in hotter climates throughout the world.

Light breeds are notorious for being ‘non sitters’.

Large White Leghorn hen

Ancona

The Ancona, apart from its colour, is very similar to the Leghorn. It was an excellent layer of white eggs as the bird matured early and, being a true light breed, had a small appetite. The disadvantage at the time was that it was extremely nervous and flighty, likely to hit the roof should someone venture near the pen without warning. These days it is only sought after as a very attractive show bird.

Minorca

This was once one of the most popular breeds in this country, but unfortunately its high utility qualities were destroyed by exhibition breeders who bred for exaggerated show points; this, combined with the emergence of the Leghorn, resulted in its decline. There is little doubt that in earlier times the Minorca was out-crossed to improve other breeds, especially the Leghorn.

Legbar

The Legbar was developed between the two world wars as an autosexing breed. The sexing at day old is clearly seen with clear barring on the head and back of the female chick, while the cockerels’ barring is ill defined. It is a slightly flighty bird, a characteristic that is due due to the main influence of the Leghorn. The Legbar was produced by crossing the Brown Leghorn with the Barred Rock.

Other breeds included in this category are the Cambar from the Campine, the Dorbar (Dorking), Buff Bar (Buff Orpington), Brockbar (Buff Rock), Brussbar (Brown Sussex) and the Cream Legbar (Araucana), the latter producing lovely blue eggs. There is only one main breeder of these birds left in Britain and probably only two others left in the world so they would be a wonderful challenge for any up and coming breeder to take on.

Buff Orpington cockerel.

A Cream Legbar in the foreground and Welsummer in the background.

Autosexing Breeds

Autosexing breeds – accepted by the Poultry Club of Great Britain for exhibition in 1945 – enable the small enthusiastic breeder to discard cockerel chicks at the time of hatching. This saves them the costly problem of having to grow all chicks until they are old enough to determine the sexes safely (usually at four to six weeks of age), and then of killing off all the cockerels, which account for around 60 per cent of the hatch.

2Housing

Poultry housing is the ‘dead stock’ of a poultry unit and as such represents a considerable portion of the capital outlay, particularly if the unit is to be run on intensive-type conditions. Much thought should be given to the selection of poultry houses and to their construction because initial mistakes are easily made and costly to rectify.

In estimating the cost of home-made houses compared with those supplied by manufacturers, the saving is frequently more apparent than real. The producer may disregard the value of his own labour, and may also ignore the fact that while building houses he could be more gainfully employed in attending to other work on or away from the holding, and of course the home-made version may not be as well designed and constructed as the factory-built version.

Cheap and inefficient housing, while being a temptation, may prove the more costly investment in the long run, and equally be responsible for the failure of the business. This may be regarded as an exaggeration of the importance of the subject – but it is not. Good housing is essential to the success of any poultry enterprise, for the best stock in the world will fail to give profitable and satisfactory results without it.

As in other phases of poultry farming, moderation should be practised. Over-elaboration is as unnecessary as it is uneconomic. As a general rule, it is wise to avoid houses that have new features, even if manufacturers claim great advantages. More often than not they prove merely to be good selling points. The beginner is well advised to choose designs that have stood the test of time, and from a firm of high repute.

Poultry houses should be built to provide shelter for birds and to ensure comfort and health. They should be labour saving, i.e. doors large and fully opening, etc. These requirements are easily fulfilled, provided it is recognized that the birds are creatures of the open air, and are well protected by nature. The house should give shelter from the wind and rain and provide adequate floor space, perching and nesting accommodation for its inmates. It should be so constructed that extreme changes of temperature over short periods are avoided. The layout and equipment of the house should keep labour costs to a minimum.

There are four basic systems of poultry keeping, excluding battery cages:

1

Free range

2

Fold units

3

Semi-intensive – birds on range yet within fenced pens

4

Intensive – birds kept in deep-litter houses

Each of these systems has been well proven by poultry farmers and smallholders over the last eighty to ninety years. Under informed management each system will enable the laying hen to produce to its potential, and the system chosen will depend entirely on soil type, available location and, in some cases, its suitability to fit in with the owner’s other occupation. More than one system may be adopted depending on prevalent conditions and whether the producer intends to rear his own pullets as well as produce eggs.

FREE RANGE

The first and foremost condition of the genuine free-range producer is that he has sufficient ground to work with. On medium loam, stocking densities should be no more than 247 birds per hectare (100 birds per acre). With very heavy clay or sandy soil, however, it may be necessary to reduce the numbers slightly. To increase the stocking density on a given area of land without a rest between batches will increase the incidence of disease, especially in respect of parasitical worms.

Poultrymen sometimes speak of keeping birds free range at a stocking density of 1,000 birds per hectare (400 per acre); this is not a reasonable or practical interpretation of genuine free range. It is only possible to work on the basis of a maximum of 375 birds per hectare (150 per acre) if the house or houses are moved to another site away from existing stock at the end of each laying season. For those only wishing to keep 6 or 12 birds, then an area of 5 sq. metres (6 sq. yards) per bird is sufficient. Birds can then be alternated between runs, the frequency depending on local soil conditions, time of year and weather, so preventing either run from becoming fowl sick.

Two free-range poultry field houses housing new pullets.

A small portable poultry ark.

Protection

When setting up a free-range unit, that is one without individual runs, often little thought is given to protective fencing, which is so necessary to keep out predators, especially during the daytime. The least expensive way is to install electric fencing, of which there are two basic systems on offer. Firstly, for a permanent boundary fence, one or two manufacturers supply hard Australian wooden posts drilled at the appropriate heights to thread a thin hawser wire through, seven strands in all, which is connected to either a battery energizer or an energizer connected directly to a mains supply. It has been proved that foxes do not jump over the top.

Secondly, in recent years electric netting has become very popular; its main drawback is that it is basically designed for mobile runs rather than an in situ boundary fence. Only the horizontal lines are electrified, apart from the base line which contains no wire at all. A problem may occur when the fence is left off or the current is broken by a foreign body in some form or other lying across the line(s) and shorting the circuit. When either of these two things happen, the fencing becomes vulnerable to rabbits chewing the lower lines, destroying the tension and at the same time breaking the circuit, giving free entry to rabbits and predators alike. In some cases, foxes jump over it, as the top is clearly defined by its colour.

Electric netting is composed of woven plastic string interwoven with fine wire, which becomes brittle and breaks after a time, shorting the whole of the netting, again allowing rabbits to chew through the base to give free entry to predators. All electric fencing will need grass and weeds trimming regularly, but netting is more quickly affected by short blades of grass and weed than all-metal strands, the latter tending to burn offending projections, so maintaining a steady electrical current.

Land Use

Over stocking can be successful for a very limited period. Then serious drops in egg production accompanied by high mortality (caused by the land becoming fowl sick), and accompanied by a heavy build-up of parasitical worms, turn free-range egg production into a loss-making exercise, rather than the expected profitable enterprise which the owner can attain under good management.

If the land is available, rotation of the house or houses on fresh, rested sites should be considered. In this way, the fertility of the land is substantially improved and, at the same time, the general health of the birds is maintained by more natural means. It has to be remembered that if, during their period of lay, hens become infected with worms, treatment will have to be administered over a seven-day period, and a further seven days is demanded before eggs from these birds are allowed to be sold for human consumption. Even in the smallest area, alternative runs, or the movement of the poultry house from one paddock to another, will have a great effect on keeping birds fit and healthy.

House Design

Small poultry houses with capacities ranging from six to thirty birds are ideal for the small producer. They should be designed to give maximum protection to the bird, winter and summer alike. The framework should be constructed of 4 × 4cm (1½ × 1½in), clad with 1.5cm (½in) shiplap. Both the floor and roof should be clad with 2.5cm, (1in) tongue and grooved boarding, the roof being overlaid with heavy duty mineral felt.

A wooden house so built provides sufficient insulation for both winter and summer, provided that the poultry house is low to the ground. The coolness of the ground helps to keep the house cool in the summer while in the winter the area covered is warmer than exposed land, assisting in maintaining a warmer house. A poultry house built high up off the ground will not be beneficial to the bird, as there is no protection from cold or hot air flows and provides no control of temperature to the house or birds. The roof is where most heat is lost, and a wooden roof overlaid with mineral felt will, to some extent, assist in maintaining temperatures, acting as a partial insulator. If, instead of wood, a corrugated roof is used, it must be insulated beneath to protect birds from extreme heat or cold and draughts. Ventilation inlets should be placed at the front of the house, as close to the eaves as possible. Six birds will require a total ventilation inlet area of 30 sq. cm (4½ sq. in). By using a sliding baffle or shutter, this area may be reduced still further during the winter months. When looking at larger houses, all these factors need to be taken into consideration.

Various types of boarding for poultry field houses.

A six bird poultry house.

There are three basic poultry-house designs for free range:

1 Field house. This should be mounted on two substantial skids, 7.5 × 12.5 cm (3 × 5in) to house 50 birds. The house shown has a 2.5 × 2m (8 × 6ft) floor area with four internal perches running the length of the house. Ventilation is at either end of the ridge, with a nestbox at the back of the house. Eggs are collected from the nestbox either by entering the house or from the outside.

The position of the entrance (pophole) at the front of the house, adjacent to the door, has two advantages. Firstly, it faces the front (south), thus avoiding cold winds or rain being driven in to the discomfort of the bird. Secondly, because the hen has to enter at the front, with the nestbox situated at the far end of the house, it is able to clean its feet on the littered floor – so important in wet weather conditions – before entering the nestbox, which reduces significantly the number of dirty eggs. This design of house does not normally have a windowed area.

2 A 200-bird free-range poultry house,