POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGEMENT-LAYER FARM PLANNING AND HOUSING

There are 16crores of layer birds in India and 5.5 crores of them are in Andhra Pradesh. The layer
industry is expected to go up by 6-7% during the next decade in the country. The population going
to go up to 6crores in A.P this takes India to the 4th rank in the world as table egg producer. In
spite of this, the per capita availability of eggs is only 50 on all India basis at present and is
expected to go up to 100 eggs by 2015. The per capita consumption of eggs is over 250 in
developed countries. There is huge demand for white eggs are over Middle East. The production cost
of eggs is the lowest in India. There is huge demand for white eggs in the Middle East. The
production cost of eggs in the lowest in India. There is no Bird Flue in the country and exports from
India are well accepted. India is already exporting about 6500 million eggs per year either in the
form of shell eggs or in the form of egg powder. All the above facts mean possible doubling the
number of birds in the next decade. The following are going to be the salient features of the future
layer industry.
1.Bigger and bigger layer units will be set up and the existing units will grow in size.
2.Cage farming is popular and there will be larger houses with more mechanization in feeding and
egg collection systems.
3.Innovative farming methods and up gradation of technology in housing, cage design, feed
formulations and disease prevention will be seen.
4.There will more stress in improvement of local consumption by promotion of Government agencies
in the rural areas.
5.The presentation of eggs in the marketing channels will go up by improving the cleaning, packing
and branding of eggs.
6.Production and marketing of designer eggs like eggs with better yolk color, rich in specific fatty
acid composition, eggs rich in specific vitamins and minerals will be pursued for elite markets.
The reasons for fast development of layer industry in A.P are
1.Entrepreneurship of Andhra farmers in adopting new technology in housing, feeding and
management methods.
2.Efficient use of unconventional feed materials resulting in lower feed costs.
3.Excellent production results through attentive management.
4. Aggressive marketing set up for eggs. There is stream lined truck transport system to carry
eggs to West Bengal, U.P, and Bihar and North Eastern states.
The success in low cost production will be governed by improving the number of marketable
eggs from every bird with minimum feed cost per egg, feed being the major input. Mechanization
and increasing the flock size will reduce the over head production. More details about the planning is
discussed here. The following papers discuss the salient points to be observed at different stages of
layer bird. Cage housing is most suitable in south and Costal parts of India Where the variation in
the day and night temperatures are least. But in north and western parts of the country summer
and winter becomes severe and thus the cages house design will vary.
One can reduce the cost of egg production by improving the efficiency of layers by increased egg
production and reduced housing cost. Cage system of housing is one such towards this goal.
ADVANTAGES OF CAGE SYSTEM
1.Land requirement is reduced to 30% compared to deep litter.
2.Less floor space is required per bird. More birds in each house. 50% of floor area compared to
litter houses.
3.Egg production by way of number and size are better
4.Less feed consumption compared to deep litter leading to better Feed efficiency.
5.Better scope for mechanization resulting in lesser labor cost per bird.
6.Medication cost is lower in cages(Regular deworming is not required)
7.Better record maintenance.
8.General shed hygiene is better.
9.Care of the pullets is better while vaccination and shifting.

10.Eggs are cleaner.

11.Identification and culling of nonproductive birds is easier.
12.Broodiness is eliminated.
13.There is no cost in purchase and maintaining the litter.
The disadvantages like fly problem and cage layer fatigue can be overcome with good
management.
Installation of sprinklers on the roof and foggers inside the shed is quite useful in decreasing
mortality and maintaining the egg production during summer. Provision of air circulation inside the
poultry house is very helpful in hot and humid environmental conditions.
PLANNING THE FARM LAYOUT
Isolation is the Key consideration while choosing the site for the new egg production unit.
Farm size is less than 60,000 birds in laying may not be viable.
A system of 1 brooder cum grower and 4 layer houses is suggested for optimum utilization of all the
facilities all times.
Leave ample scope for further expansion of batch size while choosing the land.
Choose a road where the poultry population is low even if you had to go few kilometers away.
Plan the farm little away from busy highways to avoid air born contamination, noise pollution and
unwanted visitors.
Plan a separate area for brooding and growing away from the laying facilities by few kilometers on
the same road.
Sufficient go down space for handling feed ingredients and egg at he entrance of the layer farm is
essential.
Separate vehicles inside the farm to carry feed from the feed mill and get the eggs from the houses
to be planned.
The houses should be aligned for future mechanisation
connected to the go down.

like feed and eggs transport directly

Separate area for personnel working in the farm but not far away.
Ample water to meet the demands of drinking, cleaning and cooling is essential. A daily requirement
of 3litresof water per bird should be ensured available while planning the farm. Test the available
water for presence of heavy metals, harmful chemicals and bacterial contamination. If stream or
open well water has to be used, make provision for making the water potable before the birds
arrive. If regular decontamination is required, plan the facilities to decontaminate and test the water
before use frequently.
CAGES HOUSE ENGINEERING
BROODER
The brooder and grower houses can be planned in the same premises giving at east 1000ft distance
between the brooder and grower if the grower flock does not go out before the next batch of chicks
arrive. Better to plan all in all out housing on premises basis.
The brooder houses can be deep litter houses providing 0.5sft per chick being brooded. The
side height can be low, 8ft and the width 30ft. These houses cost Rs80 per sft. And are fitted with
nipple drinkers and gas brooders. The nipple drinking system costs Rs10 per chick and the round
bulk feeders costing Rs200 per unit can feed 100 chicks. Gas brooders costing Rs4000 can be used

to brood 2500 chicks.

Cage brooding is becoming popular with increase in flock size. Handling the chicks for vaccination
and shifting is much easier in cages. The same compact deep litter houses can be fitted with two
tier California brooder cages. The cage dimensions are 15in/30in for brooding 30 chicks to start
with. The height of the cage is 14inches and floor 0.5in*0.5in mesh the chicks are then reduced per
cage to 15 and then to 7 by 6 weeks of age.
GROWER
The grower houses are constructed as raised plat form houses and these houses cost Rs120 per
sft. Houses with width up to 40ft with a side height of 10ft are suggested. Three tier California
cages with 15in/20in for 5 birds from the age of 7weeks to 14 weeks.
LAYER
California cages with 3-tier are more popular. As the mechanisation in feeding and egg collection
get popular, four tier cages with mechanical litter removal and forced ventilation are also being
installed. If the 3 tier cages are to be fitted, the platforms are constructed at a height of 4.5ft to 5ft
from the ground level. Prevent the entry of predators and birds to the litter areas also in the
interest of general hygiene.
The side height of the house is 10ft to 14ft. depending on the width of the house. Poultry
houses with 30ft width with, 10ft side height, 3 blocks of three tier cages are more popular. Houses
with 40ft width, 12ft side height and four blocks of cages are common now. 50ft wide, 14ft height at
sides with 5 blocks of cages are being built to save the construct cost per bird.
The length of the house depends upon the number of birds to be housed. The general
length is 300ft. The dimension of cage is 15in/18in for 4 birds.
Asbestos roofing and steel structures are used. The cost of construction of these houses is around
Rs120 per sft. As of now.
Owing the farm land is a must for erecting the farm with bank finance. Banks finance up to 75 %
of the capital expenditure to build the infrastructure and 75% of the working capital. The brooder
cages cost nearly Rs10per bird, growing cages Rs30 per bird and laying cages Rs60-70 per bird
depending on the level mechanisation. The initial investment cost per bird in a conventional shed is
about Rs.200. The cost of rearing the chick to layer costs up to Rs100. This includes feed, vaccines,
labor and electricity.
The requirements of birds at different ages are specific. While a nutritious starter feed is essential
to get the initial body weights, the growing feed can have more fiber and less expensive and the
layer feed is rich in calcium.
The vaccination programmed depends on area to area depending on the prevalence of diseases in
local area.
There is more stress on prevention of diseases rather cure. Biosecurity and avoiding use of
chemicals and antibiotics is becoming the order of the day. These might be mandatory as the food
laws become tighter.
Larger units should plan clean egg production with facilities to further clean, grade and stamp the
eggs with use before as per the export requirements.
Forced molting is increasingly used to mitigate the sudden fall in prices resulting from excess
production at specific periods.
The life cycle of the birds is broken in to seven stages where the management practices are
specific. They are discussed under each heading specifically.