Poultry Feed in Broiler/Layer Farming

POULTRY FEED:  As the name says (Poultry Feed), poultry feed is used for feeding the layer bird or broiler varies to different farming. In the case of broiler farming, the feed is different as compared to layer farming. As layer farming, the sole purpose is to produce eggs, on the other hand, broiler farming's sole purpose is to produce chicken meat. As in layer farming, the production of eggs is the key to making layer farming successful.

 

BROILER FARMING: Broiler farming can also be done in small-scale poultry farms to large industrial broiler farms. The tender and healthy meat of a young chicken grown from a hatch to fully developed chicken are called a broiler. Broilers are chicken raised specifically for the meat purpose from its hatch to the fully developed chicken. It is an important protein source.

LAYER FARMING: Layer poultry farming is the process of raising egg-laying poultry birds for the purpose of egg production. Layer chickens are a special species of hens. They start laying eggs commercially when they are 18-19 weeks of age. They continuously lay eggs till they are 72-78 weeks of age. They can produce about one kg of eggs by consuming about 2.25 kg of food during their egg-laying time. For the purpose of producing hybrid eggs layer, consider the various characteristics of cock and hen before breeding.

 As Broiler/Layer farming is different in nature, their feeds are also different in nature, not fully different but some food items are different in the feed-making process.As eggs are produced on the daily basis, the hen needs calcium on the daily basis, so that it can create the outer shell of the egg on a daily basis. To make the eggshell in a proper way, the layer of bird feed should contain the exact amount of vitamins and minerals. To let that happen the feed should be of good quality and it should contain a sufficient amount of protein and carbohydrates, along with the necessary vitamins, dietary minerals, and an adequate supply of water. Lactose-fermentation of feed can aid in supplying vitamins and minerals to poultry. Egg-laying hens require 4 grams per day of calcium of which 2 grams are used in the egg. Oyster shells are often used as a source of dietary calcium. Certain diets also require the use of grit, tiny rocks such as pieces of granite, in the feed. Grit aids in digestion by grinding food as it passes through the gizzard. Grit is not needed if the commercial feed is used. Calcium iodate is used as a supplement to iodine. On the other hand broiler farming feed should also contain all these vitamins and minerals, but as we know broiler farming's sole purpose is to produce chicken meat. The sole difference between the layer/ broiler feed is that the feed for broiler farming contains more protein than the layer farming feed.

Types of Feed used in Broiler/Layer farming are:

 Chick starter: Chick starter is for the first week (1-6 weeks) of your baby chick’s life. This contains typically 22 to 24 percent protein for broiler birds (called broiler starter) and 20 percent protein for layer bird (called layer starter). You can buy medicated or unmedicated broiler/layer starters.

·      Grower pullet: Young pullets that are destined for laying eggs are put on a lower-protein diet to slow growth it allows them to build strong bones and adult body weight before laying starts. If the protein is too high, the development of birds happens quickly and they start laying too early. Grower pullet rations consist of 18 percent protein and are fed until the chicks are of 14 weeks of age.

          Pullet developer or finisher:  At 14 weeks, young pullets can be lowered to a 16 percent protein feed until they start laying. Some feedlines don't differentiate between these stages and the grower stage just has a grower-finisher that is somewhere in the middle protein-wise.

·      Layer rations:  Laying hens mature around 22 weeks of age, which then require a 16 to 18 percent protein level, extra calcium, and minerals for strong eggshells. Don't feed layer rations to younger birds than this age as it damages their kidneys due to the high amounts of calcium and phosphorus.

·      Broiler rations: These high-protein feeds are for meat birds, particularly Cornish X Rock crosses that grow extremely fast. Broiler rations typically consist of 18 to 20 percent protein. This is sometimes called the "grower-finisher" feed. Some may choose to keep the heritage meat birds on the higher grower-finisher rations until slaughter.

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