Poultry farming is one of the best ventures in agribusiness. Many farmers indulging in this business focus mainly on egg production, anticipating huge profits.
However, to get good profits, your chicken needs to lay, and chickens will only lay when they are happy. This means that you will need to handle your chicken well to get the best out of them.
Antonio Innocent Mudong’i, an experienced farmer and poultry expert, explains what farmers miss when rearing their chickens.
This includes wrong placement of laying boxes, poor diet, stress, etc., making the chicken uncomfortable when laying.
According to Mudong’I, farmers need to check the following things to make chickens comfortable when laying, which will improve egg output and boost earnings.
Laying Boxes
One mistake farmers tend to make is placing the laying boxes facing the window or a lighted area. Mudong’i explains that a laying box should always face the wall or an enclosed area.
“The chicken is a bird, and it needs some privacy in laying,” he said.
Further, the laying box should be as comfortable as possible to increase the chicken’s urge to lay. Check for pests and do a simple dusting with poultry powder.
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Right Selection of Patches
As much as chickens need a patching area, it should not be a surface where they can defecate. The more the droppings pile, the more room for bacteria, hence infection.
Mudong’i says that farmers need to use swinging patches designed in a way that when the chicken defecates, the droppings fall on the ground.
Hygiene
A high level of hygiene is key to high egg production. Although it’s impossible to keep the coop spotless, keeping on top of the mess is easy to do if a farmer does small clean-ups frequently.
Farmers need to ensure the chicken’s food and watering area are not contaminated. The watering area should be properly covered to avoid the absorption of faeces.
According to Mudong’i, when a chicken takes in water containing defecate, it sets the stage for Coccidiosis, a condition where chicken diarrhoea blood or chalk-like poop. This brings the egg count to a drastic fall.
Good Feeding Procedure
Feeding of the chicken should be done based on their age to avoid overfeeding or underfeeding them. Feed intake is directly proportional to egg production. When the chickens are laying, the feed intake should be more, and vice versa. The feeds should be rich in calcium to avoid laying soft-shelled or shell-less eggs.
Enough Space
Chickens do not like to be crammed together. They like having enough space to flap their wings! Chickens are so sensitive, and crowding them can lead to health and behavioral issues such as pecking and egg-eating.
By providing enough space, a farmer will be providing a happier and more content environment for the chicken, and it will be healthier and more productive. Each chicken should have 4 square feet of space.
Keep young hens
Chicken reduces the number of eggs laid every season. The younger the hen, the more the egg production. Although heavy laying breed can lay well after five years, you will still notice the difference.
