Poultry Farm Management

C. Poultry farm management : Poultry covers a number of domesticated bird species — chicken, ducks, turkeys and fowl — kept specifically for their eggs and meat, and the industry built around them extends well beyond the birds themselves, into allied professions such as processing eggs and meat, marketing poultry products, and compounding and selling poultry feed, equipment, pharmaceuticals and feed additives.

Poultry breeds are classified by their region of origin: American breeds include Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire and Rhode Island Red; Asiatic breeds include Brahma, Cochin and Langshan; Mediterranean breeds include Leghorn and Minorca; the notable English breed is Australorp; and Indian breeds include Chittagong, Aseel, Brahma and Kadaknath. Within this range, Leghorn is regarded as the best layer (for egg production), while Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, Aseel, Brahma and Kadaknath are preferred as broilers (for meat production) — so the choice of breed depends heavily on whether the farm's goal is eggs or meat.

Management requirements. Good poultry farm management starts with selecting a proper, disease-free breed, and providing suitable, safe farm conditions, proper feed and water, and consistent hygiene and health care. Layer management specifically requires purchasing high-yielding chicken stock, well-ventilated housing, proper feed, debeaking (to reduce injurious pecking), controlled lighting, a reliable waterer, sanitation, culling of unproductive birds, and vaccination. Broiler management, by contrast, focuses on breed selection, housing design, temperature control, ventilation, lighting, adequate floor space, and a feed formulated for rapid meat growth. …