The Sunday News
Mhlupheki Dube Farming
THIS week we continue with poultry production focusing on production of layers especially culling of non-productive layers.
Just like in cattle it is important to cull non-productive birds as these will be free loaders consuming food for nothing. Culling hens refers to the identification and removal of the non-laying or low producing hens from a laying flock.
These are then taken straight to the market unless if they are diseased and not suitable for human consumption.
Removing the inferior birds reduces the cost of producing eggs, reduces the incidence of disease, and increases the available space for more productive hens.
Non-laying hens may be diseased if it is not due to biological defects. Hens will eat feed whether or not they are laying and hence culling birds will make more feed and space available for more productive birds.
Culling of pullets can be done at the point of laying by removing the obviously undersized, underdeveloped, weak, crippled, or diseased birds which have very little chance of becoming good laying hens.
However, do not be too critical when evaluating the pullet’s size and development, since some good laying hens mature late.
Give the birds a chance to mature if they show characteristics that they may develop into good layers.
Remove any bird which has a permanent genetic or injury-produced deformity such as crossed beak, slipped wing, one or both eyes blind, or any leg deformity that can interfere with the bird’s ability to reach feed, water, or the laying nest.
It is most economical to remove these birds from the flock as soon as you notice them. This will eliminate feeding birds with little or no chance of becoming good laying hens.
Hens can also be culled about eight to 10 weeks after going into laying. This provides extra time for the development of the slower maturing pullets.
Often you can detect the non-laying or poor producing birds by observing the condition of the comb and head characteristics. Body characteristics will indicate if the bird is capable of being a good layer.
You may also want to delay culling if a significant portion of the flock is suffering or recovering from a minor disease or molt.
Culling a diseased or molting flock often removes some of the better laying birds.
A good layer will have a large, smooth, moist, almost white vent.
The two small bones at the sides of the vent are called the pubic bones. They should be flexible and wide apart, with at least two finger widths between them. The abdomen should be deep, soft, and pliable without an accumulation of body fat. The non-layer will usually have a smaller body with a shallow, firm abdomen. The pubic bones are usually stiff and close together when the hen is not laying. The distance between the pubic bones is one finger width or less. The vent of a non-layer is usually small, puckered, and round.
After the laying flock has reached peak egg production and production begins to decrease, you should occasionally check your flock for poor producing hens.
These poor producers have highly pigmented (yellow) beaks and shanks. As the hen produces eggs, she diverts yellow colour from certain portions of her body and deposits it into the yolks of the eggs.
Bleaching of various parts of the hen’s body is a very good indicator of the time the hen has been in production. The vent is the first site of colour bleaching.
When a pullet begins to lay, the colour fades from the vent within the first week of lay. A good producing hen will have a white or pink vent. The eye rings start to bleach soon after the vent and are usually completely bleached within the first two weeks of lay. The beak is the first significant portion of the body generally used to judge the bleaching effect of egg production. The beak will lose its colour, progressing from the base to the tip. It takes from four to eight weeks for the beak to bleach after the hen begins laying eggs. A hen whose beak is fully pigmented has not laid for at least four weeks.
I hope this instalment which is a bit technical will help you better manage your layers.
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