CBLM Animal Production (Poultry Chicken)

COMPETENCY BASED LEARNING MATERIAL
Sector:
AGRICULTURE AND FISHERY SECTOR
Qualifications:
ANIMAL PRODUCTION (POULTRY CHICKEN NC II
Unit of Competency:
MAINTAIN POULTRY HOUSE
Module Title:
MAINTAINING POULTRY HOUSE
Institution:
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
TACLOBAN CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL STUDIES INC.
Tacloban City, LEYTE
ANIMAL PRODUCTION Date Developed: Document No.

NC II Date Revised:
(POULTRY CHICKEN) Revised by: Issued by: TCITSI Page 1
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Introduction:
Poultry production is the process of raising chickens, ducks,
turkeys, and other birds for meat or eggs. It involves several stages from
hatch to peak performance, harvesting, and processing. Poultry farming can
be done on a small or large scale, and it is a major source of animal
protein. Poultry production has a competitive advantage due to abundant
feed resources, efficient feed conversion, and modern genetics. Poultry
production can also be sustainable and carbon neutral, depending on how
birds and feed are raised.

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INFORMATION SHEET 2.1: Poultry housing and facilities are cleaned
and disinfected in regular basis.
Cleaning and Disinfection
To achieve the genetic potential of our broilers, it is important to provide
them with everything they require, including the correct temperature and
ventilation conditions along with a good feed and water management program.
The first step to reach the desired performance is to provide the flock with a
clean environment where the risk of flock infection at placement is minimal.
Reducing the risk of infection requires a clear and complete cleaning and
disinfection program.
The cleaning and disinfection program should be rigorous and consistent
between every flock. It is important to note that even if the previous flock had no
outward signs of infection or if there were no sanitary issues in the house, that
does not necessarily mean pathogens were not present. Thorough cleaning must
be done regardless of an outgoing flock’s status. Chicks are more susceptible to
disease than adults, and if cleaning is done poorly, any pathogens present
during placement could create significant risks to the flock.
Personnel are a leading cause of contaminating a clean house. Footbaths and

clean boots must be available at the entrance to every house.
The written cleaning procedure must be simple and easy for all personnel to
understand. Although each operation is unique, the cleaning and sanitizing
steps will be the same and must be performed correctly and thoroughly.
Additionally, all personnel using chemicals for cleaning and disinfection
must use personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, gloves,
goggles, and overalls according to the chemicals safety guidelines. This will
ensure human welfare and that the procedure is completed correctly.
After the flock has left the farm, apply an insecticide to the litter. Allow the
insecticide time to work (at least 24 hours), then remove the litter from the

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houses and take it at least one kilometer away from the farm. Keep the litter
covered as some insects can fly away from the litter and relocate to other
houses on the farm. Additionally, a common mistake is to remove litter from
one house after other houses on the farm have already been cleaned. This
can cause the contamination of cleaned houses by insects, organic materials,
and even pathogens. If more than one house on a farm is cleaned on the
same day, take steps to prevent contaminating cleaned houses.
When cleaning, begin at the top of the walls and ceiling and work downward
to prevent recontaminating cleaned areas.
Once the organic material has been removed, start washing the house and
equipment. Begin with the top of the house and work down. If any equipment
cannot be washed, remove it and dry clean it. (The durability and waterproof
characteristics of equipment must be considered when purchasing.) The
cleaning procedure must include all rooms in direct and indirect contact with
the poultry houses, including showers and storage facilities. It is important
to clean the outside of air inlets and curtains so that when the ventilation is
activated, contaminated dust is not drawn inside the house.
Apply a foam detergent and leave it for the correct time according to the
manufacturer’s instructions. Rinse with high-pressure water, working in one
direction from top to bottom to prevent recontamination.
At this point, reinstall all the equipment and start with the disinfection.
There are several chemicals available for disinfection, but for optimal
efficacy, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Be aware that some
chemicals have specific temperatures and concentrations at which they work
best. Apply the disinfectant with low-pressure water to ensure that it reaches
all surfaces. Start from the end of the house and proceed toward the
entrance, again to prevent recontamination.
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Treat the litter with an insecticide before removing it from the house.
Organic matter interferes with the activity of disinfectants; therefore,

it’s very important that surfaces are clean before disinfecting. In some cases,
I have seen people not washing but only disinfecting to speed up the
procedure, and this is completely ineffective. Removing the litter and
washing the house reduces the microbial load by 90% while disinfection in
general represents only 10%.
After liquid disinfection has finished and all equipment has been reinstalled,
it is time to fumigate. Again, for it to be effective, use the right concentration
(normally calculated in m³) at the correct temperature for the correct time
following the manufacturer’s instructions. Following treatment, ventilate the
house to remove any chemical residual. After litter placement, the house can
be fumigated again; however, use caution with products that require ignition
as they present a fire hazard. Spray disinfectants are also available but can
leave residues that are potentially harmful to chicks.
Clean poultry houses are the basis for a healthy and productive flock.

NC II Date Revised:
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INFORMATION SHEET 2.2: Brood and Grow Chicks
Brooding and Growing Chicks
Raising chicks can be rewarding, fun and sometimes just plain
confusing. What temperature should their habitat be? Why aren’t they eating
the chick food but instead seem to find shavings the tastiest thing possible?
Is it normal to lose one chick? What about five? Brooding, done correctly,
can be a wonderful experience, and it can be a great alternative to buying
adult birds.
What is Brooding?
Technically, brooding is defined as the period from hatching until
supplemental heat is no longer needed. For most people, this means the time
period that the chicks need to be kept inside or with a heat lamp, which is
generally somewhere between three to eight weeks. The smaller and slower-
growing the breed is, the longer it will need the support of brooding.
This is a critical time for your chicks. They’re growing rapidly; they can’t
handle most outdoor environments because they don’t regulate temperature
as adult chickens do; and they’re at their most vulnerable for disease.
Brooding is also when incorrect incubation or poor parent stock is most
obvious; sickly chicks are more difficult to raise and require more extensive
management.
Luckily, there are a few ways that brooding can be explained to make sense
of it all. Many of these categories are the same for adult-bird management,
but instead of a one-size-fits-all mentality, you will have to alter and change
the environment and the rules as your birds grow.
There are eight different things chicken keepers need to remember when they
are brooding any kind of bird, be it chickens, turkeys or quail:
 light
 temperature
 ventilation
 humidity
 bedding
 feed
 water
 mortality

NC II Date Revised:
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Light and Temperature
Your lighting fixture fills two

needs: heat and light to see by.
Most backyard chickens are raised
with heat lamps hung over the
brooder. These lamps are easy to
find at local feed-supply stores or
online and are easy on the wallet—
something that can’t be said for
pan brooders or heaters. The
temperature generated by a heat
lamp is easily adjusted by raising
and lowering the lamp. Remember,
never hang lamps by their electrical
cord, as his is the easiest way to
start a fire; instead, use a chain or rope.
Pan brooders or heaters are generally used in larger brooding situations (i.e.,
commercial flocks) and are large and expensive for the average small flock. In
fact, even mid-sized flocks often use multiple heat lamps to save the initial
investment and ongoing expense of other heating options.
Heat lamps also offer another positive: color conditioning. Color conditioning
uses different colors of lamps (red being the most common) to change chick
behavior. While studies on blue, yellow and green lighting have not shown
any significant change in chick behavior, red lamps have been shown to
reduce aggression in most species of poultry. For this reason, most vendors
will offer red lights next to their typical incandescent models .
While it sounds easy to adjust your brooder temperature by changing the

height of your lamp, in practice, it can be difficult. Technically, you should
have a thermometer in the center of your brooder and a thermometer on the
edge of your brooder, with at most a 10-degree difference between the two
thermometers. Different chick ages have different temperature requirements;
on the first day, start with the center temperature being 90 to 95 degrees F,
and reduce by 5 degrees each week.
In reality, most people follow the cluster rule: If your chicks are clustered all
under the lamp, it’s too cool, and if your chicks are all clustered around the
edge of the brooder, it’s too warm. Optimally, they should be spread
throughout the brooder comfortably moving around.
The main thing to remember if you are maintaining the temperature of your
brooder via a method other than heat lamps is that chickens aren’t always
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very good at self preservation. Using a heating pad can result in severe burns
on the feet and keel, and using a heat source that is horizontal to the
brooder, such as a standing heater, can cause some chicks to burn or
overheat as the ones behind push them too close to the heat source. Next to
heat lamps, overhead heaters, such as lamp or pan brooders, tend to be the
safest method giving the chicks the possibility of searching their temperature
comfort zone.
Your Complete Guide To Brooding Chicks - Hobby Farms

NC II Date Revised:
Revision #

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COMPETENCY BASED LEARNING MATERIAL

ANIMAL PRODUCTION Date Developed: Document No.

ANIMAL PRODUCTION Date Developed: Document No.

Personnel are a leading cause of contaminating a clean house. Footbaths and

ANIMAL PRODUCTION Date Developed: Document No.

Organic matter interferes with the activity of disinfectants; therefore,

ANIMAL PRODUCTION Date Developed: Document No.

ANIMAL PRODUCTION Date Developed: Document No.

Your lighting fixture fills two

While it sounds easy to adjust your brooder temperature by changing the

Your Complete Guide To Brooding Chicks - Hobby Farms

ANIMAL PRODUCTION Date Developed: Document No.

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