Technology of broiler battery cage rearing and fattening of egg-breed cockerels

A very important factor influencing the growth and development of broilers in cages is the lighting regime. As a rule, 24-hour lighting is used when raising broilers in cages. During the first two weeks, the light intensity at the level of feeders and drinkers should be 25 lux, and at a more mature age until the end of the growing period — 5—7 lux.

The stocking density of broilers when kept in cages, just as on the floor, depends on the duration of the growing period, the average live weight of chicks at slaughter, their sex, as well as on the design of the cages, the arrangement of feeders and drinkers, and the feeding space. When raising broilers up to 49 days of age and a live weight of 1.2—1.3 kg, 245 cm? of cage floor area is allocated per chick, and when raising up to 56 days and a live weight of 1.4—1.5 kg, the optimal cage floor area per bird will be 290—285 cm?, with feeding and drinking space being 3.2 and 3.8 cm, respectively.

When rearing pullets and cockerels separately, the stocking density varies because cockerels are characterized by a more intensive growth rate and reach slaughter age faster. 28 cockerels or 37—38 pullets are placed per 1 m? of cage floor area. In addition, when rearing broilers separately, considering the fact that breast blisters occur more frequently in older cockerels than in pullets, they can be slaughtered at an earlier age.

Production of meat from cockerels of egg breeds. Despite all the successes achieved by the country's specialized poultry meat industry, it is not yet possible to fully satisfy the population's demand for poultry meat through broiler production. The majority still consists of meat obtained as a by-product in egg-laying farms, with about 30% coming from the meat of chicks of egg breeds. The production costs for obtaining it are much higher than at broiler farms. However, considering the high fecundity of egg-breed hens and the good growth energy of cockerels, it is advisable to raise them for meat.

If 1 million hybrid cockerels are raised to 63 days of age, up to 1220 tons of meat can be obtained additionally. It is only necessary to slightly increase the production area for raising young stock and to have special compound feed.

Table 50. Recipe for compound feed for cockerels of egg breeds

Age of chicks Age of chicks Components (%) 1—30 31—63 Characteristic 1—30 31—63 days days days days Corn 35.0 35.6 Metabolizable energy, 1352 1360 kJ Barley 8.0 12.0 |Crude protein, %| 22.3 21.0 Oats 5.0 50 | 606 647 Peas 5.0 6.0 | Amino acids, %: lysine 0.99 0.94 Sunflower oilcake 10.0 10.0 |methionine 036 0.35 Soybean oilcake 13.0 9.0 |cystine 0.25 0.24 Meat and bone meal 6.0 5.0 tryptophan 0.24 0.23 arginine 1.40 1.28 Dried separated 4.0 3.0 |histidine 0.47 0.44 milk Feed yeast 4.0 5.0 |leucine 1.69 1.60 Technical fat 6.5 6.0 |isoleucine 1.09 1.01 Bone meal 0.5 0.4 phenylalanine 1.02 0.93 Shell 1.9 1.9 |threonine 0.79 0.74 Salt 0.1 0.1 |valine 1.17 1.07 Premix 1.0 1.0 Total | 1000 1009 | |

Premix composition (calculated per 1 ton of compound feed): vitamin A — 20 million IU; D3 — 1.5 million IU; E — 73 g; B1 — 20 mg; B2 — 10 g; B3 — 9 g; K — 2 g; B6 — 5 g; PP — 20 g; furazolidone — 150 g; choline chloride — 820 g; zinc sulfate — 10 g; manganese sulfate — 250 g; iron sulfate — 150 g; copper sulfate — 12 g; cobalt chloride — 4 g; potassium iodide — 5 g.

This will result in savings due to reduced costs for maintaining the parent flock (to obtain 1 million chicks, it would be necessary to have up to 10 thousand hens with the parent flock stocked twice), special facilities for it, and service personnel. Savings will be achieved on incubation and other processes associated with the production of day-old chicks, as well as on the expenses for the disposal of day-old cockerels. According to estimates, raising hybrid cockerels at 300 poultry farms producing chicken eggs will allow for an additional 300—350 thousand tons of meat.

For the efficient rearing of hybrid cockerels for meat obtained at egg-laying poultry farms, a number of measures must be carried out. It is necessary to implement industrial cooperation between state farms and collective or state-owned farms that have the material and technical base for this and possess certain feed resources. Cooperation with specialized collective and state-owned farms, of course, should be accompanied not only by providing them with day-old young poultry, but also by providing assistance in supplying compound feeds in exchange for grain, protein-vitamin supplements, and premixes. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide assistance in organizing the slaughter and processing of poultry at poultry farms and meat-packing plants or in specialized slaughtering shops of the farms themselves (provided they are organized in accordance with veterinary and sanitary standards), as well as in the sale of finished products.

It is best to raise cockerels of egg-laying breeds in battery cages. Considering that the live weight of these cockerels is somewhat lower than the weight of broilers at the same age, their stocking density is increased by 38—50%, depending on the rearing period. To prevent egg-laying breed cockerels from injuring their combs, they are trimmed or cauterized at the day-old chick stage.

The preparation of the facilities, cage equipment, and microclimate regulation are carried out in the same way as when rearing broilers in cages. However, cockerels of egg breeds are more skittish, so white lighting should be replaced with red, which has a positive effect on the chicks' behavior. Before catching and transporting the cockerels to the slaughterhouse, they are fed tranquilizers, which helps to prevent the birds from experiencing potential stress.

Slaughter of broiler chickens. Since slaughter lines are designed to process 10,000–12,000 chickens per shift, broilers are prepared for slaughter in such batches to completely empty the poultry house hall at once. Poultry house with a capacity of 20,000 birds is divided in half along its length using canvas curtains the evening before the broilers are slaughtered. Feeding is stopped 5–6 hours before transportation to the slaughterhouse, but the chickens receive water until the very moment they are sent to the processing facility. The second half of the broiler house is emptied of birds the next day. Thus, the entire 20,000-capacity broiler house is cleared within two days, after which it is cleaned, disinfected, and prepared to receive a new batch of chicks. A new batch is accepted no earlier than 14 days after the house is emptied, even though it could be prepared for reception in a shorter time; the 14-day break is a necessary sanitary interval.

When rearing chickens on litter, they are caught manually by partitioning the poultry house into small sections with special barriers. A special team catches the chickens. They are then transported to the slaughterhouse. When rearing chickens in cascade cages, they are delivered to the slaughterhouse via a conveyor belt, and when using cage containers, they are transported in the same cages in which they were reared. When catching chickens, they must not be injured, as broken wings, legs, or subcutaneous hemorrhaging from bruises impair the market appearance of the carcasses and lower their quality grade during categorization.

To ensure that broilers do not lose slaughter weight, they must be slaughtered 5–6 hours after the last feeding, followed by semi-evisceration or full evisceration. During a pre-slaughter holding period of up to 24 hours, chicks lose 6–7% of their live weight. To mitigate the stress caused by the transportation of broiler chickens, the preparation "Faustan" is used at a dose of 13–30 mg/kg of body weight in combination with 0.5–1.0 g of glucose, administered once by drinking before transportation. Table 51 provides data showing the effect of the duration of pre-slaughter holding on the yield of semi-eviscerated carcasses.

Table 51. Losses of weight, fat, and glycogen, and decrease in the yield of semi-eviscerated broiler carcasses at 56 days of age in relation to the duration of pre-slaughter holding (according to I. A. Patrik and G. V. Gladkova)

Broiler weight loss relative to their fed-state weight | Fat content in muscles (%) | Glycogen content (mg) | Yield of semi-eviscerated carcasses relative to live weight (%) | Pre-slaughter holding (h) | Total | including gastrointestinal tract contents | tissue | breast | thigh | liver | organism | — | — | — | — | 3.42 | 7.49 | 748 | 28178 | 80.0 | 4 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.8 | — | — | — | — | 82.3 | 8 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 2.3 | — | — | — | — | 82.4 | 12 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.19 | 7.04 | 583 | 2365 | 80.5 | 16 | 4.3 | 0.8 | 3.5 | — | — | — | — | 71.6 | 20 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 4.1 | — | — | — | — | 76.3 | 24 | 6.6 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 2.10 | 6.56 | 297 | 2079 | 73.0

When slaughtering poultry on a conveyor, 40 operations are performed in 40 minutes in the following sequence: stunning with high voltage (550–950 V), cutting the jugular vein, scalding, defeathering, removing the intestines, singeing, washing, sorting, packaging, and cooling. The quality of the carcass processing depends largely on the conveyor speed and the water temperature during scalding. It has been established that different temperature regimes for carcass processing are required for adult and young birds. At a conveyor speed of 4.5 m/min, the water temperature for processing broiler carcasses should be 53°C; for adult chickens, it should be 1–2°C higher.

After being removed from the conveyor, the broiler carcasses are loaded onto special trolleys and sent to a cooling chamber, where the air temperature is maintained at 0–2°C. Cooling is completed when the temperature inside the carcass reaches 0–4°C. After cooling, the carcasses are sent to a storage chamber, where they remain until sale at a temperature of 0–4°C and an air humidity of 80–85%.

Turkeys are the largest among other types of poultry livestock. Adult females weigh up to 8–10 kg, and males weigh up to 18 kg or more. Turkey farming allows for the production of a large amount of valuable dietary meat in a short time. Intensive methods of turkey meat production make it possible to rear 90–100 poults from one female per year and obtain 400–450 kg of live weight meat.

In terms of nutritional properties and taste, turkey meat favorably differs from that of other poultry species. It is richer in protein, has a better amino acid profile, and contains more vitamins, especially vitamin B, than chicken meat. In addition, turkey meat has a specific flavor characteristic of game meat.

Turkey poults grow very rapidly. Within 80—100 days of rearing, females reach a live weight of 3.5—4.0 kg, and males — 4.5—5.0 kg, with a feed conversion ratio of 3.0—3.5 kg of feed per 1 kg of gain. According to data from the Poultry Farming Department of the TSKhA, with intensive floor-rearing, the dressing percentage for turkey poults is up to 89%, and the mass of edible parts is 65—71%; when kept in cages, these figures are 88—89% and 72—75%, respectively.

Moreover, the muscle tissue mass reaches 58—59% of the turkey poults' dressing weight. The meat qualities and chemical composition of turkey poult meat are presented in Table 52.

Turkey meat production accounts for about 5% of all poultry meat produced by the enterprises of the USSR Poultry Industry. Turkey farms differ in their level of specialization and production volume. Poultry factories have a closed production cycle and are designed to produce 500—1,000 thousand turkey poults per year. They have their own breeding stock, a hatchery, rearing units for meat and replacement turkey poults, a slaughtering unit, and a cold storage facility. Some poultry factories build their own feed mills.

Specialized collective and state farms, as a rule, produce significantly less turkey meat (growing 50—100 thousand heads per year). These farms keep a breeding stock, but their production cycle is not closed, as they lack a hatchery and a unit for slaughtering and processing poultry. Therefore, such farms sell live poultry. Turkey farming associations are widely organized, encompassing a number of farms or specialized turkey poultry factories. The farms included in the associations operate according to a technological scheme. Among the larger poultry factories for turkey meat production, the Starinskaya facility in the Kiev region should be noted.

Domestic breeds and lines of turkeys, as well as foreign crosses, are used in our country. A breeding stock of turkeys is maintained to obtain hatching eggs. The size of the breeding stock is determined by the objectives for turkey meat production, the egg-

Table 52. Meat qualities and chemical composition of 105-day-old turkey poult meat when reared in cages and on deep litter

Edible parts Protein Fat Water (% of dressing weight) Muscles | Total | Dressing | Breast | Leg | Breast | Leg | Breast | Leg | Total

Males | In cages | 88.2 | 72.2 | 58.3 | 22.8 | 19.5 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 74.9 | 76.2 | 3.6

On deep | 88.7 | 64.8 | 51.4 | 23.3 | 19.1 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 74.4 | 76.2 | litter

Females | In cages | 87.6 | 74.4 | 51.9 | 22.1 | 19.1 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 74.1 | 75.9

On deep | 88.0 | 70.8 | 55.3 | 22.3 | 19.5 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 75.1 | 75.8 | litter

laying capacity of the maternal line, hatchability and survival of turkey poults, the frequency of flock replacement, and other technological features of production. The breeding stock is formed with well-developed young birds at 105—120 days of age. For more intensive use of the breeding stock, forced molting of turkeys is applied at the end of the laying period. 2—3 weeks after it ends, the turkeys begin a second laying cycle.

In multiplication flocks, 120—130 eggs are obtained from the best birds over two laying cycles. The first cycle usually lasts 20 weeks (70—80 eggs), the second — 15 weeks (50—60 eggs).

For the incubation of turkey eggs, incubators of the same design as those for chicken eggs are used. Eggs selected for incubation are calibrated and set in large batches, taking into account the capacity of the facilities for rearing turkey poults for meat or replacement young birds. Due to the fact that turkeys have a more developed broodiness instinct and seasonality of egg-laying, the quantity and quality of hatching eggs vary significantly throughout the year. However, with intensive methods of breeding work and turkey management, it is possible to obtain good hatching eggs in sufficient quantities throughout the year. In leading turkey farms, 75—80 high-quality day-old turkey poults are obtained year-round from every 100 eggs placed in the incubator.

After hatching, while still in the hatchery, day-old poults are irradiated with ultraviolet rays and then transferred to the rearing unit for replacement young stock (purebred poultry) or to broiler units (hybrid poults).

Modern, developed poultry farming allows for the raising of poults for meat using intensive methods in various climatic zones of our country. Intensive poult rearing is carried out in enclosed facilities with a controlled microclimate, using either cage or floor housing. In addition to intensive methods, camp-based poult rearing for meat is also used in the southern regions of the country.

Cage rearing of poults for meat is more progressive, as it allows for several times more poultry to be accommodated in the same production area compared to floor housing. The cage method makes it possible to create better zooveterinary conditions, thereby reducing mortality, which occurs due to crowding in floor housing. With cage rearing, poults are completely isolated from contact with manure, which helps protect them from a number of diseases. This rearing method is widely used in our country at poultry farms and specialized turkey farms, as well as abroad.

Day-old poults are placed in battery cages, where they are raised until 40–60 days of age, depending on live weight and specific technological processes. Day-old poults are placed in the middle tier of the battery, and at 6–7 days of age, they are distributed across all tiers. Only poults of the same age should be kept in one room. After 40–60 days of age, they are transferred to special cages for rearing large birds, where they are kept until slaughter. In the first few days, poults are fed from feeders, but at the same time, feed is spread directly on paper in the cages. To help the poults get used to the feed faster and encourage consumption, compound feed in the feeders is sprinkled with finely chopped green grass or onions. For the first 5–7 days, poults are fed 8 times a day, and subsequently 5–6 times a day.

The light duration for poults raised for meat is changed depending on their age. For the first two weeks, the light duration for poults is maintained at 20–22 hours, then it is gradually reduced to 14 hours. The rearing of poults is completed with this light duration. The light intensity at the feeding and drinking front should be 20 lux.

The high concentration of poultry in cage housing leads to the emission of a large amount of harmful gases, which must be removed using forced ventilation. The rate of air exchange is linked to the outside air temperature. In summer, 7–8 m³ of fresh air per kg of live weight must be supplied per hour, 3–5 m³ in spring and autumn, and 1.5–2 m³ in winter. It is desirable that heated air be supplied in winter. When heating the air to 20–25°C, the air exchange rate can be increased by 1.5–2 times.

Table 53. Temperature and relative humidity of the air in the room during cage rearing of poults

Age of turkey poults | Temperature | Relative! Age of turkey | Temperature | Relative (days) air (°C) | humidity (%) poults (days) air (°C) | humidity (4%) 1—5 35—32 70—65 16—20 22—20 65—60 6—10 31—27 70—65 31—60 19—16 65—60

11—15 26—23 65—60

In some poultry farms, for the purpose of disinfecting the premises and enriching the organism with vitamin D, turkey poults are irradiated with mercury-quartz lamps for 3—8 minutes every other day. When comparing the performance of turkey poults raised in cages and on the floor, it was established that poults in cages grow faster, consume less feed per unit of gain, and are more viable. However, when using cages not sufficiently adapted for this poultry, the carcass grade is somewhat lower due to bruises, injuries to wings and legs, and hemorrhages.

Floor-rearing of turkey poults. The intensive floor-rearing method for turkey poults involves keeping the poultry indoors without access to outdoor runs, in facilities with a regulated microclimate, feeding with balanced compound feed, and a high degree of mechanization of production processes. With the intensive floor-rearing method, turkey poults are slaughtered at 90—120 days of age with a feed conversion rate of 2.9—3.4 kg of compound feed per 1 kg of gain.

Floor-rearing of turkey poults for meat can be carried out in three ways: 1) from day-old to 90—120 days of age on deep litter in enclosed facilities; 2) from day-old to 20—30 days in cages, and from 20—30 to 90—120 days in poultry houses on deep litter or slatted floors; and 3) from day-old to 60 days on deep litter with access to sunrooms, and from 61 to 90—120 days of age on pasture. It has been established that turkey poults grow better using the first two rearing methods.

The Starinskaya poultry farm uses a combined cage-and-outdoor or cage-and-pasture method for rearing turkey poults for meat. This method is not sufficiently effective. With the combined method of rearing turkey poults for meat, three periods are distinguished: 1) from day-old to 20—30 days of age they are kept in cages; 2) from 20—30 to 40—59 days of age turkey poults are reared in acclimatizers; and 3) after 40—50 days of age (depending on climatic conditions), they are moved to the field into summer shelters, where they stay until slaughter. Field shelters are placed in fields with perennial grasses. To avoid invasive and infectious diseases, shelters are not returned to the same field earlier than three years later.

For all methods of floor-rearing of turkeys, it is necessary to comply with zooveterinary requirements. Only poultry of the same age is placed in a facility. When rearing from day-old to 100—120 days of age on deep litter, the stocking density is 5—6 turkey poults per 1 m² of floor. This stocking density is also applied when rearing turkey poults on a slatted floor and in acclimatizers. At an older age, three female turkeys or two male turkeys are placed per 1 m² of floor area in the poultry house.

Turkey poults are provided with feeders at a rate of 4 cm for dry feeding and 8—10 cm for combined feeding. The watering space is 2 cm. Trough or cup drinkers are most often used for turkey poults. Feeders and drinkers are raised as the turkey poults grow; feeders are installed at the level of the poult's back, and drinkers at the level of the head, which helps to reduce feed spillage and contamination of the drinkers.

Poultry houses for floor-rearing of turkey poults have appropriate equipment. The microclimate is regulated using forced ventilation and heating of the premises with a water or air heater system. The air temperature in the poultry house during the rearing of turkey poults for meat is maintained at 28—20° C from day-old to 30 days of age, and under brooders at 35—26° C. Relative humidity of the air should be 60—70%. For older turkey poults, the temperature is reduced to 20—16° C. Approximate microclimate standards for turkey poults during floor-rearing are given in table 54. In warm weather, 7—8 m³ of fresh air per 1 kg of live weight per hour must be supplied; in the cold season — 1.5—2 m³; and in autumn and spring — 3—5 m³, depending on the outside air temperature. Recipes for complete compound feed for turkey poults raised for meat are given in table 55.

Table 54. Microclimate standards for poults raised on litter

Age of poults (days) | Temperature (°C) | Relative air humidity (%) | Light day duration (h) | Room | Under brooder | 1—5 | 28—24 | 35—33 | 65—70 | 24 | 6—15 | 24—22 | 33—30 | 65—70 | 24—22 | 16—30 | 22—20 | 30—26 | 65—70 | 22—18 | 31—60 | 20—18 | — | 60—65 | 14—12 | 61—90 | 18—16 | — | 60—65 | 14—12 | 91—120 | 18—16 | — | 60—65 | 14—12