Broiler vs Layer—Which is more profitable?

Broiler vs Layer—Which is more profitable?



Many clients are confused on starting chicken farm for broiler or layer in their poultry farming.
Well, layers or broiler feeding gets its economic importance and disadvantages.

Broilers are poultry birds that are usually reared for meat production, they possess a strong gene, which will make them grow faster than the native Kuroilers. Layers are poultry birds reared for Egg production, and layers are not expected to gain weight and its feed ingredient is mixed in a way that it will help it layer more eggs with less weight.

So now, hereis the question: Broilers or Layers, which is more profitable?
We can not offer you a direct answer to this question. But Wehter broiler farming is more profitable than layer business wil depend greatly on your skills, market plan, as well as the capital you employ.
Layer business just work like an investement bank with a million dollars, and you withdraw 100$ every day, and you can withdraw 320-400 days, while broiler business work like an investment bank with a million dollars, and you can withdraw a million dollars every 5-6 weeks, and after that, you will have to invest another a million to the bank again . Well, both layer business and Broiler business are capital intensive business.

Also Read: The Critical things you have to consider if you want to go into Poultry Farm!

Broilers vs Layers, Startup expense
Initially, Layer business will ask for much more Capital to begin with than that of broilers business. Broilers need clean water, few vaccines, space, light and food, and they will be ready to sell within 7 weeks, and you can start rearing another flock.

Layers will require all what broilers take with multiple vaccines and debeaking. Whats’ more, it will take layers 120-135 days to start to lay eggs, so just imagine the extra cost you will have to spend during pre-laying period.


Marketing for Broilers vs Layers
The biggest problem for marketing Broilers is that your chicken will keep on consuming the feed whether you have a prospect to buy the chicken or you do not. If the market is not good, the broilers will stay in your farming without selling, you will keep incurring loss.

Layers are easier to market, because the egg can be stored conveniently without getting spoilt. The main issue for layer marketing is the egg price, if your egg price is good and stable, you can get stable egg source to distribute to your customers on daily basis.


Also Read: Why can we reduce farming cost with chicken cage?

Broiler vs Layer Disease Outbreak
Rearing of broilers to reach the market weight and ready to sell will only take 40 days, or some cases 7-8 weeks.
Within this timing period for broilers, you can rear so many batches of broilers in a year. If there is a disease outbreak,
you may lose some of your chickens, but you wil be back rearing another batch of broiler within 2-3 months.

If a disease outbreak occur to layers, and some may die, but it is practically impossible to start another batch of layer,
so for layers, chicken farmer will offer multiple vaccines to layers than that of broilers.


Also Read: Deep litter or cage system? Which gives the most profit on investment？


To sum up, Broilers and layers farming business are both profitable, and you can earn enormously with any and your
profit lies greatly on the market demand and numbers of chicken you can produce at a time. However, they both deal
with life, so a single mistake is big enough to wipe your entire flock. Before choosing any breeds, please evaluate all the
factors and make your own decision.

Housing Management in Broiler Farming

Housing Management in Broiler Farming



It is ideal to fence a broiler farm or unit to reduce human traffic which will reduce an incidence of disease outbreak and birds theft. These birds are most commonly raised on deep-litter in Traditional poultry houses and sometimes in backyard poultry houses.

Chickens can also be raised in modern commercial chicken house. The length of the house for rearing can be a manageable dimension but the width can be of 11 or 15 metres for sufficient natural ventilation.

Also Read: Indispensible nutrition for raising broiler


Reducing the floor space thereby increasing population per unit space results to overcrowding,increased mortality, cannibalism, reduced feed efficiency, uneven growth, and increase breast blister incidence. The more the floor space provided per bird, the more the average mature body weight.


Also Read: How to improve feed efficiency in broiler?

For large-scale commercial broiler production, the broiler population in a house can be as high as 10,000-50,000. Maximum recommended population per pen when using deep-litter is 2,500 for ease of management. Broilers can be raised in cages (battery cage system) as well as on the floor (deep-litter system). When raise in cages, more birds are raised per unit space.

Broiler farmers have used various lighting programmes for broiler production ranging from lack of supplementary lighting to all-night lighting with one hour of darkness in environmentally controlled poultry houses. The reasons for the one hour of light per day is to accustom the birds to some darkness in the event of accidental darkness in such event, birds will not be frightened and stampede with consequent injury. The light provided to broiler should not be too bright to reduce bird activity. It should just be bright enough for the birds to find their feed and water.

Also Read: Food Consumption in Broiler Feed

For conventional housing, supplementary light may not be provided at night. Research has found that there is no significant advantage in providing supplementary light at night.

Chicken cage farming in uganda

 Chicken cage farming in uganda

 

Uganda is a promising country for chicken cage farming, and it is the conclusion

made by our team group after travelling to Uganda for many times.

First, the climate in Uganda is neither hot nor hot, and chicken farmers in Uganda

prefer Half-open chicken farm, with stee wire mesh and small size plastic net surrounded the chicken house to avoid wild birds, Rats or snakes.

Secondly, About 80% chicken farmers in Uganda are feeding their chicken on ground floor(Layer, Broilers, or Kuroiler is a hybrid breed of chicken developed in India), and there is no ventilation, no temperature control, as well as no electricity at night.

But Chicken farmers come to realize the importance of chicken cage feeding, and they are now paying more attention to chicken cage. They are spare no efforting to transit to cage feeding, while the biggest block is funds, since farmers are suffering big loss for the death of chicken from diease infection, pollution water, as well as Poor Management.

Thirdly, Uganda also exported 70% of its egg production to Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania,however its egg production rate is low, but chicken farmers are huge. Government also encourage young people to go to farm.

According to the news from Market, there is one Chinese Chicken cage Manufacturer &Supplier----Excellen Poultry Equipment (U) Ltd., who built up warehouse in Uganda, with aiming of helping chicken farmers in Uganda.

Excellen Poultry Equipment (U) Ltd.,   +00256-781-486676

Here are Advantages for cage feeding over ground floor feeding in Uganda:

Advantages:

1, Saving more cost for Farmers because its lower cost than ground floor

2. More Suitable to use in rainless district. Durable and solid structure for long lifetime;

3. Greater number of birds is reared per unit of area .

4. Easily to deliver and installation in clients farm and make maintenance;

5. It helps producing clean eggs because the Egg conveyor system can deliver all

eggs from different houses to egg storage room just as Ground;

6. Easy control of parasitic disease like coccidiosis and worm infestation;

7. Prompt steps to control feed wastage because of the longer design feed trough edge.

8. Egg production of caged layer was reported to be more than those kept in deep litter system.

9. The overlap parts is bigger so the chicken house can get much better ventilation,

 it can be used both in open or close house according clients’ needs.

How To Improve The Egg Production

How To Improve The Egg Production

1.Thermal Insulation And Heat
In general, winter and summer two season of laying hens egg production is low.
In winter,Open hen house heat retaining property is very poor.The hen need to eat more food decompose the fat in the body to protect themselves against the cold.This not only leads to physical decline hen, but also affect the feed conversion rate.In summer, when temperatures exceed 27 ℃,Chicken breathing,heart rate, water quantity increase, the feed intake, egg production decline, the egg size, thin shell, so warm in winter, summer heatstroke ensuring breeder egg production is very important.
2.Scientifically formulated feed
Chicken's age, weight, egg production and climate factors will affect the feed intake of chicken,,farm nutrient dense diet should be adjusted according to the amount of chicken feed to make the chickens get the nutrition standard.
3.Reduce Stress
Breeders in the opening phase is more sensitive to outside stimuli, which once stimulated, it will generate stress response, which led to drop in egg production.
These stress factors are migrating flocks, feed change, cold, heat, wind, poor ventilation, excessive light, vaccination, illness and so on. In broiler breeder feeding and management, to avoid or reduce the adverse effects of these stress factors on the chicken.

4.Increasing light
Test and practice proved that adding light time to laying hens can improve the egg production.Light acts on the hypothalamus by corns, stimulate the pituitary gland to secrete follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, both of these hormones are to promote the development and promotion of a mature egg follicles, can increase egg production.
After reaching a peak laying hens should adopt 16h light, post-exposure time laying additional 1h to promote egg production increased.
5.Epidemic prevention
Strict epidemic prevention measures, and pay attention to the chickens in the breeding management, and master the chicken group health, timely treatment of sick chickens.Hen house disinfection should be strengthened, the tool should be washed clean, mosquito, fly in a timely manner.Hen house should be thoroughly disinfected before into the next batch of chicken.Chicken should be eliminated without a kind of use value, create conditions for high yield and stable yield of chickens

The Reason Of Death During The Egg Hatching

The Reason Of Death During The Egg Hatching
 (Chinese poultry net) News:

1. Blood ring inside the eggs, embryo death in 1 to 4 days, the eggs stored for too long, or the storage temperature, improper humidity; excessive vibration during transport collision; early hatching temperature is too high; even disinfected eggs; breeder nutritional deficiency or disorder; maternal infection or pathogenic microorganisms bring eggshell embryos.

2. Embryonic more than two weeks after the death of incubation, incubation temperature is too high or too low; poor ventilation, high concentrations of carbon dioxide; chicken feed protein, vitamin, mineral deficiencies.

3. Chamber normal embryos died shell, breeder nutritional deficiency or imbalance. Especially vitamin deficiency prone to this situation.

4. Chamber large, the embryo died shell, incubation temperature, low humidity, eggs malnutrition.

5. Multi embryo death two weeks of incubation, the eggs deposited higher temperature; incubation temperature is too high or too low, poor ventilation; breeder malnutrition or imbalance, vitamin deficiency; maternal or eggshell embryo brought pathogenic microbial infection; Total number of eggs is too small or too small angle.

6. The air chamber is small, the embryo died shell, poor ventilation, excessive harmful gases, excessive humidity.

7. Incubating the first 1-6 days dead embryos increased incubation temperature is too high or too low; poor ventilation; eggs stored for too long, even disinfected eggs fumigation; hereditary breeder hatching rate.

Automatic Egg Collection System – Poultry Equipment

Automatic Egg Collection System – Poultry Equipment

As far as both layer and breeder management are concerned, nowadays it has of vital importance to chose the exact egg collection system in order to being able to
a. decrease time and payroll cost;
b. to produce high quality clean eggs;
c. decrease the number of cracked and hair-cracked eggs.

Chicken egg collecting system plays a very important role on the prosperity of both layer and breeder management as well as the whole the poultry business. Because the technology is getting enough involved in this business. You should have find smarter alternatives of manual hen egg collecting system. Automatic egg collection is the SANTOW introduces which is a very costly, effective and time saving alternative way that can increase your production rate and reduce your cost in a effective way.

Automatic egg collection system

SANTOW’s chicken cage may introduce you to the high demands of egg collecting systems in the most exemplary manner:
a. high reliability;
b. ease operating;
c.gentle egg transportating.

According to the farm size, different house is designed and the requirements of the farmer, SANTOW Chicken Cage offers different custom-made egg collecting systems. These are the elevators of lifting systems, curve and rod conveyors and also works as multi-tier which is the multi-level egg collecting system. The following essential factors and questions respectively have to be taken into consideration to the purchase of a certain type of installation-
The performance of the egg collecting system have to be adapted to the capacity of the egg grader.
Are there any difference in altitude on the farm premises and the houses staggered respectively?
Do you have intention to prefer the eggs by flock or rather simultaneously?
It is the careful consideration of these aspects to make the right choices.

Poultry layer chicken white egg is better than the brown one?

Poultry layer chicken white egg is better than the brown one?

The poultry layer eggs bought at the supermarket are a varied lot, which is no surprise as our poultry layer chickens, don't look alike. The eggs in our cartons are as unique as the layer chicken that lay them in the poultry layer farming.

So why are eggshells different colors? SANTOW-AGRO professional team studies and shows the reason for it. Believe it or not, all layer chicken eggs are initially white. The color of the eggshell is determined by the hen's genetics, ie, her breed. The formation of the poultry layer egg takes approximately 26 hours, and 20 of those are necessary to construct the shell, which is made almost entirely of calcium carbonate. Pigment is added during the last four to six hours of this process.There are a lot interfere with egg color.

1,On the most basic level, breed determines the color of the egg. But, each hen has their own genetic makeup, and don't always follow the rules. 

2,If a hen is stressed, she'll release a hormone that ceases the cuticle formation and so her shell color will be pale. 

3,Some viral diseases can decrease shell color. 

4,Certain medications can impact pigmentation. 

5,The size of the egg can affect color, too. The hen is genetically programmed to make a certain amount of pigment. If she lays a very large egg, there's less pigment to go around. As a hen ages she becomes less able to synthesize the pigment and so her eggs will lighten over time.

6,Speckles and streaks are formed by an egg's slow rotation through the chicken's oviduct.

7,Additionally, if an egg is stalled in the uterus, it may become darker because there will be more time for the application of pigment. 

8,Other factors that can influence the eggshell's formation include health status, housing conditions, water quality, environmental temperature, and availability of vitamins and minerals (especially calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin D 3 ).

In fact, there are no major differences between the eggs produced by different chicken breeds. There’s no nutritional difference between white eggs and brown eggs, which are more expensive.

Little-Known-Nutrient in Chicken Eggs Important for Nervous System

Little-Known-Nutrient in Chicken Eggs Important for Nervous System

EU - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has for the first time set values for a recommended daily intake of choline, a little-known but essential nutrient that’s particularly important for pregnant women and babies, according to the British Egg Information Service.

This is good news for egg lovers - eggs are one of the few dietary sources of choline.

Emerging research has supported the importance of the micronutrient choline to the health of both mothers and babies.

Research indicates that the central nervous system is particularly sensitive to lack of choline, with effects on the structure of the brain and spinal cord and on cognition. Higher intakes of choline during the second trimester of pregnancy have also been shown to be associated with better visual memory skills at the age of seven.

Choline is often classified with the B vitamin complex as it has some similar functions. It was officially recognised as an essential nutrient by the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1998, with a recommended intake of 425mg. The new European Adequate Intake (AI) level is for 400mg of choline daily.

An average medium size egg provides 144mg choline, so a two-egg meal would provide around two-thirds of the adequate intake for an adult. A single egg provides almost all of the adequate intake for a baby aged 7-11 months.

There has not been a previous EU recommendation for choline as it had been assumed that we can make enough choline or get enough of it in our diet, but emerging research has confirmed its importance.

Africa: You Can Do So Much With Chicken Manure

Africa: You Can Do So Much With Chicken Manure

Africa: You Can Do So Much With Chicken Manure

At present, chicken farmers in Africa are not satisfied with the comprehensive utilization of chicken manure: some farmers drop chicken manure to the side of road or pit, resulting in waste and pollution; some farmers are using untreated chicken manure as fertilizer for fields or ponds. Untreated Chicken manure will do harm to agricultrual production.

Chicken Manure seems to be waste or trash, but it is a valuable source if you treat it well.

In China, a chicken farm with 30,000 chicken can sell Poultry litter at the total amout of 100,000RMB, that is USD15,500.00, and now farmers are seeking more advance method to process poultry litter to get more profit from the market.

Also Read: How to Start profitable Poultry Farm in Nigeria

Here are some technical approach we are using to help you turn your chicken manure into valuable treasure,

1, compost fermentation method

Chicken manure, fermented by compost, is a good fertilizer for grapes, watermelons, and fruit trees as well as organic vegetables. Choosing well ventilated, high-lying areas, preferably 500m far away from the residential area and chicken coop, chicken manure can be piled up, and sealed with mud outside. Generally, fermentation period will take 10 days in summer, about 2 months in Winter. This process does not completely deodorize.

2, multi-bacteria fermentation

After two-step fermentation with different bacteria (First, Pre-aerobic fermentation; Second composting), chicken manure was used to produce bio-organic fertilizer products, widely used in various crops, it is a product of pollution-free, environment-friendly and organic fertilizer, high-quality fertilizer. Through lots of experiments, the final product turns out to be of significant results.

3, thermal spray feed method

Fresh pure chicken manure is processed by thermal spray equipment, and it can greatly provide nutritional value of feed, equivalent to cotton cake, vegetable cake and sesame cake. After treatment, the final product can be used to replace some protein feed, like soybean meal. This process can aslo thoroughly deodorize.

4, fermented feed method

Fresh pure chicken manure fermented by bacteria together with a small amount of wheat bran, meal cake, and other additives. Chicken Manure can completely change the nutritional value by the fermentation process, and final product become an excellent source of protein, the equivalent of cotton seeds meal detoxification or vetetable cake detoxification. It can be used to replace part of soybean meal, with significant economic benefits. This method not only deodorizes completely, but animal palatability is also good.

Also Read: How to increase chicken egg production rate?

5, silage ammoniation method

Fresh pure chicken manure, after treatment, can be used as feed for cattle, sheep, and sometimes for pigs.

Fresh pure chicken manure is processed with shredded forage, fruit and vegetable waste, or potato, sweet potato seedlings, cereals and other mixed silage, including non-legume forage silage best. Silage, 40% -70%water, together with corn and other grains, was processed with the right amount of ammonia to improve the digestibility and palatability of forage and chicken manure. After fresh chicken dung air-dried, it is silaged in blue corn at a ratio of 30%, and it can be fed to beef cattle. This method does not completely deodorize.

6, dried (or air-dried) and crushed for feed

The fresh chicken manure can be spread out in plastic shed for drying, and can be blown with a high-speed blower. After drying, Chicken manure was crushed into pellets feed for cattle, sheep,or Poultry.  The method can not deodorize, animal palatability is poor.

Also Read: how to ensure feed nutrition for egg production peak?

7, dried (or air-dried) and crushed for fertilizer

The fresh chicken manure was dried by drying equipment. After treatment, Chicken manure can also be processed into granular fertilizer. The deodorant effect of the method is not ideal.

8, direct feeding method

Fresh pure chicken manure can be used to feed pigs and fish in a small amount. According to different cage, chicken manure contains different active ingredients, such as young chicken manure, containing with high crude protein, can be used as fine feed. Direct feed should be very careful with quantity and pollution. This method can not be deodorant with a poor animal palatability.

9, biogas fermentation method

Chicken manure is one of the raw materials for biogas fermentation, especially the heavy waterlogged chicken manure can be used to produce biogas. The chicken farmers can build fermentation tank of small and medium-sized, and biogas will be produced after 20 days. Biogas can be used for domestic heating, and biogas residue can be used for fish or fertilizer.

Once chickens farm is built, the process and utilization of chicken manure is very important. 

Chicken manure is not only good fertilizer, but also contains high nutritional value, and can be used as feed. The comprehensive utilization of chicken manure can greatly improve the sanitary environment of chicken farms, eliminate mosquitoes, flies and odors, reduce the spread of diseases and make full use of this resource as feedstuff, fertilizer, turning chicken manure into valuable resource to get beter social benefits, ecological benefits and economic benefits.  

Deep litter or cage system? Which gives the most profit on investment？

Deep litter or cage system?

Which gives the most profit on investment？

Deep litter or cage system? Which gives the most profit on investment？

As we all know that chicken production, especially at commercial level, mostly depends onintensive systems, mainly battery cage and deep litter systems.

Previously, chicken farmers are mainly choosing deep litter system, due to available resources across the country. While recent years, battery cage has been gaining popularity, making farmers choose between the two based on purpose and preference.

Generally, battery cage system is a bird-rearing compartment units, and its floors are of welded strong galvanised wire that slope from back to the front. Battery cage allows eggs laid to roll out of the cage to a receiving egg tray, but food supply remain outside the cage and water supplied with pipes bearing drinking nipples.

Briefly, Deep litter is a system where chickens are reared on floors made of concrete but covered with litters like saw dust, coffee husks, or wood shavings to make chicken feel comfortable.Feeding and drinking troughs are then placed in convenient places inside the coop.

Also Read: Why can we reduce farming cost with chicken cage?

Capital Invest

Construction of poultry houses are required for both feeding systems.

Wherever you are, Land or free space is becoming very valuable source now, and people is expecting more profit with limited land source, therefore, going intensive proves to be the only way in minimum spaces.

Deep litter requires drinkers, feeders, plastic floors which cost a lot, especially if one chooses automatic drinkers and feeders.

Battery cage is the most intensive system as greater number of birds are reared per unit area, but it demands for more initial capital considering the cost of cages.

Also Read: The Critical things you have to consider if you want to go into Poultry Farm!

Management and laying performance

Feeding management in cages has to be carefully considered since many farmers mostly have a general idea for production.

Compared to deep litter, some farmers learn that built-up litter also supplies some food requirements for the birds as they obtain ‘animal or insect protein’ from the trash.but there is more wastage of feeds and water by birds under deep litter system.

Battery cage system enjoys remarkable results, arguing that birds spend minimal energy and lessen the load of excess body heat. This energy is instead directed towards egg production.

In battery cage system, it is also easy to know how many birds are laying in the cell. Cage system makes it easy to monitor laying percentage in your flock.

Under deep litter, it is very hard to monitor the birds since they move freely, thus could become costly especially for telephone farmers in Africa.

The process of identifying unproductive birds is also difficult under deep litter. Collection of eggs with dirty shells is eliminated in battery cage although tiny shelled eggs can easily broken.

Therefore, battery cage system provides the best opportunity for close supervision of individual birds so that capabilities and productiveness are monitored.

Also Read: Africa: You Can Do So Much With Chicken Manure

Disease Control

Good health is a first priority for a birds’ welfare. Under battery cage system, birds do not contact with their droppings hence there is less chance of parasitic diseases such as worms and coccidiosis hence lower mortality.

If in anyway there is disease outbreak, it spreads faster in deep litter system.

While in cages birds are not exposed to wetting floors or litters, a well-managed deep litter in dry condition with no wet spots around watering points has sterilising action.

It is therefore a requirement that litter is changed periodically as occasions demand to prevent infectious diseases building up including parasite infestations.

These are more controlled in battery cage system. It is easier to pick a hen from a cage for different purposes compared to catching birds under deep litter system.

Also Read: Ventilation System in chicken coop

Chicken welfare

Under battery system, hens are confined to a cage just large enough to permit very limited movement and allow them stand or sit comfortably. In fact, some countries term raising birds under battery cage ‘imprisoning the birds’.

Further, battery cage is associated with higher incidences of leg problem occasionally, cage fatigue, fatty liver syndrome which is increased deposition of fat in the body.

Under deep litter, birds run and mingle freely thereby creating free social welfare.

Labour requirement

Chicken manure is a valuable economic factor with deep litter system.

According to researches, a flock of 35 laying birds can produce about a tonne of deep litter manure in a year.

It is easier to evacuate waste in the battery cage system unlike the deep litter.

For labour, cleaning out laying boxes, feeders and waterers regularly means quite a lot of work since they get‘soiled’ by birds.

This extra labour is not as much compared to battery cage system, which goes a long way to save labour.

With these insights, you can easily compare the two systems and choose wisely.