In modern poultry farming, the basic objective is the need to house birds that can show their full productive potential during the laying period. Success at this point occurs due to high productivity rates that are influenced by genetics, nutrition, environment and management.

• However, the proper management of poultry activity must be linked to proportionate administration to achieve the best technical and economic results within that farm. For this to happen, we must properly plan the facilities, ambient temperature, feeding of the layers and all factors related to the uniformity of the flock.

Temperature

The layer is a homeothermic animal, so the temperature of the environment is a parameter related to thermal comfort, being the zone of thermoneutrality necessary for the bird to express its full genetic potential and make greater use of nutritional strategies.

Environmental temperature is a very important factor that can affect the performance of laying birds. Temperatures above 80.6°F cause:

• Productive losses, with a reduction in the thickness of the shell, causing the incidence and contamination by bacteria and/or coliforms
• Egg Components Weight Loss
• Poor egg formation
• Laying rate reduction

Thermal stress, depending on the magnitude and duration, can cause high mortality rates. During the breeding and rearing period, the influence of environmental temperature results in a reduction in voluntary intake in birds, which promotes a decrease in nutrient intake, directly affecting the productivity of the flock, culminating in a reduction in the increase in weight and fat storage. What harms the uniformity of the flock for the beginning of the birds’ laying

Cold stress also impairs flock uniformity, due to increased feed consumption, with the aim of increasing catabolism and endogenous heat production.

Housing density

High cage density has become increasingly common in commercial layers as a way to reduce housing and equipment costs per bird. However, reducing the cage area per bird, as well as the feeder and waterer area, if practiced excessively, can cause a negative effect on the growth and performance of the layer, as it is linked to the decline in ration consumption and, consequently, the reduction in live weight and the muscular and skeletal development of the bird.

However, the indiscriminate use of this practice can cause non-uniformity in the flock, anticipation or delay of sexual maturity and consequently in the peak of laying, reduction in persistence and total production, and non-uniformity in the weight of the eggs. Additionally, oviduct prolapse, cannibalism and death may occur.

Evaluation of body weight and uniformity

Monitoring the evaluation of the body weight of the birds in the breeding and breeding or rearing periods is essential to obtain good uniformity. Birds outside the pattern can delay and anticipate the start of egg production, however, in either situation there will be a compromise with flock performance. To avoid this, we aim to achieve 80% uniformity, representing an individual weight variation of 10% below and 10% above the average weight. It should be taken into account that the body development of the layer occurs according to a sequence of events.

• Until 6 weeks of age, the organs of the digestive tract and the immune system present a large part of their development.
• From 6 to 12 weeks there is a period of rapid growth, a stage in which the hen obtains most of the adult growth, that is, great muscle, bone and feather development, with 95% of the skeleton developing at the end. of 12 weeks.

Therefore, good production practices must be implemented from incubation to the breeding, rearing and egg production phases.

For this, the health of the flock, the supply of the ration, water and temperature, feeder space, beak trimming, and that the density is adequate are essential.

When the batch is uniform, there is a guarantee of:

• A good laying peak
• Greater egg mass
• Greater persistence
• A uniform egg size

Peak cutting

Laying birds, due to the intensification of production, are more susceptible to developing aggression and cannibalism. The manifestation of this type of behavior may be associated with:

• Beak shape
• Light intensity
• Genetic predisposition for aggression
• Age
• Nutrition
• Density in the cage or floor
• Bird hierarchy within the group

Feather loss resulting from aggression by another bird can cause as many economic problems for the producer as it does welfare problems for the birds.

The economic loss occurs due to the fact that the removal of feathers leads to problems maintaining body temperature, leading to an increase in food consumption. As is the increase in the incidence of chopped eggs.

Stress, resulting from poor beak trimming procedures and failures, can affect initial egg production. For this reason, beak cutting is considered a precision operation where the experience of the team that performs it is a fundamental characteristic for its success.

Feeding

Currently, it is common to see the launch of laying hens on the market with high production rates and persistence of production along with low feed consumption. Consequently, the birds became more demanding and had difficulty gaining weight.

The breeding and raising phases are responsible for the good or bad development of the birds, and can be influenced by various factors that interfere with food consumption, such as:

• Atmosphere
• Genetics of the lineage, where there will be specific peculiarities
• Health
• Nutritional requirement

These factors are interrelated and their effects on the birds are interdependent, such as: inadequate rooting of layers can influence the body weight of the birds, which harms the productive period and the weight of the eggs. Feeding programs are part of the factors that provide good uniformity to the batch, their function is:

• Adjust nutrient levels according to the age and development of the birds
• Provide adequate quantities according to requirement
• Optimize costs
• Reduce excess nutrients and reduce excretion of unused nutrients

For the implementation of the feeding program to be adequate, it is necessary to know the main nutritional aspects of each phase of development of the layers. This practice will give the producer autonomy over the decisions to be made based on the age and weight of the batch, in which Nutritional levels can be reduced or increased and ration consumption regulated according to the birds’ needs.

Light program

Various environmental factors play important roles in controlling the biological functions of birds, light being one of them. Programs with artificial lighting have been used in the production of layers, and breeding stock, to improve weight gain, control age by delaying the sexual maturity of hens by stimulating the reproductive system in the appropriate period. From there the objective is to stimulate egg production and synchronize laying.

Increasing egg production in the first phase of production and improving the number of hatchable eggs, increasing the size of the first eggs and reducing overweight in birds due to excessive fat storage, since the ration increases in this phase are for maintenance and production.

Choosing the type of lamp will depend on numerous factors, such as cost, durability, maintenance and efficiency. In practical terms, incandescent and fluorescent lamps are used because they have greater intensity and durability, less maintenance, and lower energy consumption.

Conclusion

In the event that a change occurs in the quality of the food, it must be taken into account that, to have good productive rates, it is necessary that the practices of temperature control, housing density, evaluation of body weight, uniformity, peak cutting, feeding and light program are applied correctly. This care serves to promote the proper development and growth of the birds, as well as allowing good productive rates in the laying phase and thus guaranteeing the success of the activity.