Two months, two weeks and two days, second phase of breeder rearing.

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• “Two months, two weeks and two days”; this will be the dedicated time to take our breeder flock of roosters and hens to sexual maturity and mating.

The main objective during this rearing period is to achieve control over body weights with minimum coefficients of variation (% CV), with uniform growths and in accordance with the established target weights. The bird continues to grow and develop their immune and cardiovascular systems, skeleton, and plumage. 90% of skeletal growth is complete by 80-95 days of age.

The second stage of rearing is known for having the slowest body weight increases, because in this phase, it’s critical to ensure proper growth and development and have a correct body weight development curve, without fluctuations, than to achieve the target average weight at the end of rearing. The correct average weight at the end is not a guarantee of success. Success can only be achieved if the birds show a correct and uniform body condition.

The determining factors to guarantee the success of the rearing phase will be mainly on:

• The facilities and equipment
• Classifications (will be covered in another chapter)

• Live weight at time of transfer.
• Climate and season of the year.
• Local legislation on bird density.
• Type of building, feeding system and ventilation systems.
• Quality control / requirements for certifications.

As a guideline and as a basis, we could establish the following population densities: