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Feeding Parent Stock and
Commercial Laying Hen Flocks
PAUL VAN DE VEN
Outline presentation
1. Prepare the pullet
2. Support at start of lay
3. Facilitate during lay
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Outline presentation
1. Prepare the pullet
2. Support at start of lay
3. Facilitate during lay
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Criteria defining high quality pullets A flock of pullets is measured by 6 criteria :
1) Bodyweight profile during rearing (5 WOA and at transfer)
2) Uniformity of the flock
3) Quality of beak trimming (where applicable)
4) Feed intake capacity
5) Age at sexual maturity
6) Health status and immunological competence
The productivity of a flock depends to a large extent on the successful attainment of key targets during rearing:
Rearing is the Investment Phase in Layer Production 4
Prepare the pullet
1. Body weight control
2. Develop feed intake capacity
3. Pre-Lay diet
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Prepare the pullet – Phases in rearing
• Organ development: 0 to 5 weeks
• Skeletal development: peak at 7 weeks
• Gastrointestinal tract development and feed intake capacity development: between 10 and 16 weeks
• Medullary bone development: end of rearing
Increase in Calcium
Pre lay
feed
Reproductive organ
development
Medulary
bone
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Frame
Muscles
Organs
Age (weeks)
Growth
Age (weeks)6
Feed phases in rearing -for good body weight development
Program A: Body weight at breed target and/or temperate climate
Starter
Program B: Low body weight and/or hot climate
4 5 10 16
Program A
Program B
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Weeks after hatch
Grower Developer Pre-Lay
Prepare the pullet - Train to eat
• Objective: develop sufficient feed intake capacity for period start of lay
• Period: Developer feed 10-16 weeks
• Diluted diet with high insoluble fiber
• Feed method = empty feeder technique to develop feed intake capacity (crop and gizzard)
• Train the birds to eat !
Increase in Calcium
Pre lay
feed
Reproductive organ
development
Medulary
bone
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Frame
Muscles
Organs
Age (weeks)
Growth
Train feed intake
Age (weeks)
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Feed intake capacity developmentby empty feeder technique
Start feeding 2-3 hours before lights off
Night Night
Based on 8-10 hours light plateau
Empty feeders for 1-1.5 hours
Uniform flock!
Take advantage of the natural feeding behaviour of birds:1) Birds ingest high quantity of feed before lights go off2) Therefore main feed distribution in the late afternoon3) In the morning hungry and finish the feed
including all fine particles1) Middle of hens day, no feed in feeders for 1-1,5 hours2) Followed by the main feed distribution late afternoon
1st moment to train feed intake
2nd moment to train feed intake
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Pre-Lay diet
Egg weight of first eggs 40 g
% Egg shell 13 %
% Calcium in egg shell 37 %
Export calcium to egg
in g / hen / day1,9
Developer diet Pre Layer diet
% Calcium 1 % 2,5 %
Feed intake 85 g / day 85 g / day
Calcium intake in g / hen / day
0,9 2,1
▪ Early flocks MUST receive Pre-Lay diet
▪ Prevent early decalcification. Make robust medullary bone
▪ Help to increase feed consumption at start of lay – serves as transition diet
Calcium export to egg Calcium intake
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Summary rearing dietsDiet phases in-line with pullet development
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Starter
• Organs
• Body weight 5 weeks of age
• Hatch – min. 3 weeks
• Low body weights up to 4-5 weeks
• Crumble
Grower
• Skeleton
• Frame size and strength
• Starter-10 weeks
• Mash or crumble
Developer
• Feed intake capacity
• Training to eat
• 10-16 weeks
• Fiber 4-7 %
• Coarse feed particles
• Mash
Pre-Lay
• Medullary bone
• Increased calcium requirement
• Min. 10 days for 1st egg
• 16-18 weeks
• Calcium 2,2 %
• Ca 50 % coarse
• Ca 50 % powder
• Mash
Outline presentation
1. Prepare the pullet
2. Support at start of lay
3. Facilitate during lay
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Support start of lay
1. Concept of nutrient intake
2. Empty feeder technique
3. Energy requirements
4. Amino acid requirements
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Support start of lay - Concept of nutrient intake
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inputoutput
Nutritional requirements
Diet composition x Feed intake level
100 g105 g110 g115 g120 g125 g
Nutrient Intake= gram nutrients / hen / day
Egg mass = Laying % x Egg weight
Growth
X
Start of lay = High concentrated diet: Energy, amino acids, etc.
Start of lay feed Intake still limited:
develop Feed Intake
Capacity already in
rearing
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Objective
Make sure birds eat all required nutrients daily and calcium available during calcification
Method
• Main feed distribution 6-8 hours before light off
• Finish feed in the morning including small particles (vitamins, minerals)
• Empty feeders in the middle of the day
• Followed again by main
feed distribution in afternoonStart feeding at 6-8 hours
before light off
60 % of feed in afternoon
Empty Feeder Technique
Empty Feeder Technique
Effect• Less selective eating• Eat daily ration• Lower risk for nutrient deficiencies
Result• More uniform flock• Higher body weight• Better egg shell quality
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Start feeding at 6-8 hours
before light off
60% of the feed given in the afternoon
See alsodiscussion topic:
EFT
“General” feed phases in production
• Advise is to follow the birds instead of birds follow feeding phases according to pre-planned moments for feed changes. 17
Phase Feed Intake level
Body weight Energy %
Amino Acid%
Fiber %
Calcium %
Start lay Low Growing +++ +++ - +
Peak Close to target
Close to adult
++ ++ - +
Post peak Stable Adult + + + +
Mid lay Stable Overweight? +/- + ++ ++
End lay Stable Overweight? - +/- +++ +++
Feed intake capacity & growth at start of lay
Layers grow until 30 weeks
• Target: Reach mature body weight quickly
• Note: Growth not yet finished at start lay
• Objective: Increase feed intake quickly at start of lay
• Management: Feed intake capacity developed during rearing period
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0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77
Age (weeks)
Maintenance:• Body temperature• Body weight• Feather cover• ACTIVITY
Production
Energy requirement (Kcal/day/hen)
Energy balance & body weight management
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ENERGYREQUIREMENT
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
MAINTENANCE
PRODUCTIONGROWTH
FEATHER COVERBODY WEIGHT
Energy feed concentration
Feed presentation
Feed distribution management
=
Start of lay: increase body weight according to breed standard
Mid & Late lay: target stable body weight
Body weight target BODY TEMPERATURE
Feed intake
ACTIVITYMonitor
Body Weight
Energy management
▪ Body weight monitoring
▪ Feed intake monitoring
Start of lay
▪ Bird challenge: Having enough energy intake to ensure maintenance,
production AND growth
▪ Target : reach mature body weight quickly
Robust birds have a better peak and laying persistency
▪ Feed with the higher energy value (2850-2900 Kcal/kg)
+50 or 100 Kcal/kg if needed20
Energy management
▪ Body weight monitoring
▪ Feed intake monitoring
Mid lay and late lay
▪ Target : maintain a stable body weight
BW high: ↑maintenance, ↑feed intake (FCR), ↑ risk fatty liver
BW low: weak birds compromising production
▪ Feed with lower energy (towards 2700 Kcal/kg)
Dilute diets with fiber to improve livability
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Amino acid nutrition –Manage a population not a bird!
• Daily egg mass produced
• High EM = higher daily amino acid requirements
• Actual feed intake observed
• Low feed intake = high concentration (%); start of lay = low feed intake = high % amino acids
• Flock uniformity
• Poor uniformity = higher safety margin for amino acids to cover for also highest productive birds
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Advices on amino acids
Start of lay
• Higher requirement for growth and/or lower flock uniformity:
use safety margin of minimum 6-10 %
• Amino acids levels to be adjusted to egg production (daily Egg Mass) and Feed intake observed: still limited feed intake capacity at start of lay, therefore increase amino acid % in feed
Middle and end of lay
• Lower requirement due to finished growing period
• If feed intake is stable and production is high, don´t decrease the amino acid concentration to secure laying persistency
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Amino acid recommendations based on daily Egg Mass production and Feed Intake level
Feed intake observed 120 g/dDaily Egg Mass produced 61,5 g/d
Amino acid requirementDigestible Total
Lysine 0,69% 0,78%
Methionine 0,37% 0,39%
Methionine + cysteine 0,59% 0,66%
Tryptophane 0,15% 0,18%
Isoleucine 0,63% 0,68%
Valine 0,67% 0,74%
Threonine 0,48% 0,56%
Outline presentation
1. Prepare the pullet
2. Support at start of lay
3. Facilitate during lay
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Facilitate during lay
1. Calcium supply
2. Liver health
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Mineral nutrition for egg shell quality late cycle
Cumulative export of egg shell and calcium
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Pre-Lay diet
▪ Early flocks MUST receive Pre-Lay diet
▪ Prevent early decalcification
▪ Make robust medullary bone
▪ Help to increase feed consumption at start of lay
▪ Pre-lay diet serves as transition diet
Eggshell weight evolution during eggformation
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
Eg
gs
he
ll w
eig
ht
(g)
Time after oviposition (h)
Source: Nys 1991
Night
Active calcium deposit period
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Calcium for egg shell formation: from feed or bone?
Calcium from BONE
▪ Calcium and Phosphorus mobilized from medullary bone
▪ Ca to egg shell and P released via kidneys
▪ Blood P increase; lower absorption of Ca
▪ Lower egg shell quality
▪ Renewal of P necessary
Calcium from FEED
▪ Calcium available from intestine, no Phosphorus involved
▪ Less mobilization of Ca and P from medullary bone
▪ Coarse Ca gives Ca for longer time
▪ Better egg shell quality, especially later in cycle
▪ Lower P requirement
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Management during lay & late lay - Calcium
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SANGRE
FECES
Calcium coarse
2 - 4 mm
Calcium powder
< 0,5 mm
Calciumintermediate size
0,5 – 1,5 mm
GIZZARDINTESTINE
BLOOD
MEDULLARY
BONE
IF Calcium extracted from bones:Blood P ↑Ca absorption ↓ Egg shell quality ↓Daily P requirements ↑
Ca + P
• Layer & Pre-Lay feed • MIN. 50 %
coarse Ca• rest powder
• Afternoon • Focus on Ca
given in afternoon
Empty Feeder Technique for egg shell qualityObjective
Make sure birds eat all required nutrients daily and have calcium available during calcification
Method
• Main feed distribution 6-8 hours before light off
• Finish feed in the morning including small particles (vitamins, minerals)
• Empty feeders in the middle of the day
• Followed again by main
feed distribution in afternoon
Effect• Less selective eating• Eat daily ration• Lower risk for nutrient deficiencies• More uniform flock• Higher body weights• Better egg shell quality
Start feeding at 6-8
hours before light off
60% of the feed given in the afternoon
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Calcium inputCalcium on top of regular feed :
3/3/3 RULE
3 grams per bird
3 mm average size (2-4 mm)
@ 3 PM
Higher egg mass = higher liver work
Liver Blood Follicules Egg 34
- Low level of vitamin D3 in feed Less calcium transported
- Liver or kidneys poor condition to egg shell gland
Eggshell quality - Role of vitamin D3 and liver health
Intestine
Vitamin D3
Calcium
25 OH D3
1,25 (OH)2 D3
Increase intestinal permeability &
Synthesis of calcium binding proteins
Blood
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1st activation Vitamin D3
by liver2nd activation Vitamin D3 by kidneys
Management during lay & late lay – liver health• Body weight management
• Monitoring
• Energy
• From fat instead of carbohydrates
• Vegetable oils; e.g. soy oil
• Not excessive; control body weight
• Fiber
• Dilute diet
• Insoluble fiber; oat hulls, sunflower
• Choline, always added
• Preventive: 1000 ppm; min. 500 ppm
• Curative: 1500 ppm
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Maintain you hen’s capital = high production
Liver is the key organ ….
…. for a long production cycle
Egg production
Shell quality
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Summary and conclusions
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Conclusions in feeding parent stock and commercial laying hens
1. Prepare the pullet
• Diets in-line with development phases
• Train to eat
2. Support start of lay
• Focus on feed intake capacity
• Concept of nutrient intake and empty feeder technique
3. Management during lay & late lay
• Calcium supply with coarse particles
• Liver health with choline39
Summary parent stock
• A lack of body weight at the start of production will influence the total egg mass produced
• Rearing period is a key developmental time for future success during the laying period (Rearing = Investment Phase)
• Rearing period is a training period
• Meal feeding, diet dilution and coarse particles improve feed intake capacity
• Transfer birds before egg production starts40
Managing parent stock flocks
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• It‘s not rocket science!
• Stick to your BASICS first
• Attention to detailes
• Make notes, keep records, collect information
• Let the birds talk to you ....
• Chicken all over the world speak same language CHICKENTALK
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• THANK YOU