About this module
This module trains you to raise 1,000 layer chicks from the day they arrive to the week they lay their first eggs. You learn by doing: most of the time you are in the poultry house, and every unit ends with a practical task and homework.
Who it is for. Beginners with no formal certificate. The level is National Proficiency I, the first level of Ghana's TVET qualifications. At this level a trainee does routine tasks under close supervision.
The flock. 1,000 commercial layer chicks, kept on the floor (deep litter) in an open-sided house, from day 1 to about week 20. Layer breeds sold in Ghana include ISA Brown, Bovans Black and ISA White, and Lohmann Brown-Classic and LSL-Classic. Ask your hatchery for the management guide of your breed. It is the most exact guide for your birds.
Where. Southern Ghana, written for the Western Region.
This is not an accredited CTVET programme. CTVET has no published poultry training package. Its accredited agriculture packages are for cashew, mango and oil palm. This module follows CTVET's published format so it can be put forward for accreditation later.
How the module is built
Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria (what you must show you can do), the range (the situations it covers), and the evidence your assessor needs. Then comes the teaching, a class exercise, a practical in the poultry house, and homework.
How you are assessed
You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent on each unit. There are no percentages. Your assessor watches you work, asks you questions, and checks your logbook. If you are not yet competent, you practise and try again. Keep your logbook (Section 11) up to date from day one.
About 70% of the time is practical. CTVET has not published one rule for all courses. Its Oil Palm programme uses about 30% in school and 70% at the workplace, and this module follows that.
Safety in the poultry house
Chickens can pass some diseases to people, and poultry houses are dusty. Read this before you enter the house.
- Wear your work clothes and boots in the house, and only in the house. FAO's biosecurity guide names coveralls, gum boots and a head covering, and hand washing before and after handling birds.
- Never touch dead birds with bare hands. Use gloves or a plastic bag.
- Wear a dust mask when you clean out litter. Dust and ammonia are highest then. A proper particulate mask (N95) is recommended.
- Bird flu can infect people. Ghana has confirmed a human case of H9N2 bird flu. If birds die suddenly in large numbers, keep out and tell your trainer at once.
- Disinfectants and vaccines. Read the label. Wear gloves. Keep them away from food and children.
- Wash your hands before you eat, drink, or go home.
Find your vet
Find out where your district veterinary office is and get its phone number. Ask someone at the office (or your trainer) what a farmer should do if many birds die suddenly. Write the answers in your logbook.
Unit 1 · Prepare the house and equipment
The house must be ready, clean and warm before the chicks arrive. In this unit you check the house, work out how much equipment 1,000 birds need, and set up the brooding area.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 1.1 Check the house | checks roof, walls, mesh, floor and drainage; reports holes where rats, snakes or wild birds can enter |
| 1.2 Size the equipment | calculates floor space, feeders, drinkers, nests and perches for the flock |
| 1.3 Clean the house | removes old litter, washes, disinfects and leaves the house empty to dry before new litter goes in |
| 1.4 Set up the brooder | spreads litter, sets up guard rings, heaters, feeders and drinkers, and pre-heats before arrival |
Range. Open-sided deep-litter house; 1,000 chicks; electric or gas heat. Evidence. Observation of cleaning and brooder set-up; equipment calculation in the logbook; oral questions.
The house
In hot countries, the long side of the house should run east to west, so the sun does not shine straight in during the day. An Indian guide for tropical open-sided houses gives these sizes:
| Part | Size |
|---|---|
| Width | not more than 22–25 feet (about 7 m) for an open-sided house |
| Height at the eaves | 6–7 feet (about 2 m); 10–12 feet at the centre |
| Roof overhang | at least 3.5 feet (about 1 m), to keep rain off the litter |
| Side wall | a low solid wall of 1–1.5 feet, with wire mesh above for air |
| Floor | concrete, reaching 1.5 feet beyond the walls so rats cannot dig in |
How much space?
Floor space per bird. FAO says layers are comfortable at 3 to 4 birds per m². That is 250–333 m² for 1,000 birds. An Indian guide gives 2 square feet per bird on deep litter, about 186 m² for 1,000 birds. FAO is more generous. A beginner should build toward the FAO figure: more space means drier litter and fewer problems while you learn.
Equipment for 1,000 birds
| Item | Rule | For 1,000 birds (calculated) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feeders (grown birds) | 10 cm of trough per bird, or 4 cm of round feeder | 100 m of trough, or 40 m round edge | FAO Small-scale Poultry |
| Drinkers (grown birds) | 1 cup or nipple per 10 birds | 100 nipples | FAO Small-scale Poultry |
| Nest boxes | 1 per 5 hens, about 30 cm each side | 200 nests | FAO Small-scale Poultry |
| Perches | 25 cm per bird | 250 m | FAO Small-scale Poultry |
| Week-1 floor space | ¼ square foot per chick | about 23 m² | Penn State Brooding |
| Week-1 feeder space | 1 inch per chick | about 25 m | Penn State Brooding |
| Week-1 drinker space | ½ inch per chick | about 13 m | Penn State Brooding |
| Guard rings | 18–24 inches high, 6–10 feet across, for each 100 chicks | 10 rings | Penn State Brooding |
Cleaning
Before every new flock, take out all old litter, wash the house and equipment, disinfect, and leave it empty to dry. Flush the water lines before the chicks arrive. Wood shavings make good litter; any litter must be clean and free of mould.
Size the equipment
A farmer is setting up for 600 layers. Using the table, work out: (1) the floor area at 3 birds per m²; (2) metres of feeder trough for grown birds; (3) nipple drinkers; (4) nest boxes; (5) guard rings for the chicks.
Clean the house and set up the brooder
- Walk the house with your trainer. List every hole in the mesh, roof or walls, and any place where water gets in.
- Help remove old litter, wash and disinfect (wear PPE). The house then stays empty to dry.
- Spread clean, dry litter in the brooding area.
- Set up guard rings, heaters, chick feeders and drinkers.
- Switch the heat on before the chicks arrive and put a thermometer at chick height.
- Record what you did, with dates, in your logbook.
Look at a real house
Visit a poultry farm near you. Draw the house from above in your logbook. Mark which way it faces, where the doors are, and where the feeders and drinkers are. Ask the farmer one thing they would change about their house.
Unit 2 · Keep disease out
Most poultry diseases are carried in by people, vehicles, equipment, egg trays and new birds. Keeping them out is cheaper than any medicine. This is called biosecurity.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 2.1 Follow entry rules | uses the foot dip, changes clothes and washes hands on every entry |
| 2.2 Control visitors and traffic | keeps visitors out of the house; records anyone who enters |
| 2.3 Report sickness | recognises sudden deaths as an emergency and reports them at once |
Range. Daily work; visitors; feed and egg-tray deliveries; sudden deaths. Evidence. Daily observation; visitor log; oral questions.
Why it matters in Ghana
Bird flu (highly pathogenic avian influenza, H5N1) has hit Ghana several times:
- In 2015 it affected 35 farms in five regions, including the Western Region; most of the birds lost were adult layers.
- In 2016 an outbreak was reported at Tarkwa and Takoradi in the Western Region.
- In 2018 on two farms at Nkawkaw, investigators found birds bought and returned without checks, no fence, old litter left in place, wild birds sitting on the pens, and people moving between farms.
- In 2021 it hit 7 farms; thousands of birds died or were killed, and bird movement was banned.
Newcastle disease is the most common poultry disease found at the Kumasi veterinary laboratory: 19% of all diagnoses from 2018 to 2021.
The rules
FAO's guide for small commercial farms says:
- Fence the farm and control the gate. Keep visitors out of the flock areas.
- Control vehicles, equipment and products that come in. Egg trays and vehicles coming back from market can carry disease.
- Wear farm clothes and boots, and wash hands.
Add these from the Ghana outbreaks above: never bring in birds without checks, change old litter, keep wild birds out with good mesh, and do not visit other poultry farms in your work clothes.
Reporting is the law
Ghana's Diseases of Animals Act, 1961 (Act 83) covers the notification of animal diseases, isolation and disinfection. MoFA asks farmers to report any unusual deaths of poultry or wild birds to the nearest veterinary office.
Spot the mistakes
Your trainer reads you a story about a farm. List every biosecurity mistake you hear, and say what the farmer should have done.
Set up and run the entry routine
- Help set up a foot dip at each door, filled with disinfectant at the label strength.
- Set up a visitor log at the gate: date, name, reason, last contact with poultry.
- For one week, follow the entry routine every time: change boots, dip, wash hands.
- Change the foot dip when it is dirty, and record the change.
Biosecurity interview
Ask a poultry farmer three questions: How do you stop visitors bringing disease? What do you do with dead birds? Have you ever had a disease outbreak, and what happened? Write their answers in your logbook.
Unit 3 · Receive and brood the chicks
Day-old chicks cannot keep themselves warm. For the first weeks the brooder is their mother. Temperature is the number you watch most.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 3.1 Receive chicks | counts chicks in; places them quickly under the heat with feed and water ready |
| 3.2 Keep chicks comfortable | reads the thermometer and the chicks' behaviour; adjusts heat, air and light |
| 3.3 Expand the brooder | moves guard rings out and adds feeders and drinkers on schedule |
| 3.4 Record and report | records temperature, deaths and feed daily; reports a rise in deaths |
Range. Days 1–28; electric or gas heat; hot and cool weather. Evidence. Daily observation; brooding record in the logbook; oral questions.
Temperature
| Age | Target at chick level | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First days | 34–36 °C, then lower by 0.5 °C a day | H&N Brooding |
| Days 0–3 | 35–36 °C | Hy-Line Brown Guide |
| Days 4–7 | 33–35 °C | Hy-Line Brown Guide |
| Days 8–14 | 31–33 °C | Hy-Line Brown Guide |
| Week 1 | 92–95 °F (about 33–35 °C), then 5 °F less each week | Penn State Brooding |
| Weeks 5–8 | 70–80 °F (about 21–27 °C) | Penn State Brooding |
The sources agree closely. Penn State's figure is slightly lower in week 1.
Watch the chicks, not just the thermometer. Chicks spread evenly are comfortable. Chicks crowded under the heat are cold. Chicks pressed far away from the heat are too hot.
Keep humidity at 60–70% and drinking water at 20–25 °C.
Light in the first week
How much light in week 1? H&N says 22–24 hours of light for the first 2–3 days, at 40–60 lux. Hy-Line says 22 hours or an on-off programme, at 30–50 lux for days 0–7. Both give near-constant light so chicks find feed and water. Use your breed's guide.
Space grows every week
| Age | Floor per chick | Feeder per chick | Water per chick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | ¼ sq ft | 1 in | ½ in |
| Weeks 2–3 | ½ sq ft | 1½ in | ½ in |
| Weeks 3–5 | ¾ sq ft | 2 in | ½ in |
| Weeks 5–8 | 1 sq ft | 2 in | ¾ in |
All from Penn State Brooding. With 1,000 chicks you must move the guard rings outward on a schedule.
The first-week check
- Deaths in the first 7 days must stay below 3%. Hy-Line's standard for its brown layer is only 0.4% by the end of week 1. For 1,000 chicks, 3% is 30 birds.
- Chick weight should double between arrival and day 7. Weigh 10 boxes of 10 chicks together in weeks 0–3.
Read the chicks
Your trainer shows you four drawings or photos of chicks in a brooder. For each, say: comfortable, too cold or too hot, and what you would change.
Brooding duty
- On arrival day, count the chicks in and record the number.
- Place chicks under the heat. Check that every feeder and drinker is full.
- Twice a day (morning and evening), record: temperature at chick level, how the chicks are spread, deaths, and anything unusual.
- On day 7, help weigh 10 boxes of 10 chicks and compare with the arrival weight.
- Move the guard rings out and add feeders and drinkers on the schedule above.
A warm-box at home
At home, put a thermometer (or ask to borrow one) in a closed cardboard box near a light bulb for 30 minutes. Record the temperature inside and outside the box. Write one sentence on why chicks need a guard ring.
Unit 4 · Feed and water the flock
The right feed at the right time builds a strong bird. Water matters even more: birds drink about twice as much as they eat, and much more in the heat.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 4.1 Feed by stage | gives the correct feed for the flock's weight and age; changes feed on schedule |
| 4.2 Manage water | keeps water clean, cool and available; flushes lines; records daily water use |
| 4.3 Reduce heat stress | recognises panting birds; takes the cooling actions in the guide |
Range. Starter, grower, developer, pre-lay and layer feeds; nipple and bell drinkers; hot weather. Evidence. Observation; feed and water records in the logbook; oral questions.
Feed stages
The breed companies change feed by body weight, not just age. Hy-Line's brown layer, for example:
| Feed | Give until the bird weighs |
|---|---|
| Starter 1 (20% protein) | 190 g |
| Starter 2 | 460 g |
| Grower | 1,080 g |
| Developer | 1,300 g |
| Pre-lay | 1,440 g, and never after the first egg |
Pre-lay feed must not start before 15 weeks.
Layer feed too early is harmful. Layer feed has extra calcium for eggshells. Given to young birds before 16 weeks, it can cause permanent kidney damage. Change to layer feed at the first egg or at 18 weeks, whichever comes first.
Change feed by age or by weight? Feed-shop advice usually gives ages, like starter to week 6 or week 18. The breed companies say weight decides. A flock that is behind its target weight needs to stay on the richer feed longer. Weigh your birds (Unit 6) and follow your breed guide.
Water
- Flush water lines before the chicks arrive and once a week after that.
- Record water use every day. A drop in water use is often the first sign of a serious problem.
- Keep water below 25 °C; above 30 °C, birds drink less.
Heat
Layers are comfortable at 18–25 °C. Above 33 °C, many birds die and production falls. As it gets hotter, birds drink much more: about 2 times their feed weight at 21 °C, and 8 times at 38 °C.
In the heat:
- flush the water lines in the afternoon so the water is cool;
- shade or cover overhead water tanks;
- add electrolytes to the water when your trainer or vet says so;
- when the air is very humid, use fans, not water sprays.
Hot-day water
On a 21 °C day, 1,000 grown pullets eat about 70 kg of feed. (1) About how much water do they drink? (2) On a 38 °C day, if they still ate 70 kg, about how much would they drink? (3) What does this tell you about checking drinkers on hot days?
Feed and water round
For two weeks, as part of the daily round:
- Record the feed type and the kg given each day.
- Read the water meter (or count buckets) and record litres used.
- Flush the water line once a week and record it.
- On a hot afternoon, check the birds: note any panting, wings held out, or birds crowding at drinkers, and tell your trainer.
Feed prices
Visit an agro-shop or feed mill. Record the price of one bag each of chick starter, grower and layer feed, and the bag weights. Work out the price per kg of each.
Unit 5 · Vaccinate and watch for sickness
Vaccines protect the flock from the worst diseases, but only if they are kept cold and given on time. Your job at this level is to help, record, and spot sick birds early.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 5.1 Plan vaccinations | writes the vaccination dates on the flock calendar from the hatch date |
| 5.2 Assist with vaccination | keeps vaccines cold; prepares clean water and drinkers as instructed; records batch and date |
| 5.3 Spot sick birds | recognises signs of coccidiosis and other sickness; isolates and reports |
Range. Drinking-water, eye-drop and wing-web vaccines; the Ghana schedule. Evidence. Flock calendar; vaccination record in the logbook; observation; oral questions.
Ghana's vaccination schedule
The Veterinary Services Directorate (VSD) of MoFA publishes a national poultry schedule each year. The 2018 schedule was:
| Week (day) | Vaccine |
|---|---|
| 1 (day 7) | Gumboro intermediate |
| 2 (day 14) | HB1 |
| 3 (day 21) | Gumboro intermediate plus |
| 4 (day 28) | Lasota |
| 5 (day 35) | Gumboro intermediate or plus |
| 8 | 1st fowl pox |
| 10 (day 70) | Lasota |
| 12 (day 84) | 2nd fowl pox |
| 16 (day 112) | 3rd Newcastle vaccine |
Marek's disease vaccine is given at the hatchery on day 1. Ask your hatchery to confirm it was done.
Get this year's schedule. The schedule above is from 2018, the latest found. Ask your district veterinary office for the current one before every flock, and follow the vet. HB1 and Lasota are Newcastle disease vaccines; Gumboro is also called infectious bursal disease (IBD).
Two schedules, side by side. A Ugandan hatchery's schedule gives Gumboro once at week 2, fowl pox once at week 6, and adds infectious bronchitis and fowl typhoid vaccines. Ghana's VSD schedule gives Gumboro three times and fowl pox twice, and has no bronchitis or typhoid vaccine. Schedules differ because diseases differ by country. In Ghana, follow VSD and your vet.
Keep vaccines cold, use them fast
- Keep live vaccines in the fridge until the moment you use them.
- Vaccinate through drinking water just after the lights come on in the morning, so birds drink it quickly; in hot weather the birds should finish it within about an hour.
- Use clean, cool water below 20 °C, hold back water for 1–2 hours before so birds are thirsty, and give no antibiotics on vaccination day.
- Chlorine in tap water damages live vaccine; stabilisers such as skimmed-milk powder are often added. Follow the vet and the vaccine leaflet.
Coccidiosis
A gut parasite (Eimeria) spread through droppings. Young birds from about 2 to 6 weeks are most at risk. It is a common cause of poor growth.
- Signs: bloody or watery droppings, droopy birds with ruffled feathers, pale combs.
- Prevention: keep litter dry, do not overcrowd, and use a feed with a coccidiostat or a treatment your vet advises.
When birds look sick
Remove sick birds to a separate pen, record them, and tell your trainer the same day. If many birds die suddenly, follow the reporting rule in Section 04.
Make the flock calendar
Your chicks hatched on 3 March. Using the VSD schedule, write the date of each vaccination.
Vaccination day (assist)
- Before the vet arrives, check the cool box and record the vaccine name, batch number and expiry date.
- Raise the drinkers or turn off water for the time the vet says.
- Help prepare clean drinkers and clean, cool water as instructed.
- Watch the birds drink and tell the vet when the water is finished.
- Record the date, vaccine, batch, method and number of birds.
Vet office visit
Visit or call your district veterinary office. Ask for this year's poultry vaccination schedule and where farmers buy vaccines in your district. Copy the schedule into your logbook and compare it with the 2018 table.
Unit 6 · Grow the pullets
From week 5 to week 16 the pullet builds the frame and body she will lay with for a year or more. Weighing tells you if she is on track. Light tells her when to start laying, so it must be controlled.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 6.1 Weigh a sample | weighs 100 birds individually on the same day and time each week; records each weight |
| 6.2 Work out uniformity | calculates the average and the % of birds within 10% of it; compares with the breed target |
| 6.3 Manage light | follows the light programme; never lengthens the day before the planned start of lay |
Range. Weeks 4–16; open-sided house; weighing scale in grams. Evidence. Weighing records and uniformity sums in the logbook; observation; oral questions.
Weigh every week
Weigh 100 birds one by one every week from week 4, catching them from the same places, on the same day and time. Lohmann suggests weighing 1% of the flock, but for 1,000 birds that is only 10, too few to be useful. Use 100.
Uniformity is the % of weighed birds within 10% of the average weight. Lohmann rates it: over 85% very good, 80–85% good, 70–80% fair, under 70% poor. Hy-Line wants over 90% at point of lay. An even flock comes into lay together.
Target weights (Hy-Line Brown)
| Week | Target weight (g) |
|---|---|
| 4 | 266–281 |
| 8 | 668–706 |
| 12 | 1,046–1,105 |
| 16 | 1,302–1,377 |
| 17 | 1,357–1,434 |
All from Hy-Line Brown Standards. Lohmann Brown-Classic's week-17 target is 1,378–1,464 g. Use your own breed's table.
Light during growing
A Hy-Line trial started chicks at 20 hours of light and cut it each week to 12 hours by week 7, then held it. Compared with 24 hours of light to week 7, these birds matured 6 days earlier and laid 12 more eggs by 60 weeks. The trial used a white-egg breed; most Ghanaian layers are brown.
Lohmann's golden rule: the day must never get longer during growing until the planned start of lay, and never get shorter once the birds are laying.
In an open-sided house you cannot make the day shorter than daylight, but you can avoid adding light during growing.
Beak trimming (watch only)
Hy-Line advises trimming at 7–10 days, or at the hatchery by infrared, with a second trim in open-sided houses. Lohmann prefers infrared at the hatchery and warns that poor trimming makes a flock grow unevenly. This is a skilled job. At this level you watch and record.
Work out uniformity
Ten birds weighed (g): 820, 900, 950, 880, 760, 910, 1,000, 870, 930, 890. (1) What is the average? (2) What is 10% above and below it? (3) How many birds are inside that range? (4) What is the uniformity %? Is it good?
Weekly weighing
- With your group, catch birds gently from three different places in the house (front, middle, back).
- Weigh 100 birds one by one and record each weight.
- Work out the average weight and the uniformity %.
- Compare with your breed's target for that week and write one sentence: on target, behind, or ahead.
- Do this on the same day of the week, at the same time, every week.
Count the daylight
For one week, write down the time the sun rises and sets at your home (or check a phone). Work out the hours of daylight. Why can't an open-sided house give pullets fewer hours of light than this?
Unit 7 · Bring the flock into lay
Around weeks 16–20 the pullets move into their laying home, the light goes up, and the first eggs come. Do it at the right weight, not just the right age.
Competency standard
| Learning outcome | Performance criteria — the trainee… |
|---|---|
| 7.1 Prepare for lay | installs and cleans nest boxes before the first egg; moves birds gently |
| 7.2 Light stimulation | explains why light goes up only when the flock reaches target weight |
| 7.3 Collect and record eggs | collects eggs at set times; records number, cracked and dirty eggs |
Range. Weeks 16–20; floor nests; open-sided house. Evidence. Observation; egg and flock records in the logbook; oral questions.
Moving and nests
When to move the pullets to the laying house? Hy-Line says by 16 weeks, or after the last live vaccines. Lohmann says the best week is 17 or 18. Both agree: move before the first eggs, so hens learn where the nests are.
Put nest boxes in before the first egg: 1 nest for every 5 hens, about 30 cm each side.
Light starts the laying
Hy-Line says: start light stimulation when the flock reaches the target weight (1.35–1.40 kg for its brown layer), and delay it if the flock is underweight. Lohmann gives 17 weeks for stimulation and transfer, and warns that any longer day from about 14–15 weeks will start the birds maturing.
First eggs
| Breed | Age at 50% laying | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hy-Line Brown | 139 days (about 20 weeks) | Hy-Line Brown Standards |
| Lohmann Brown-Classic | 140–145 days | Lohmann LB-Classic Data |
So the first eggs come around weeks 18–19, and half the flock is laying by about week 20. At the first egg, change to layer feed.
Flock records
Hy-Line's standards track, for every week: deaths, body weight, water per bird, feed per bird, total feed, and uniformity. By week 17 a Hy-Line Brown flock should have eaten about 6 kg of feed per bird and kept 98% alive. These records are how you know if your flock is doing well.
Should the light go up?
It is week 16. Your flock's average weight is 1,250 g. The breed target for week 16 is 1,302–1,377 g. Should you increase the light now? Why or why not? What else should you check?
Ready for lay
- Help install and clean the nest boxes; add clean nesting material.
- Help move the pullets gently, at a cool time of day.
- When eggs start, collect them at fixed times each day.
- Record each collection: total eggs, cracked, dirty, and eggs found on the floor.
- At week 20, total your flock's records: birds alive, % lost, average weight, uniformity.
Egg check
At a market or shop, look at eggs from two sellers. Record the price per crate, the egg colour, and how many eggs are cracked or dirty. Which would you buy, and why?
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Biosecurity | Everything you do to stop disease getting onto the farm or spreading |
| Brooder | The warm area where chicks live for their first weeks |
| Coccidiosis | A gut disease caused by a parasite spread in droppings |
| Competent / Not Yet Competent | The two possible results of a CBT assessment |
| Deep litter | Floor housing on shavings or similar, kept dry |
| Guard ring | A low circular fence that keeps chicks near the heat |
| Layer | A hen kept to lay eggs |
| Light stimulation | Making the day longer on purpose to start the birds laying |
| Point of lay | The age when pullets start laying |
| Pullet | A young female chicken before she starts laying |
| Uniformity | The % of birds within 10% of the average weight |
| Vaccine | A medicine that teaches the bird's body to fight a disease |
| VSD | Veterinary Services Directorate of MoFA |
Logbook
Copy these pages into an exercise book. Your logbook is part of your assessment evidence.
Trainee details: name · farm or centre · flock arrival date · breed · trainer.
- Unit 1: house check list, equipment sums, cleaning dates
- Unit 2: visitor log, foot-dip changes, vet office number
- Unit 3: brooding record twice daily (temperature, chick spread, deaths); day-7 weight
- Unit 4: daily feed (type, kg) and water (litres); line flushing dates
- Unit 5: flock vaccination calendar; each vaccination (date, vaccine, batch, method, birds)
- Unit 6: weekly weights of 100 birds; average and uniformity
- Unit 7: egg collections (total, cracked, dirty, floor eggs); week-20 flock summary
- Every homework, dated
Your trainer initials your logbook each week to confirm the work is yours.
Self-check quiz
- Which way should the long side of a layer house face in a hot country?
- How many nest boxes do 1,000 hens need?
- Name three ways disease gets onto a poultry farm.
- Many birds die suddenly one morning. What must you do?
- What temperature do chicks need in their first days?
- Chicks are crowded under the heater. What does it mean?
- What % of chicks may die in the first week before it is a warning?
- Why is layer feed harmful to young pullets?
- What is often the first sign of a serious problem in the flock?
- Why must vaccines be kept cold?
- Name two signs of coccidiosis.
- How many birds do you weigh each week, and what is uniformity?
- When should the light be increased to bring birds into lay?
- Why move pullets to the laying house before the first egg?
Further reading and sources
Best next reads: your breed's management guide from the hatchery (Hy-Line, Lohmann or ISA); this year's VSD vaccination schedule from your district veterinary office; the H&N brooding guide; the FAO small-scale poultry chapters.
What this module does not cover: the laying period after week 20, egg grading and marketing, treating diseases (a vet's job), mixing your own feed, cage systems, and farm budgets.
Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.