NEXTEKCI's book on broiler chickens is available
Our guide « Broiler chickens in a hot climate — Successfully managing your flock in an open-sided poultry house » is on sale as a PDF, with payment by Wave, Orange Money, MTN or card, and immediate access. Price shown on the sales page.
You are an agricultural entrepreneur
A broiler poultry house is a small factory. Chicks, feed and water go in; chickens for sale come out; in between are six weeks when every day counts. A poultry farmer who thinks this way is no longer at the mercy of their flock: they prepare it, measure it and make decisions. Here are the steps that make a difference, as we explain them in the book.
1. Prepare the poultry house before the chicks arrive
A flock is made or broken a week before the chicks arrive. The poultry house is cleaned, cleared of everything that could carry germs, left to rest, and then set up again: clean, dry litter, drinkers and feeders ready, heating tested, curtains adjusted. Young chicks need a warm corner sheltered from draughts: curtains lowered and the door closed, never a poultry house open on all sides.
On the day they arrive, everything must already be working. A chick that finds a poorly prepared poultry house loses time it will never make up.
2. Get the first 72 hours right
The first three days determine the whole flock. The chick has just completed a journey; it needs to warm up, hydrate and start eating. The principle we recommend: water first, feed about 2 hours later. Then observe your chicks: well distributed under the heat source, active, with full crops, they tell you everything is going well. Huddled together or scattered far from the heat, they are telling you to make adjustments.
3. Monitor your flock week by week
A poultry farmer who does not measure is guessing. The book offers a simple monitoring system:
- weigh a sample of chickens every week and compare it with the weight curve;
- record feed distributed, water consumed and mortality every day;
- calculate the feed conversion ratio and the flock's margin using your own figures;
- keep a flock record book, sheet after sheet.
These indicators tell you in good time whether the flock is ahead, on target or behind, and, above all, why.
4. Heat stress, the great danger in a hot climate
In our climates, heat is the number one enemy of a broiler chicken that is growing quickly. A chicken suffering from heat pants, spreads its wings, drinks a lot and moves less. Prevention is your best weapon: a well-ventilated, well-oriented poultry house, fresh water available in abundance at all times, and work in the poultry house (distribution, handling, collection) carried out during the coolest hours of the day. If you have any doubts about the health of the flock, call your veterinarian or supervisor without delay.
What you will find in the book
The book follows a broiler flock, from planning through to the final assessment, in an open-sided poultry house in a hot climate. It contains 624 pages in colour and eight parts:
- before getting started: calculate using your own figures and decide how many chicks to start with;
- the poultry house, water and equipment, including the preparation week;
- the chick: choose, order, transport, receive and get the first 72 hours right;
- the six weeks, from set-up to sale, then the sanitary break;
- reading your flock: observe, weigh, monitor feed, water and mortality;
- when things go wrong: heat stress, rainy season, breakdowns, and when to call the veterinarian or supervisor;
- sales and money: catch and load, assess performance, move to two or more poultry houses;
- the toolbox: the 10 costly mistakes, the flock record book with fifteen sheets, growth and feed consumption indicators.
Each chapter ends with questions, with the answers at the end of the book, and a broiler glossary completes the book.
Who wrote it, and who it is for
The guide is by Abdul Hussein Chouman, founder of the NEXTEKCI hatchery in Agnibilékrou, Côte d'Ivoire, who has been supporting poultry farmers since 2006. It is aimed at future poultry farmers planning their project, poultry farmers who want better results, students and entrepreneurs investing in agriculture, in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa and all hot-climate countries. If you are starting from scratch, begin with Volume 1, The Foundations, which lays the groundwork; this guide goes straight to managing a broiler flock.
Get the book
- Broiler chickens in a hot climate, in French (PDF)
- Volume 1 + Broiler chickens in a hot climate bundle
- Volume 1 on nextekci.com
Payment by Wave, Orange Money, MTN or card; PDF available immediately. The price is shown on the sales page.
Contact us
- Orders / WhatsApp: 07 07 72 78 67
- Information: 05 44 83 27 79
- Website: www.nextekci.com
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--- *Source: NEXTEKCI — In-house expertise — summary and analysis by NEXTEKCI.*