The broiler phases

Phase	Age (white broiler)	Form	Role
Starter	0 to 10-14 days	Fine crumbs	Build the gut and the skeleton; rich in protein
Grower	15 to 28 days	Small pellets or coarse crumbs	Develop muscle
Finisher	29 days to sale	Pellets	Finish the weight, more energy, less protein

Coloured chickens (red, barred grey, hybrid), reared for three to four months, follow the same phases but for longer: starter up to 3 weeks, grower up to 8 to 10 weeks, finisher after that. Some farmers top up the finisher with cracked maize: this is possible at the end of the flock, never during brooding, and never on its own.

For the layer, the phases follow age in weeks: pullet starter (0 to 6 weeks), grower (6 to 12-14), developer or pre-lay (14 to 18), then layer feed from the first eggs, rich in calcium. Giving layer feed too early damages the pullet’s kidneys; giving it too late produces fragile shells.

How much do they eat? The benchmarks

The quantities below are orders of magnitude for a white broiler under good management, useful for planning bags and spotting a problem: at around 7 days, 25 to 30 g per bird per day; at around 21 days, 100 to 110 g; at around 35 days, 160 to 180 g. Over the whole flock, 3 to 3.5 kg per bird sold at around six weeks. An adult layer eats 110 to 120 g per day.

The figure that counts is your consumption, recorded every day in bags or in kilos. If it is well above the benchmarks without the weight to match, it is waste (feeders too low or too full, rats). If it is below, it is heat, a shortage of water, feed being refused or a disease starting.

Fill feeders one-third full, never to the brim: beyond that, the birds scratch and throw feed out, and waste can reach 5 to 10% of the feed.

Changing bags without upsetting the flock

Every change (phase, supplier, form) is a delicate transition: the flock may shun the feeder for two days, and water consumption drops. The transition is made over three days: day 1, two-thirds old and one-third new; day 2, half and half; day 3, one-third old and two-thirds new. You watch consumption and droppings.

Never change supplier in the middle of a phase just because of a price opportunity: a cheaper feed that loses three days of growth costs more. When a new bag arrives with a different colour or smell, ask the supplier what has changed before giving it.

Storage: one store, one rule

Separate store, closed, dry, ventilated, never in the birds’ house.
Bags on pallets (or planks), 20 cm from the floor and the walls, so that air circulates and damp does not rise.
First in, first out: write the date of receipt on each bag and use the oldest first. Beyond 4 to 6 weeks of storage, especially in the rainy season, feed loses its vitamins and mould takes over.
Rats and mice: they eat, soil and transmit diseases. Traps and baits outside the store, no open bags, floor swept every day.
A bag that is mouldy, warm, smells musty or has lumps is not given, not even “a little”: the toxins from mould (aflatoxins) damage the liver, stop growth and kill. The supplier must take it back.

Keep a one-week safety stock: a road closure or a missed delivery must not leave the flock starving.

For the entrepreneur

›The most profitable check on the farm: count the bags. Bags received − bags given out = bags in stock. Do it every week, yourself.
›Buy feed by phase and in advance: a one-week safety stock and a proper store are worth more than any discount.
›Insist that the supplier takes back any mouldy bag; do not let anyone “mix it in so as not to waste it”.

For the technician

›Feeders filled one-third full, raised every week; transition over three days at every change.
›Date of receipt written on each bag, first-in first-out rotation, bags on pallets.
›Consumption recorded every day; a suspect bag is set aside and shown, never given out.

The 3 questions to ask your technician this week

How many bags are left in stock, and in how many days does the next delivery arrive?
Which feed phase is the flock on, and on what date is the next change planned?
Which is the oldest bag in the store, and on what date was it received?

Key points

•White broiler: starter 0 to 10-14 d, grower 15 to 28 d, finisher after that; layer: phases in weeks, layer feed from the first eggs.
•Benchmarks: 25-30 g/d at 7 d, 100-110 g/d at 21 d, 160-180 g/d at 35 d; 110-120 g/d for a layer.
•Feeders one-third full; transition over three days at every change; no change of supplier in the middle of a phase.
•Separate, dry store, bags on pallets, first in first out, one-week safety stock.
•A mouldy bag is never given, not even a little: aflatoxins kill.

Feed by phase: the right bag at the right age, properly stored