- ✓Manage the rearing of the pullets: weight, uniformity, lighting programme
- ✓Succeed at the transfer, the onset of lay and the peak
- ✓Manage laying day to day: nests, collection, floor eggs, feed and calcium, end of cycle
The pullets (0 to 17 weeks)
Brooding is that of level 2 (heat, water, pullet starter feed). Then, two obsessions: weight and uniformity. A sample is weighed every week and compared with the breed's table (NEXTEKCI provides it for the brown layer); you aim for a flock within ±10% of the average for more than 80% of the pullets. A flock behind on weight receives the previous phase's feed for one more week; an uneven flock is sorted (small ones kept apart).
Vaccinations are numerous over this period (level 3), scheduled by the veterinarian. Beak trimming (shortening the tip of the beak to limit pecking) is practised on some farms, by a trained person and with the veterinarian's agreement; it is not compulsory if density, light and feed are well managed.
Light during rearing: after the first days (23 h), the duration decreases gradually down to natural daylight (about 12 h in Côte d'Ivoire) and must never increase before 17 weeks: a pullet stimulated too early lays too early, lays small eggs, and wears herself out.
Transfer, onset of lay and peak (16 to 30 weeks)
- Transfer to the laying house at around 16 to 17 weeks, at night, into a prepared house (nests installed, water and feed ready), so that the hens get used to it before the first eggs.
- Light stimulation from 17 to 18 weeks, if the target weight is reached: +30 minutes to +1 hour per week up to 16 hours of light, then no more changes. The light is added in the morning (hens lay in the morning) and in the evening.
- Feed: pre-lay at around 16 weeks, then layer feed from 1 to 2% lay, with calcium (oyster shell or coarse limestone grit, given in the afternoon: the shell is formed at night).
- Peak at around 26 to 30 weeks (90 to 95%): plenty of fresh water, feed always available, absolute calm (no building work, no visitors, no dog), frequent collection.
Laying day to day
| Point | Benchmark | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Nests | 1 individual nest for 5 to 6 hens, or 1 m² of colony nest for 80 to 100; dark, lined, 40-50 cm above the floor | Eggs laid on the floor are dirty, broken, eaten |
| Collection | 3 to 4 times a day, more in strong heat; last collection before nightfall | Cleanliness, less breakage, less broodiness |
| Floor eggs | Less than 2%; otherwise: more nests, darker nests, collect floor eggs early, close off the corners | The habit is formed in the first weeks of lay |
| Feed | 110 to 120 g per hen per day in lay; calcium separately in the afternoon | Strong shells, peak maintained |
| Water | About 2 times the feed, more in heat; never interrupted | A one-day water cut breaks laying for weeks |
| Floor density | 5 to 7 hens per m² | Pecking, stress, floor eggs |
Every day, you count the eggs, calculate the laying rate (level 4), note the broken, dirty and soft-shelled eggs. Every week, you remove the non-layers you have spotted (pale, dry comb, narrow abdomen, not going to the nest): they eat without producing.
End of cycle
After the peak, laying declines by about 0.5 of a point per week and the eggs get bigger. At around 72 to 80 weeks, below 60 to 65% with more fragile shells, you cull (level 2) and sell the hens. Forced moulting (stopping laying in order to restart it) is practised on some farms; it requires precise mastery and is not advised without a veterinarian or an experienced technician. The sanitary break of a laying house is long (3 to 4 weeks): it has housed the hens for more than a year.
Eggs are kept in a cool place (ideally 10 to 15 °C, in the shade, never in the sun), pointed end down, and are sold within the week (level 4).
For the entrepreneur
- ›Two figures decide your year: the weight at 18 weeks and the uniformity of the pullets. Pay to get them (feed, sorting, weighings).
- ›Protect the layers' light and water: back-up power compulsory, two-day water reserve.
- ›Plan the long sanitary break and the sale of the spent hens in the calendar.
For the technician
- ›Weekly weighing of the pullets, sorting of the small ones, light never increased before 17 weeks.
- ›Transfer at night at 16-17 weeks; gradual light stimulation up to 16 h; calcium in the afternoon.
- ›Collection 3 to 4 times a day, floor eggs hunted down from the first days, non-layers removed every week.
The 3 questions to ask your technician this week
- What are the pullets’ average weight and uniformity this week, compared with the table?
- How many hours of light do the hens receive, and how many floor eggs are collected per day?
- What is today’s laying rate, and how many broken or soft-shelled eggs?
Key points
- •Pullets: weight and uniformity (±10%, > 80%) every week; light never increased before 17 weeks.
- •Transfer at 16-17 weeks at night; gradual light stimulation up to 16 h; layer feed from 1-2% lay, calcium in the afternoon.
- •Nests: 1 for 5-6 hens; collection 3-4 times a day; floor eggs < 2%; 110-120 g of feed per day; water never interrupted; 5 to 7 hens per m².
- •Non-layers removed every week; culling at around 72-80 weeks; long sanitary break; eggs in a cool place, pointed end down.