- ✓Prepare the house and receive the layer chicks in good conditions
- ✓Read the chicks’ comfort: temperature, distribution, behaviour
- ✓Follow the weight, feed, density and lighting benchmarks up to 5 weeks
Before arrival: a house ready 30 to 40 hours ahead
A day-old chick cannot yet regulate its own temperature: the house keeps it warm. You preheat 30 to 40 hours before arrival, so that the air in the brooding area is at about 35 °C and the litter reaches 29 to 30 °C. Warm air above a cold floor is not enough: the chick lies down on the litter, and its belly gets cold.
- House washed, disinfected and downtime respected (level 2).
- Brooding area marked out: on the floor, no more than 20 chicks per m² in the heated part.
- Water ready at 20–25 °C in the drinkers, neither cold nor heated by the sun.
- Starter feed in crumbs spread on paper or trays, within reach of the beak.
- Thermometer placed at chick level, not at human height.
- Vaccination protocol requested from your area’s veterinarian before arrival.
Source: Novogen (Novogen Brown management guide, 2024).
Arrival: reading the chicks
Brown layers are vaccinated against Marek’s disease at the hatchery (certificate on request). The other vaccines are given on the farm during pullet rearing, following the protocol of your area’s veterinarian. Our chicks follow the same growth and laying benchmarks as the reference strains Novogen Brown and ISA Brown.
On arrival, place the chicks near the water and feed, then watch them. A comfortable chick has a temperature of 40 to 41 °C: its feet are lukewarm when you hold them against your cheek or neck. Cold feet announce a chick that will eat and drink poorly.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Chicks huddled under the heat source, cheeping | They are cold | Raise the heat, close draughts at floor level |
| Chicks spread far from the heat, beak open, wings held out | They are too hot | Lower or move the heat away, ventilate |
| Chicks crowded on one side only | Draught or uneven light | Find the air inlet and correct it |
| Chicks well spread, active, eating and drinking | Correct comfort | Keep the settings and keep watching |
Benchmarks for the first five weeks
From the first week, weigh a sample of chicks and compare with the table. A weight within the range says that heat, water and feed are right. A weight below it is a warning to deal with immediately, not at the end of rearing.
| Age | Feed per chick per day | Target weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week | 11 g | 65 to 70 g |
| 2 weeks | 17 g | 110 to 120 g |
| 4 weeks | 35 g | 270 to 285 g |
Source: Novogen (Novogen Brown management guide, 2024).
- Light: 22 hours then 20 hours in the first week, 18 hours at 3 weeks, 16 hours at 5 weeks. It is then reduced little by little (lesson 3).
- Density: about 20 chicks per m² up to 4 weeks, then the space is enlarged to reach 10 per m².
- Feed: starter first, then grower feed; always available, with enough space for all of them to eat at the same time.
In the first days, almost continuous light helps the chicks find water and feed. After that, it is reduced gradually: a pullet that receives more and more light during rearing matures too early. That is the subject of lesson 3.
Brooding mistakes that cost dearly later
- Chicks placed on cold litter because preheating only started that same morning.
- Cold water straight from the borehole, or scalding water left in the pipe in the sun.
- Too many chicks in the heated area: the weakest reach neither water nor feed.
- No weighing for several weeks: the delay is found too late to be corrected.
- Vaccines given “like the neighbour does”, without the protocol of the area’s veterinarian.
A pullet at the right weight and well uniform at 18 weeks will lay longer and more steadily. That result is built from the first week.
For the entrepreneur
- ›Insist on preheating started 30 to 40 hours before arrival: one day of fuel costs less than a flock that starts badly.
- ›Ask your area’s veterinarian for the vaccination protocol before ordering the chicks.
- ›Ask every week for the average weight compared with the table: it is the best summary of brooding.
For the technician
- ›Check the litter at 29–30 °C and the air at about 35 °C before taking the chicks out of the boxes.
- ›Feel the feet, watch the distribution several times a day and adjust the heat.
- ›Weigh a sample from the first week and record it on the sheet.
The 3 questions to ask your technician this week
- At what time did preheating start, and what is the litter temperature?
- How are the chicks spread out this morning, and are their feet lukewarm?
- What is the average weight this week, compared with the table?
Key points
- •Preheat 30 to 40 hours ahead: about 35 °C in the brooding area, litter at 29–30 °C.
- •No more than 20 chicks per m² in the heated area; water at 20–25 °C; crumbed feed on paper or trays.
- •A comfortable chick: 40 to 41 °C, lukewarm feet, well spread and active.
- •Benchmarks: 65 to 70 g at 1 week, 110 to 120 g at 2 weeks, 270 to 285 g at 4 weeks.
- •Marek’s at the hatchery (certificate on request); other vaccines according to your area’s veterinarian.