Brown laying hen track
From chick to depletion: weights, lighting, laying, egg quality
Drawn from the School’s technical guide: rearing the pullet and target weights, lighting programme in a hot climate, onset of lay, laying curve, water and feed, egg quality. Benchmarks: Novogen Brown, ISA Brown.
This track is open to every registered student. The full text is in the technical guide.
- 1Brooding layer chicks (0 to 5 weeks)A brown layer produces for about a year and a half, but everything starts in the first five weeks. A chick that was cold, drank badly or was crowded falls behind and finds it hard to catch up. This lesson prepares the house, the arrival and the first weight, feed and lighting benchmarks.9 min read · 5-question quiz
- 2Rearing the pullet (6 to 18 weeks)Between 6 and 18 weeks, the pullet does not lay yet: it costs feed and work. Yet this is where laying is decided. A pullet at the right weight and well uniform at 18 weeks will lay longer and more steadily. This lesson teaches you to weigh, compare with the table and correct in time.10 min read · 5-question quiz
- 3Lighting in a hot climate: the programme week by weekFor a layer, light is a switch. You reduce it during rearing to let the pullet grow, then increase it to start laying. Two rules are not negotiable: never increase the light before the pullets have the right weight, and never reduce it during laying.9 min read · 5-question quiz
- 4Coming into lay (16 to 25 weeks): the calendar not to missIn a few weeks, everything changes: new house, new feed, rising light, first eggs. According to the strain targets, laying goes from 15% at 20 weeks to over 94% at 25 weeks. Each step has its date and its weight: this lesson puts them in order.10 min read · 5-question quiz
- 5Following the laying curve (25 to 80 weeks)After coming into lay comes the long production period. The strain table gives targets obtained in very good conditions; in an open-sided house, in strong heat, average laying over the year is often lower, around 75%. The key is not to copy the table, but to follow your own curve every week so you can react quickly when it drops.10 min read · 5-question quiz
- 6Water, heat, health and depopulation: holding laying to the endIn Ivory Coast, heat is the layer’s first enemy, and water is her first defence. A hen that drinks well holds her laying rate and the strength of her shells. This last lesson of the track sets up water, the house against heat, health and biosecurity, then the depopulation that ends the flock.10 min read · 5-question quiz