GROWING BROILERS

Which has more square footage?Football field

Modern day broiler house

Which is longer?Football field

Modern day broiler house

Chicken mapHATCHERY

BROILERS LAYERS

EGGS

CORNISH

PROCESSING

4 WEEKS8 WEEKS

objectives

• List the steps to raising broilers with 85% accuracy.

• Accurately describe a method of heating with 100 % accuracy.

• Accurately describe a method of cooling with 100% accuracy.

• Describe a ventilation method orally with 90% accuracy.

Evolution of chicken houses

• Hand water/feed• chain feeder• windows• Side/end curtains, houses ran N to S • Curtain machines connected to thermostat

• Manual wenches• Breaker boxes

statistics

• 4 - 40/400 1985-86 • 80,000 chickens• 250,000 ++ chickens today

• 32/300 – 9,600 ft2, 10,000 4 # 12 – 14 weeks• 40/300 -15,000• 40/400 - 20,000• 43/500 – 27,000• 66/600 – 40,000 ft2 50,000 6# 7-8 weeks

ventilation

• Tunnel fans --------- 54”• Remove ammonia

• Vent boards (bring in fresh air)• Stir fans – no vents on, stagnant air• Attic vents• Blow heat down in winter, fresh air trapped in attic

cooling

• Power mode (vent boards)• Tunnel mode ( tunnel fans) with or w/out cool cells• Size of bird, outside conditions

• Cool cells- swamp coolers (radiator)85 deg. • Foggers – misters 100 deg +

heating

• Propane / natural gas

• Attic vents

• Radiant brooder stoves

• $60,000 to $30,000 / year propane (200,000 birds)

lighting

• LED $40 each- $5000 / house

• Min 3 years• Use less energy• Money saved on energy cost will pay for the bulbs

Feeding

• Feeder trays/lids• Chick mate• 7-10 days

• Feed pans• 14” apart

• Augers

Set up

• Shavings/rice hulls

• Paper under feeder lids

• Feeder lids

• Up to temp 24 hours before chicks, to heat floor and equip

• Lower water, feed lines, stoves

• Ventilation and light programs

• Migration panels/tubes

Getting chickens

• Chickens are hatched the day of

• Brought in on climate controlled truck• Used to be school busses

• Brought into houses on forklift on a pallet• 120 trays on a pallet, 12,000 birds• pallet pulled back as trays are dumped• 12,500 birds per section

Daily

• Pick up dead and record numbers

• Water pressure

• Feed

• Air quality

• Temperature

• Comfort

• Equipment repair

selling

• Catch crew

• 5,000 / truck • 50,000 birds in 8 hours

• Growers must raise feed, water, and stoves to be out of the way

preparation• Decake • 2” deep

• Windrowing • 103 deg in 24 hours

• Litter saving

• Top-dress with shavings or rice hulls

• Clean out can be contracted out where everything is cleaned out and new shavings or rice hulls are hauled in

• Litter is hauled out of state to row crop farmers- mainly due to high regulations to be spread here.

Feed conversion

• Amount of feed compared to the average weight of chicken determines performance

• 4# 1.75/lb of body weight

• 6.5# 1.9

Myths

• There are no steroids/hormones in the chicken feed. Restrictions do not allow anything to be put into the feed, the growers will have to sign a contract abiding by this rule.

Reflection

• What new technology is used in modern chicken houses

• How many chickens can a single person raise with todays technology.

• What job opportunities are there with a broiler operation.

? To answer

• Why is chicken important to agriculture.

• What new technology is used in modern chicken houses

• How many chickens can a single person raise with todays technology.

• What job opportunities are there with a broiler operation.

Reasons to learn

• Job opportunities in nw arkansas• Simmons• Cobb Vantress• Tyson• Georges

• Knowledge of where food comes from