PART I: GENERAL RAISING PRINCIPLES
1. Chicken houses:
- To choose the location for constructing chicken houses, it should be paid attention to the following criteria:
- It is a high, airy and cool land.
- It is far from crowded residential regions and areas of high animal raising density.
- There is a clean and adequate source of water there.
- The chicken house should be built in the direction East - Southeast or the South to catch the morning sunlight, to be cool in summer and to avoid the cold in winter.
- When building the chicken house, do not let rain water to wet the house floor.
2. Preparing the raising house:
- Chicks warming area: 5m2 for 500 one-day-old chicks. Then loosen the enclosure gradually to fit their growth of age.
- Broiler chicken raising area:
+ For closed chicken houses (ventilation-controlling houses): 1m2 for 12-15 chickens.
+ For opened chicken houses (without outdoor playground for chickens to be released): 1m2 for 7 chickens in hot weather, 10 chickens in cool weather.
+ For opened chicken houses (with outdoor playground for chickens to be released): 1m2 for 10-12 chickens.
- The air in the chicken house must be ventilated regularly, but it must be warm in the cold season and cool in the hot season, with the humidity suitable for each raising period.
- When cleaning the chicken house before putting chickens inside, if it is an old house, it should be noted:
+ Clean all floor filler layers inside the old house and remove them out of the chicken raising area. Bring all poultry tools such as feeding pans, drinking troughs, shoes, clothes, etc. outside to wash, dry in the sun and disinfect them carefully to prepare for the next chicken flock.
+ Use high pressure pumps with high pressure to flush the ceiling, walls, columns, slat, and house floor. Sprinkle soap on the floor, sweep and flush it again to clean the floor. Then use disinfectants such as: Bioxide, Formades ... to spray to disinfect the house; wait for the house to dry, sweep condensed lime water on the walls, columns, slat, and house floor.
- If there is a playground for chickens outside the chicken house, clean the playground and the area around the house with a radius of 5 meters, then sprinkle lime powder, and spray disinfectants around.
- The raising house must be left empty for at least 2-3 weeks before putting chickens inside.
- Spray disinfectants periodically 1-2 times/week before and after putting chickens inside the chicken house.
- Carry out “all in, all out” for the same chicken breeds of the same age in one raising area.
3. Preparing poultry tools and floor filler materials:
- Feeding trays, feeding pans, drinking troughs should be suitable for all ages of chickens in each stage:
+ From 1-7 days old: - Density of 60 chicks/feeding tray. - Density of 60 chicks/2-liter drinking bottle.
+ From 8-21 days old: - Density of 35 chicks/medium-size feeding tray. - Density of 50 chicks/4-liter drinking bottle.
+ After 22 days old: - Density of 25 chicks/large-size feeding pan. - Density of 50 chicks/8-liter drinking bottle.
- Yellow light incandescent bulbs or gas lamps are used for the warming period (or also called brooding period).
- Thermometer is used for monitoring the temperature.
- Fans and heat-resistant devices are also used.
- Blinds, curtain, and bamboo mats are used to make the enclosure for warming chicks.
- The floor filler layer of the chicken house is made of rice husks (for warming chicks, this layer should be spread 5cm thick, and for large chickens, 10cm thick).