Main Points of Feeding and Management of broiler breeder rooster in Laying Period
Publish Time: 2023-04-10 Origin: Phoenix Breeding Equipment
In order to increase the egg production rate, many farmers usually only focus on the management of hens, while ignoring the management of the egg production period of breeding roosters. Is this okay? In fact, this is not right. Breeding roosters also play an irreplaceable role in improving the production efficiency of breeder farms.
1. Do a good job in mixed group management
1). Strict selection before mixing
The roosters are selected one by one for breeding. Individuals are required to have a ruddy beard, bright eyes, neat beak, standard tibia length, straight back, legs and toes, good feather coverage, and a weight within the average weight range. Mature etc. The uniformity (including body condition and weight, the same below) of the breeding roosters should be kept good before mixing groups, and it is required to reach 100%.
2). Adjust the male-to-female ratio
Breeding flocks of different ages have different breeding ratios between males and females. The principle is to gradually reduce the ratio of roosters as the fertilization rate of hens decreases: Generally, when hens are 22 to 24 weeks old, the ratio of roosters is 9.5% to 10%. 9% to 10% at the age of 30 to 35 weeks, 8.50% to 9.75% at the age of 30 to 35 weeks, 8.0% to 9.5% at the age of 35 to 40 weeks, 7.50% to 9.25% at the age of 40 to 60 weeks, and 7.50% to 9.25% at the age of 60 weeks to elimination. 7% to 9%. The ratio of male to female used in actual production should be moderately adjusted according to the behavior of the rooster. For example, when the roosters are ferocious, their number can be relatively reduced; if the roosters often hide under the egg nest, it means that the roosters are weak and the number needs to be increased.
3).Strengthen management after mixing
After the breeding cocks are mixed into the hen flock, if the management is not proper, the uniformity of the cocks will decrease, forming three groups of oversized, medium and undersized. At this time, the oversized and undersized cocks should be eliminated, and the medium cocks should be left as the main group.
During production, it is necessary to carefully observe the feeding behavior of roosters every day, and pay attention to the following details: first, ensure that the roosters get familiar with the environment of the house as soon as possible after mixing, and find feed and drinking water smoothly; The third is to strictly prohibit the hens and hens from stealing feed from each other, and promptly eliminate the hens who steal feed from the roosters (because the number of roosters in the flock is small, if the amount of feed is insufficient, it will have a great impact); the fourth is to prevent overbearing roosters from picking feed Eat too much feed and become overweight, and at the same time prevent weak roosters from falling in body condition and underweight due to lack of feed, which will eventually be eliminated.
2. Avoid overmating
When the hen is 27 weeks old, if the feathers fall off too much, the skin on the head and back is scratched and damaged, and they often hide on the shelf, or the rooster is too fierce, it means that the chickens are over-mating, and the fertilization rate of the eggs will decrease. dropped. It is recommended that breeder farms adopt a graded mixing method to avoid over-mating: when the hen is 22 to 23 weeks old, 5% of the male roosters are mixed in first, and then 2% are mixed in at the age of 24 weeks, and the remaining male roosters are mixed in at the age of 25 weeks. If it is found that the fertilization rate is low in the early stage of laying eggs, and it is found that it is caused by overmating of roosters, the ratio of male to female in the flock should be adjusted immediately, and 0.5% to 1.0% of ferocious roosters should be picked out.
3. Control the weight of the rooster
The testicular development status of roosters in the breeding period is closely related to the weight gain. The weight and function of the testis in the laying period are also related to the weight control and body condition. At the same time, the testicular weight determines the quality of semen and the number of effective sperm, thus affecting the fertilization rate of eggs. Therefore It is necessary to pay attention to and control the weight of roosters at all stages.
1). Promoting the weight of the testicles before and after adding light
The weight of both testicles reached 1 gram when the rooster was 15 weeks old, and the weight of the testes increased rapidly after 15 weeks of age, and the weight gain was more obvious after increasing the light (3 weeks after adding light, the weight of the testes could reach 24-44 grams). Therefore, before and after lighting, it is necessary to ensure that the living environment of the breeding rooster is comfortable, so that the weight of the testicles reaches the standard, and the growth curve is smooth.
2). Prevent weight loss of 28-35 week-old roosters
The experimental results show that the standard body weight of a cock at 29 weeks of age is 4120 grams, and the weight of both testes can reach 42 grams, while the weight of both sides of the testicles of underweight (3440 grams) and overweight (4420 grams) cocks are 32 grams respectively. gram and 63 grams; with the increase of week age, the weight of rooster testes changes accordingly. The weight of the testicles of roosters aged 28-35 weeks is the largest and the semen production is the highest. At this stage, roosters are prone to weight loss. The testicles of healthy roosters are cream-colored, rich in blood vessels, well-developed vas deferens, and the weight of both testicles is 40-50 grams. At this stage, pay attention to weighing the breeding roosters twice a week, and determine the amount of feed based on the touch of the breast muscles. When the breast muscles are felt to be weak, feed should be added immediately to ensure that the weekly weight gain of the breeding roosters meets the standard, while avoiding stress reactions.
3). Keep roosters in good weight after 35 weeks of age
After 35 weeks of age, the testicles of the roosters will gradually shrink, the weight will become smaller, the distribution of blood vessels will be significantly reduced, and the color will be pale. The color and size of the vas deferens will be abnormal. By strengthening management, the roosters after 35 weeks of age can maintain good body weight and plump breast muscles, and slow down the decline in the fertilization rate of breeding eggs. Insufficient feeding or reduced amount of feed will have adverse effects on cock weight, body condition, testis size, and egg fertilization rate; but overfeeding or stealing hen feed will cause roosters to overweight, resulting in unsuccessful mating.
4. Strengthen daily management
1). Adjust the amount of material according to the weighing situation
In production management, the feeding principle is to keep the body weight of the male rooster within the standard range given in the "Feeding Management Manual" and the uniformity of the male rooster is high. Since the breeding rooster needs to continuously produce semen, it is absolutely not possible to reduce the feed, but it is also necessary It is necessary to avoid the reduction of fertilization rate caused by the rooster eating too much food and being overweight. Pay attention to check the feeding situation of the cock after feeding every day, and weigh the cock every week to monitor whether its weekly weight gain is consistent with the standard. The number of roosters in the flock is small, and the sampling ratio when weighing should be appropriately larger (accounting for 10% of the whole flock); at the same time, mark the roosters sampled to avoid errors in the amount of feed caused by large weighing errors.
2). Weed out bad roosters
Inspect the flock of chickens every day, eliminate the abnormally working roosters in time, and ensure the effective ratio and feeding amount of male and female hens are accurate.
Unhealthy roosters are characterized by thinness, swollen joints, inflamed foot pads, dark crown and beard, hiding under the egg nest and not being active, and are often chased by strong roosters, and it is difficult to get feed from the rooster feeder. Forage for feed crumbs around feeders or on the floor of the house.
3). Maintain cock uniformity
It is often difficult for thin and weak cocks to eat enough feed, resulting in smaller body size, and strong cocks are overweight due to eating too much feed, so thin and oversized cocks should be picked out to improve the uniformity of breeding cocks. This requires fast and uniform feeding, reasonable material level, and no leakage or tilting of the feeding system, so that the roosters can eat evenly.
4). Prevent footpad inflammation
Inflammation of a rooster's footpads can inhibit mating behavior, or the inability to mate successfully. Controlling footpad inflammation is critical in the later management of roosters. Specific methods: one is to make the litter have sufficient thickness (5-7 mm) and keep it soft; the other is to pick out the waste on the litter in time to avoid hurting the chicken feet; the third is to keep the chicken house properly ventilated so that The humidity of the bedding material is suitable (50% to 60%), not wet, not hardened; fourth, the protein content in the feed should not be too high, so as to avoid sticky feces and burn the foot pads.
5). Touch and observe the cock
The development status of a rooster can be reflected by the fullness of its breast muscles. Two roosters with "V" and "U"-shaped pectoral muscles were dissected, and the weights of their bilateral testes were 25.8 grams and 42.4 grams respectively. A rooster can mate normally with a hen only when the size of the pectoral muscle is appropriate (that is, there is an appropriate angle between the keel and the anus); a rooster with too large or too small pectoral muscles (the angle between the keel and the anus is not suitable) is difficult to mate with the hen. The chicken's cloaca touches and copulation cannot be completed. During production, the breast muscles of the roosters should be touched frequently, and feeding regulation should be strengthened accordingly to ensure that the roosters maintain a good body condition, so as to ensure that the fertilization rate of the eggs reaches the standard.
The development status of the rooster can also be judged by observing the rooster's face. As it turns out, the pale roosters have light-weight, sparsely vascular testicles.
Follow-up observations found that although the weight of the testicles of overweight cocks at the age of 29 weeks was large, as the age increased, the weight of the testes was smaller than that of cocks with normal weight at the age of 49 weeks. This fully demonstrates the importance of rooster weight compliance
5. Reasonable feeding
The roosters and hens have different nutritional needs, and the roosters should be fed separately in time when they are transferred or lightened, so that the roosters can maintain a good physiological state and insemination rate. Only when the energy level in the feed is greater than 2750 kcal/kg, can the body condition of the rooster meet the standard and the size of the testicles be ensured; when the crude protein content in the feed accounts for about 12%, the rooster can avoid excessive breast muscle or poor sperm quality (The author set the crude protein content of rooster feed at 11.5%, and the effect is good).
During the laying period of the hen at the age of 29 to 46 weeks, the body weight of the rooster will increase by 1 kg, and the feed should be added regularly as the rooster increases in weight to avoid negative energy balance in the rooster. Once the amount of feed is insufficient, the rooster will lose its feathers in advance, its weight will increase, and the fertilization rate of the eggs will decrease. Roosters usually do not stop mating because they are overweight, they are often overweight because they stop mating.
6. Increase the activity of the rooster
1). Replacement rooster
It refers to the elimination of unusable roosters, and the selection of young and vigorous roosters to supplement the flock. The advantage is that it can significantly increase the fertilization rate of chicken eggs. The disadvantage is that the cost of the chicken house and the cost of additional roosters are increased; after the roosters are replaced, the awareness of biological safety hazards needs to be raised, because the new roosters added to the flock may have been infected with diseases, or the immune antibodies are inconsistent with the existing flocks, the breeder should pay attention to observation, do Good precaution.
2). Cock swapping in group
Refers to the exchange of cocks between different houses of the same batch of breeders. The advantage is that it can reduce the risk of biological safety; the disadvantage is that the age and body weight of the roosters are relatively large, and frequent exchanges make the roosters play a role later, and the fertilization rate of breeding eggs does
3). Reserve roosters from 25 weeks old
The advantage is that there is no need to worry about biological safety issues, and the fertilization rate of eggs can be guaranteed. The disadvantage is that more feeding space needs to be reserved in the laying hen house, and the cost of spare cocks will increase; if the feeding space is not prepared enough and the breeding density is too high, it will affect the uniformity of the roosters, making it difficult to improve the fertilization rate of breeding eggs.
The above is the whole content of today. You can take a good look at how to manage the breeding roosters, which can also improve the egg production rate. The farmers who like it can save it for future use.
Source: "Scientific Planting"
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