Pullet Transfers During Egg Production in the Philippines
When you introduce your new chicks into the poultry house, you will be concerned with brooding management during the first few weeks. Optimal conditions must be ensured in the brooding area so as to increase the survivability of your chicks. The next step generally involves the transfer of the pullets into the laying house. The process of transferring the pullets to the laying house must be done with considerable care and as seamlessly as possible.
As we have repeatedly stated, chickens are creatures of habit. If you don’t have a smooth transition, they are going to experience some stress and this will have a direct impact on the production. Here are some useful steps to keep in mind when you are transferring your pullets to the main chicken laying house:-
- The best age to move the pullets to the laying or egg production facility is when they are between 15 and 16 weeks. This must be done after you are done administering live vaccinations.
- You have to replicate the environment and equipments in the rearing house in the laying house. Ensure that the feeding and watering systems in both areas are similar in order to minimize stress on the birds as much as possible.
- This is the time to separate the remaining sex slips or the male birds from the rest of the layer flocks.
- There are certain measures you can undertake in advance so as to minimize the stress the birds are likely to face when you are transferring them to the laying house. For example, you can increase the amount of nutrients to the birds just a few days before you transfer them to the laying house. Add some vitamin C, probiotics or you can simply increase the dietary intensity of the feeds you are giving to the birds.
- Make sure you weigh the birds when you are transferring them to the laying house. Subsequently, you can weigh them on a regular basis so as to monitor their weights.
- After you have transferred the chickens to the laying house, closely monitor their water intake. If the transfer was done well, they will be able to hit their pre-transfer water intake in a matter of hours meaning the impact of moving into a new environment has been negligible.
- After transferring the birds, increase the light intensity for a period of up to 3 days until you have made sure that the chickens have adapted smoothly to the new environment.
- Inspect the birds on a regular basis after the transfer and make sure any mortalities in the production facility are disposed of as soon as possible.
- In case the rate of mortality has increased after you have transferred the pullets to the laying house, call a vet to carry out a proper diagnosis on the causes of the spike in mortality.
- The transfer to the laying house or egg production facility should be done as quickly as possible as this will help in minimizing the stress on the birds. Make sure that you have transferred all the pullets to the laying house on the same day.
- Transfer the pullets to the laying house early in the morning. This will give them sufficient time to adapt to the laying house daily routine as quickly as possible.
If you are looking for more tips or a comprehensive guide on layer egg production in the Philippines, check out our Philippines Layer Management Guide.