Broiler farming: a complete guide from day-old chick to sale
A broiler batch is decided in the first week and sold in the sixth. Get the house warm and dry before chicks arrive, make sure every chick finds water in the first few hours, feed the right phase at the right time, and weigh a sample every week. Most farms that struggle are losing the batch to brooding and water problems, not to anything exotic.
Before the chicks arrive
A broiler house should be ready two full days before placement, not two hours. Chicks cannot regulate their own body temperature for the first week, so they depend entirely on the environment you hand them. A cold floor on day one costs weight for the whole cycle and cannot be recovered later.
- Clean out and disinfectRemove all old litter, wash the house down, disinfect, and leave it empty and dry. A gap of at least 10–14 days between batches breaks most disease cycles.
- Lay dry litter 5–8 cm deepWood shavings, chopped straw or rice husks. It must be dry and free of mould — damp litter on day one is a respiratory problem by day ten.
- Pre-heat for 24–48 hoursBring the brooding area to 32–34 °C at chick level and hold it. Warm the floor, not just the air; chicks sit on the litter.
- Set up feeders and drinkersFill drinkers so the water reaches room temperature. Spread starter crumble on paper or trays so chicks find feed immediately.
- Ring the brooding areaA chick guard keeps chicks near heat, feed and water for the first 5–7 days, then expands outward.
Brooding: the first 14 days
| Age | Target temperature | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1–3 | 32–34 °C | Highest demand. Watch chick behaviour, not just the thermometer. |
| Day 4–7 | 30–32 °C | Expand the chick guard as birds spread out. |
| Week 2 | 28–30 °C | Feathering begins; heat need falls. |
| Week 3 | 26–28 °C | Brooders usually come off by the end of this week. |
| Week 4 onward | 20–24 °C | Ventilation becomes more important than heat. |
Water is the other half of brooding. Check crop fill 8–24 hours after placement: pick up 20 chicks at random and feel the crop. It should be soft and full. If more than a fifth have hard or empty crops, chicks are not finding water or feed, and you need to add drinkers, lower them, or improve lighting immediately.
The feeding programme
Broilers are fed in three phases. The point of the phases is economic as much as nutritional: protein is the expensive part of the ration, and a bird's protein requirement falls as it grows, so feeding finisher to a three-week-old bird wastes growth while feeding starter to a five-week-old bird wastes money.
| Phase | Days | Crude protein | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1–14 | 22–23% | Crumble |
| Grower | 15–28 | 20–21% | Pellet or crumble |
| Finisher | 29 to sale | 18–19% | Pellet |
Change phases over 2–3 days by mixing the old and new feed rather than switching overnight. An abrupt change puts birds off feed for a day, and a day off feed at week four is measurable at sale.
Weekly targets to check against
| Age | Target live weight | Cumulative feed per bird |
|---|---|---|
| Day 7 | 170–190 g | ~150 g |
| Day 14 | 440–480 g | ~500 g |
| Day 21 | 880–950 g | ~1,100 g |
| Day 28 | 1,450–1,550 g | ~1,900 g |
| Day 35 | 2,000–2,200 g | ~2,900 g |
| Day 42 | 2,600–2,900 g | ~4,000 g |
These are indicative figures for common commercial strains under good management; your hatchery's own guide should take precedence where you have it. What matters more than hitting an exact number is weighing the same way every week — same time of day, same sample size, at least 20 birds picked from different parts of the house.
Common problems and where to look first
| What you see | Look here first |
|---|---|
| High first-week mortality | Pre-heating, floor temperature, draughts, chick quality, whether chicks found water. |
| Uneven flock size | Feeder space, stocking density, bullying at the feeder, whether small birds can reach drinkers. |
| Wet litter | Drinker leaks and height, ventilation, stocking density, sudden feed change. |
| Birds panting, wings out | Heat stress. Increase airflow, provide cool water, avoid handling during the heat of the day. |
| Feed intake suddenly drops | Water supply first, always. Then feed quality, then disease — and call a qualified animal health professional. |
| Poor feed conversion | Wastage from overfilled feeders, feed quality, disease, temperature extremes, days to sale. |
Deciding when to sell
Every extra day adds weight, but it adds it less efficiently: an older broiler converts feed to weight more slowly than a young one. The decision is therefore commercial, not biological — keep birds only as long as the value of the extra weight beats the cost of the feed to put it on, and only as long as your buyer wants birds at that size.
- Weigh a real sampleAt least 20 birds from different parts of the house, on a scale, not by eye.
- Know your break-even priceWork out total cost per kilogram before you negotiate, so you know your floor.
- Withdraw feed before transportTake feed away 6–8 hours before catching, but never water. This reduces losses in transit and gut contamination at processing.
- Catch in the cool of the dayCatching in the midday heat causes deaths in transit that are entirely avoidable.
Sources
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