Preparing the Lifelong

Layer
By Rafael Lera
Poultry Veterinarian, Hendrix Genetics Layers

Well begun is half done, an old saying which also is true for egg producers as a good quality
pullet helps to reach the targets set for the productive life of laying hens. The pullet rearer has
about 17 weeks to develop this tiny day-old chick into a ready to lay laying hen. The productive
life of a laying hen has increased drastically over the past decades and because of balanced
genetic selection this is still increasing 1 week with every new flock that enters the poultry
house. Keeping laying hens all the way up to 100 weeks of age without molting is no longer
exceptional, it is not the global standard yet, but more and more proven results are clearly
there. A good quality pullet is essential to get the best out of your flock, in this technical paper
we aim to describe some of the main objectives and targets to be reached during the rearing
period.
The rearing period is of major importance for the During first weeks in rearing, management should
performance of the flock later in life. The productivity focus on rapid and steady chick growth while the
of a flock depends to a large extent on the successful second half of the rearing period is the right time to
attainment of bodyweight targets from an early age. work on developing feed intake capacity. In addition
Also egg size profiles during lay and the feather cover to this, achieving a proper uniformity within a flock
during the productive period are influenced by the is also essential to obtain good laying performances.
development of the pullets.
The different chick development phases in the
rearing period At all stages of chick development, flock uniformity
The main objectives during the brooding period are: needs to be reviewed. The objective is to have a
very high uniformity to facilitate flock management
• Rapid growth to reach body weight target at 5 and proper light stimulation. It is well known
weeks of age that low flock uniformity leads to poor egg laying
• Good uniformity from the beginning performance: slow onset of lay, poor and late
• Maintaining excellent livability peak of production and increased number of small
eggs. The number of feeders and drinkers, feed
From day old to transfer, the chicks will grow slowly, distribution, the presentation of the feed and the
and organ development occurs at various ages. A farmers’ management are strong contributors to
lack of growth during any of the growth stages can ensure uniformity. Heterogeneity at early age has
have a detrimental impact on the 17-week-old pullet a negative impact on uniformity at the end of the
quality. Any delay in growth at 4-5 weeks of age, rearing period, before birds are transferred.
will be reflected in a reduction in bodyweight at 16
weeks and then in performance, particularly in mean Building the potential during the growing period
egg weight in temperate climates. Keep in mind After a good start during the brooding period, the
that two pullets with the same bodyweight haven’t main goal of the growing period is to ensure the full
necessarily developed the same body composition, development of the birds so that they reach their
it all depends on the growth curve. Good growth highest potential for producing eggs later in life. The
curves result in good pullet development. The objectives during the growing period are:
growth and developments of laying hens is split in • to establish a good feeding behavior pattern
the following stages (visualized in the graph at the • to develop the digestive tract (crop and gizzard)
final page). • to obtain a good uniformity of at least 80%
• to achieve the recommended body weight at
• The first 3 weeks are devoted to a rapid sexual maturity
development of the organs of the digestive tract
and the immune system. These objectives can be achieved by:
• From week 3 to week 6, skeleton and muscles • correct stocking density, proper feeding and
are rapidly growing. Bodyweight at 5/6 weeks is drinking equipment and housing conditions
the most important determinant of pullet quality. • a lighting program adapted to the rearing
Any delay in growth at this stage is harmful to conditions
the birds, as it will have a detrimental impact on • a good standard of beak treatment (when

L1260-1
pullet quality and body composition, which will in local legislation allows the application of beak
return impact negatively the birds’ performance. treatment)
• From week 7 to week 15 growth rate is starting • correct disease prevention: good biosecurity and
to slow down. By 12 weeks skeleton is almost adapted vaccination program
completely developed and the pullets are • good management of the feeding program and
practically fully grown in terms of size. feeding techniques
• The final stage is characterized by ovary
development and rapid growth of the reproductive We will highlight feeding techniques and the
tract. Sexual hormonal regulation takes place monitoring of chick development further in this
around 18 weeks and leads to sexual maturity article.
around this age. Medullary bone also develops
during this period, about 2 weeks before first egg
is laid.
Feeding Technique To encourage rapid consumption, we recommend
Feed management in rearing has an impact on feed that the complete daily ration should be given about
consumption later in production. The idea is to 2 to 3 hours before “lights off”. At “lights on”, because
develop the digestive tract during the rearing phase the digestive system is empty, the birds will eat finer
to prepare the birds to eat enough during the laying particles. If the feeding system does not allow the
phase, especially immediately after transfer, when entire daily ration to be given in one distribution,
feed intake should increase sharply in just a few distribute 60% of the daily ration in the early
weeks. afternoon and the 40% in the morning at “lights on”.
The crop is the bird’s feed storage organ. Rapid This feeding routine can be started between 4 and 8
feed consumption during rearing leads to crop weeks according to the feeding equipment in use. The
development. Therefore, feed consumption during length of time, during which the feeders are empty,
the rearing period needs to be fast enough and eating should be gradually increased, so that by around 10-
speed will depend mainly on feeding times and feed 12 weeks of age the feeders are empty for a minimum
texture. Birds naturally eat earlier in the morning, of 2 to 3 hours per day.
when their digestive tract is empty, and in the evening,
to satisfy their energy needs throughout the night. It Pullet feed presented in coarse particles helps gizzard
is important to take advantage of this natural behavior development. We recommend using a feeding system
and get empty feeders in the middle of the day. which distributes feed rapidly throughout the house
The feeding techniques used between 5 and 16 weeks and enables the birds to finish all the feed distributed
are designed to avoid the build-up of fine particles each day. This encourages the birds’ intake capacity
in the feeders and to encourage crop development and avoids fine particle accumulation. Feed troughs
through rapid feed intake. By nature, chickens are with rapid chains are the best option, with the easiest
grain eaters with a strong preference for coarse feed intake control. If pan or tube feeders are used,
particles. Fine particles are more difficult for birds to they should be adapted specifically for this technique.
eat; therefore, they spend more energy for the same Developing the gastrointestinal tract and feed intake
quantity consumed. The accumulation of fine particles capacity, by both developing the gizzard for optimal
in the feeding system leads to under-consumption. To digestion and by training the pullets to eat, are key to
ensure the birds can get all the necessary nutrients of help them to rapidly increase their feed consumption
the diet, it is essential that the feeders are emptied in the first few weeks of lay and therefore a much
every day from week 5 of age onwards. Even at earlier smoother transfer towards the laying phase.
age it is recommended that chicks get used to empty
the feeders at least once per week. This “empty
feeder” rule applies equally to pullets and layers.
Feed distribution management in rearing
Monitoring development • A sample of a minimum of 100 birds should be taken
Weekly measurement of growth is an absolute must to obtain a good estimate of mean bodyweight
to check the actual development of the flock. Early and uniformity. However, if the flock is divided
detection of abnormal weight gain is of extreme into separate pens, it is necessary to take a sample
importance to determine what corrective actions must of 60 birds from each pen and then to calculate
be taken. Late attempts to correct low bodyweight the overall mean. When rearing in cages, weigh
are not efficient at improving body composition all the birds from 5 or 6 cages, chosen at random,
and frame size. In addition to this, monitoring of in different parts of the poultry house (upper and
body weight is essential to calculate the appropriate lower tiers, start and end of feeding lines), to make
quantity of feed to be issued, as requirements vary up a significant sample. All the birds from these
according to the energy level of the diet as well as the same cages should be weighed every week.
house temperature and the health status of the flock.
Besides the average body weight of the flock it is also The most important factor in judging the quality of
important to calculate its uniformity. The objective a flock is its uniformity. A batch is uniform when at
is to have a high uniformity to ensure an even least 80% of the weights lie within a range of ± 10% of
response across the flock to management techniques, the mean. Using modern weighing devices, it is also
treatments and especially to light stimulation. If all the possible to obtain the coefficient of variation (CV),
birds within a flock have a uniform development, they which is the ratio of standard deviation to the mean
will react as one and they will be easier to manage. of the population expressed in %. A CV below 8% is
good.
Method of weighing control:
• Weighing time should be fixed, preferably in the
afternoon.
• It is recommended carrying out individual weighing
and using histogram type weighing sheets (see the
chart on the next page) which shows immediately
the weight distribution within the population.
Bodyweight recording chart
If uniformity/CV % is outside the target range, it is necessary to identify the causes and to check:
• Stocking density
• Available feeder space
• Distribution and height of feeders and drinkers
• Speed of the feed chain
• Feeding technique: accumulation of fine particles
• Feed texture: if inadequate it leads to feed selection
• Feed composition and quality
• Quality of beak treatment
• Vaccination status and possible post-vaccinal reactions
• Health condition of the flock: disease and parasitism presence

Depending on the identified causes and the conclusions that can be drawn from the analyses, corrective actions
should be implemented, and management adapted to improve the uniformity of the flock.

To conclude
The monitoring of the development of your flock during the rearing period is key. Objective data tells you more
than observing the flock on a daily base alone. It is the combination of data and a careful inspection to catch
the signs that your flock are giving to you. Ask yourself the question if the chicks are growing well and they
develop into quality pullets with the desired bodyweights? Is the flock uniformity according to your standards,
how do they respond to vaccinations? By careful monitoring the development of the flock and trying to look
for answers you can re-act better and steer better to develop the chicks into lifelong layers.

Bodyweight development graph