Feather-Gram

              COOPENATIVE EXTENSION SENVICE
Nff MEXICO 5TATE UNIVERS'
v fT. S. DEPAN:TMENT OF AGNICULTUNE 4
hr
- --4ft*r-*
La s Cruc€s , New Mexico 88001
[14 *
CAGE BROODING AND REARING UNUE,
STARTED PIJLLETS
ttThe brooding of chicks in cages ha s
many advantages over the litter system rtl
said J . W . Cla ybaugh , of the DeKa lb Com-pany,
as he told the l{est Texas -Neril Mex-iao
Egg Producerst Associatiotr, in their
regular meeting in MidlaDd, Texas July
16 . ttl t can save inves tment and fuel
costs and have a more healthy pullet
more consistently. Cage brooding will
continue to be expanded as new facit -
ities are needed,tt The cage brooder
system deveL"oped by this company wa s
@v wdeosuilgd ned to provide the controls tha t suppLy optimum conditlons for heat,
venti la ti on and a ir movement f or day -
old ch icks through to 22 -week -old pul -
Lets .
The buildings they are using are well -
insula ted wi th no windowg . Electric
fans circulate the heat and fresh air
throughout plastic ducts . EvaPgra tive
coolers are used as needed.
The cages are 22" x 24" x L4" and hold
LZ birds to 22 weeks . The wire size
on the floor of these cages ls \ x 2t'
and the sides and top ltt x ltt and a dou-ble
wire in front , The wLre in front
can be adjusted as the pullets devetop,
The cages are three decks high with
dropping boards under the Ewo top cages.
Thirty six chicks are started in the
center cage . A t three weeks . move Lz
chicks to the l ower deck and a t six
weeks, move LZ to the top deck, At this
rate they have about four Pullets Per
4h. square foot of ftoor sPace ' They have a
Gstand by generator in case of a porder
- faiLure.
August 19 69
recortrnendatlon is for birds
cages should go to cages and
floor.
cr 07 p
Eh;. general
' i/ ra-ised in
not to the
NEl{ DEBEAKING METHODS RECOMMENDED
One subject of c@Plete agreement was
the merits of the nen debeaking tech-nigue;
that is, debeaklng the pultets
when they are slx to nlne days old. A
panel of Rlchard Ford of Btue Seal Feeds,
Durham, N. E.; Ted Brooks of Hubbard
Farms , Inc . , Ws lpole , N, E. ; Patrick
Warren of J.J. Warren, Inc., North Brook-field,
Mass.; and moderated by Dr. Sver-ett
Bryant of the Unlverslty of Connec -
ticut, Storrs, Conn., all agreed that if
done right, thls pethed ls superior to
debeaking pultets la ter ln the growing
period. ' They have done several rnllllon
pullets with thls method and are corn-pletely
satl,sfLed. It ls faster, €asler
on the chtck, and gtves good control of
the picking probleme encountered during
the growlng and laytrg pertod. Thts ls
a preclslon job and must be done rLght,
they agreed. The age of chtck, sl.ze of
hol.e in the debeaker , and cauteri z|ng
time are among the crttical factors,
You wilL flnd a copy of ttDebeak to Con-trol
Cannibalism and Boost Ptofttsrtt en-closed
for your convenLence.
LIGHTING FOR INCREASED EGG PRODUCTION
Light plays a key role ln determining the
rate of egg production. Lignt striklng
the henr s eyes stimulates the pituitary
glatrd, which then releases an ovary-stimulating
hormone and other hormones
into the b1ood. stream rand these hormones
cause o\rulation. The iltensity of the