BROODING MANAGEMENT
Ex. No.
Date
Objectives
• To study different requirement for brooding of chicks
What is brooding of chicks?
Brooding is the art and science of rearing large number of chicks under heat source
in the absence of a broody hen for a period of 4 to 6 weeks.
Types of brooding
• Natural brooding is done with the help of broody hen
• Artificial brooding is by providing artificial heat to the chicks
Different types of artificial brooders
1) Hover brooder: Here, the heat unit is covered with a round or angular piece of
metal to deflect the heat towards the floor.
2) Charcoal/ Bukhari/ Coal/ Kerosene brooding: Where electricity is not available,
ordinary charcoal/ bukhari/ coal/ kerosene stoves are used to provide supplementary
heat to chicks. These stoves are covered with plate/ pans to dissipate the heat.
3) Electrical brooder: It is thermostatically controlled heating system that spread
required amount of heat uniformly over large area. This avoids crowding of chicks
under brooder directly. One electrical brooder can be used for 300 to 400 chicks.
4) Infra-red bulbs: It is a self-reflecting bulb. One 250 watts infra-red bulb can
provide brooding for about 150 to 250 chicks.
5) Gas brooder: Natural gas, LPG or methane is connected to heating element which
is hanged 3 to 5 feet above the chicks to provide heat. Now practiced particularly
in semi- environmentally controlled and environmentally controlled houses. These
are costly but can take care of 1500 to 2000 chicks.
6) Batter brooder: Multi-tier cage brooding is practiced. Bulbs or heaters with
thermostats are used to provide warmth to chicks in the battery cages.
7) Heater coils: Heater coils of various capacities with thermostats, reflector hoods
and hanging chains are available for providing heat to chicks. These coils are more
suitable for cold climates because they give more heat.
8) Centralised heating system of brooding: It is followed in environmentally
controlled poultry houses where the room temperature is maintained at an average
of 320 C during first week of age.
9) Bio-gas brooders: Certain farms use the cage droppings and cow dung to generate
bio-gas to provide light and heat to the birds.
10) Hot water brooder: Hot water pipes are placed about 12 inches (30 cm) above the
floor to provide heat to chicks.
Hover Brooder Gas Brooder
Battery Brooder Infra-Red Bulb
Biogas Broode
Feed and water intake for 1000 brooding chicks
Age in weeks Feed intake/week Water intake/day(litre) Body weight at end
of the week (g)
1 40 10 60
2 80 25 105
3 140 45 160
4 200 65 230
5 250 80 300
6 300 95 370
7 350 105 440
Disinfection of brooder house:
Step I: Cleaning
Step II. Washing
Step III: Application of disinfectants like phenol @ 2 ml/lit, 40% formaldehyde, 10% solution
of Iodine or Iodophore, Cresol etc.
Step IV: Rest for 15-17 days
Brooder Arrangement:
1. About 24 hours prior to arrival of chicks, the readily available litter materials like fresh
paddy husk or saw dust should be spread up to the depth of 2-3 inches in summer and
3-5 inches in winter.
2. The area should be first covered with clean sun-dried gunny bags over which some dry
newspapers should be spread
3. The chick guard made up of either hard board or galvanized iron of about 40-45 cm
height should be placed about 2 feet away from the edge of the brooder by encircling
the brooder.
4. The feeders and waterers under the brooder have to be arranged alternatively in a “cart
wheel spokes” like fashion.
Fig: Arrangement of brooder
Recommended brooder, feeder, waterer and floor space of chicks
Sl. No. Facility Chicks
1. Brooder space per chick 45 sq.cm
2. Linear feeder 1.25 cm for 0 to
2 weeks old chicks; 5.00 cm
for 3 to 8 weeks old chicks
Round feeder: Half of the
Feeder space per chick above space requirement
3. Waterer space per chick 0.63 cm for 0 to 3 weeks old
chicks
1.25 cm for 4 to 6 weeks old
chicks
4. Floor space per chick 700 sq. cm for 4 to 6 weeks
old chicks
Light requirement 0 to 1 week= 23 h/day; 2 to
8 weeks = 20 h/day
5.
