BONUS SPRING SUMMER 2025

the average weight (with CV %) at 16 weeks, vaccination, lighting, and feeding schedules. The laying shed is not where the magic starts. Figure 2: Growth and development of a laying hen. Importance of precision feeding techniques Feed intake is stimulated during rearing to ensure that high feed intake occurs at laying. A higher intake causes an earlier start to lay heavy eggs in a growth-friendly environment. A bird must be fed a nutritionally balanced diet to meet its nutritional requirements, mainly its first limiting nutrient, which calls for a balanced diet. Water intake is essential for a healthy and reproducing bird because food consumption alone is insufficient. Compared to non-laying birds, laying birds drink more water which is twice as much feed. Birds tend to eat more during the coolest parts of the day, which are early in the morning and late in the evening. The timing of eating routines is crucial. A farmer must make sure that birds go to bed with full crops and awaken to feeders that are ready to dispense feed. The performance of laying birds is guaranteed to improve as birds mature, provided that careful layer pullet rearing takes place. In this way, birds will grow to a consistent size and produce eggs that are almost the same size from the onset. The combination of a bird’s With good management, egg weight can be increased by postponing the onset of lay. Early onset can increase the rate of lay, but the size remains small. It would be wise to allow birds to delay the start of laying (23 versus 19 weeks of onset). Stocking density has a significant impact on feed and water intake. It’s crucial to prevent overcrowding of birds on nipples and feeder troughs. Water for birds at any given time must be of the same quality as water for human use to avoid production-related issues. It is equally important to feed quality and texture, both of which must be constantly evaluated. The effect of lighting Light promotes laying hens’ sexual maturity and egg production. The smallest details in lighting are crucial during the rearing of laying hens. Laying hens are vulnerable to early sexual maturity due to prolonged lighting genetic potential and management techniques applied during rearing, results in fully mature birds during their lifetime laying period. A farmer who monitors the daily water consumption of his laying sheds will quickly notice a decrease in water consumption and pay immediate attention to the behaviour, performance, and health of the birds. www.agribonus.co.za Spring/Summer 2025 BONUS 15