In order for to have a healthy and productive flock, it is important to implement a respective poultry feeding schedule. A poultry feeding schedule specifies the type and amount of feed to be fed to a bird per day.
It is important to note that poultry feeding schedule are not a one size fit all. Usually, especially for commercial flocks, a poultry breed is tailor made to a breed, age, and flock type.
What is a poultry feeding schedule
A poultry feeding schedule is a flock feeding timetable. This is usually tailor made specifically to a flock by its type, age, and breed. Essentially, a feeding schedule specifies the type and amount of feed to be fed to a flock per bird, per day.
For instance, for a layers flock, a poultry feeding schedule will look like this.
| Feed type | Time / age | Amount / bird / day |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Week 1 – 6 | 60 – 90 g |
| Grower | Week 7 – 17 | 90 – 120 g |
| Layer | Week 18 – 85 | 120 – 150 g |
However, some feeding schedule can be quite detailed, prescribing feed amount on a daily basis.
Notably still is the fact that feeding schedule are different by flock type. That is, a schedule for layers will differ from that of broilers. These two in turn should differ from a dual purpose flock’s.
Why follow a poultry feeding schedule
For optimal health and productivity, poultry flocks must be fed accordingly throughout their lives. Failure to feed your flocks respectively as prescribed by a feeding schedule can result to
- Malnutrition
- Diseases and high mortality
- Inability to gain or maintain weight
- Low productivity
- Financial loss
Additionally, note that chicken productivity cannot be raised by overfeeding them. In contrast, overfeeding can result to a drop in productivity. Furthermore, overfeeding them will definitely result to a higher feed bill for you. Consequently the feed conversion ratio will be high.
On the other hand, underfeeding you flocks will most definitely result in the issues listed above. Similarly, a lack of proper application of a feeding schedule will have the same outcomes.
Whence to get a feeding schedule
For guaranteed success, obtain your flock’s feeding schedule from your flock supplier. Particularly if you are a commercial farmer, your flock supplier should readily provide you with one.
If for whatever reason, you do not have a feeding schedule or cannot obtain one from your flock supplier, reach out to a certified poultry vet. You can also consult with certified animal feed suppliers and get one from them.
A poultry feeding schedule comes in paper or digital form. For instance, you can get this as a brochure or other printout, email, or online.
Other uses of a poultry feeding schedule
A feeding schedule besides directing you as unto how to feed your flocks has other uses.
For instance, you can use it as a basis for calculating a flocks feed conversion ratio (FCR). Feed conversion ratio is a score for a flock production efficiency. In order to to do an FCR for your chicken, you need to have the record of the amount of feed you’ve fed them. Omni calculator FCR calculator is one example of several FCR calculator you can find on the internet.
Additionally, you can use a poultry feeding schedule for poultry record keeping purposes. From such records, you can determine the productivity of your flocks. For instance, you can monitor your birds weight against feed amounts. Moreover, you can use this for future reference such as when comparing flocks.
Poultry affairs provides a good sample for a comprehensive feeding schedule for commercial layers. In addition to giving a daily feeding schedule, they also provide expected daily bird weight. If you’re keen on tracking your flock’s health from a weight perspective, this is ideal. Additionally, it would enable you to benchmark your flocks performance. Finally, you can also compare your flock’s FCR against benchmarks.