BROILER PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING.

The raising of broilers for profit is no new venture, but not many people know the rapid turn over potential in this venture. Broilers are birds raised for meat, they grow rapidly and have good feed conversion ratio.The beauty of this venture is that the birds mature at a fast rate within a short time span of 8 to 10 weeks, and the farmer gets to make a steady income every 8/10 weeks. The fast food industry major in the use of broilers for most of the dishes they serve ,because of the taste , the quality of the breast meat and the size . The broiler can also be processed and hygienically packed as premium birds and sold in stores and retail outlets. The raising of the broiler starts from the day old, which must be from a good hatchery as the type of breed purchased has a lot to do with the outcome of the venture. The main purpose of the broiler production is to produce birds with good breast muscle, that reach market size at the appropriate time and have high return on investment. The Cobb broiler chicks will give good breast meat, have good feed conversion ration, reach a weight of 2.24kg in 42 days, mortality rate is 2- 4% and the feed intake is about 4-4.2 kg, the average weight in the first week is about 160gm . The cobb broiler will give a high return on investment. The management of the day old chicks include the brooding stage, the birds are kept warm using a source of heat that is monitored, the temperature of the house should be monitored , feed and water should be available for the chicks, a brooder guard should be available to keep them near the heat source and their must be shavings on the floor , there must be extra lightening for the birds so as to access feed which promotes growth in broilers. The birds are fed on broiler starter from 0-5 weeks. The growing/finishing stage the birds are fed with the broiler finisher from 6 weeks to slaughter when they reach market weight.The health status of the birds are important if they are to perform optimally,thus vaccinations, vitamins, antibiotics and worming are important. The birds must have access to good quality feed, and clean water always. The production is a continuous one so the flock should be replaced as soon as they reach market size. The Cobb broiler breed is more than just appearance, its efficient feed conversion is a plus in this era where feed costs are high and also its well suited for hotter temperatures.