Golden Rules For the management of Hybro females - By Hybro B.V., Boxmeer, The Netherlands - This article by Hybro B.V. explains the golden rules for the management of Hybro females.

Check your housing and equipment!

Overstocking and competition result in stress on the birds. Avoid high stocking density, both in rearing and production (see management guide for recommendations.) Allow at least 15cm feeder space per bird, and one bell drinker per 65 birds. Make sure the feed is distributed within 4-5 minutes. Have your heating and ventilation in good order. Dark-out rearing is highly recommended: rearing houses should be completely light-tight, even at full ventilation.

Give them a good start!

Pay attention to the details: well organised housing, evenly spread litter (not too deep!), sufficient brooder temperature and adequate pre-heating, clean fresh water and feed, adequate lighting and so on.

Make the grade for 5 week body weight!

Start feed restriction early enough to ensure controlled growth from the beginning – as soon as ad lib feed exceeds 35g/day.

Make an early start on uniformity!

Start grading as early as possible, but not later than 4 weeks of age. Grade several times during rearing. Place the birds in groups and feed them to achieve highest possible uniformity at 10-11 weeks. After 12-14 weeks, focus on keeping bodyweight parallel to the standard rather than bringing them back to it.

Use grower feed with low nutrient concentration!

During rearing, use feed with an energy content of 2600-2650 kcal/kg, as it allows more feed increments, resulting in better uniformity and less stress.

Increase the feed every week!

Refer to the growth rates of the previous 2 weeks to determine weekly feed increments. These should increase smoothly and gradually, avoiding big jumps.

Don’t correct growth curve after 14-15 weeks!

If bodyweight deviates from the standard at this age, aim to keep the curve parallel to the standard. In this period, focus on an accurate weekly growth rate rather than a 20-week bodyweight target. A reduction in growth rate will result in an underdeveloped bird.

Start light stimulation according to the body weight!

Don’t start light stimulation before the average body weight of the flock is 2200g (dark-out rearing) or 2350g (daylight rearing). If uniformity is poor, delay the lighting for a further week. Make the first increase big enough (2 hours in blackout rearing, 3 hours in daylight or brown-out rearing) and increase the light intensity at the same time. Try to be on 14-15 hours of light at 5% production. Increase the day length again at 60% production, to stimulate the later maturing birds.

Keep control over the point of lay!

Avoid over-fleshing by limiting the use of a rich pre-lay feed to 2-3 weeks prior to the start of production. Decide on the use of pre-lay feed at around 20 weeks, and only use it when the bodyweight, fleshing or feathering of the birds is below standard. After 20 weeks, focus on growth rate rather than bodyweight. Avoid over-feeding before onset of lay. The objective is to be at approximately 115- 125g feed at 5% production. Be aware that the males usually steal from the female feeders up to 26-28 weeks of age.

Once production starts, gradually build up the rate of feed Increase!

Between 5% and 35% of lay, give an extra 0.5-0.7g feed for each 1% increase in production. After 35% production, give 1g feed for each 1% increase. Adjust the feed amount every 3-4 days. Don’t give peak feed before 60-65% daily production, and avoid over-feeding at peak, as it will quickly result in overweight. 165-170g of peak feed should be sufficient.

Control growth from peak of lay to end production!

Start reducing the feed quickly when peak production is reached. Reduce by 2- 3g per bird per week in the first 3 weeks, starting from the first week of peak production. Start to reduce even if the flock under-performs. Continue to reduce the ration slowly and gradually, to keep weekly growth at 10-15g. Limit feed reductions after 45-50 weeks of age.

Source: Hybro B.V. - Taken from website September 2005