With the rapid development of the chicken industry, the market has put forward higher and higher requirements for the output and quality of eggs, so the breeding of layer hens has become the key to egg production. Next, based on actual production, the chicken cage factory will talk about the management of laying hens.

1 Physiological characteristics of laying hens

Although the hens who have just started laying are sexually mature and begin to lay eggs, the body has not yet fully developed, and the body weight continues to increase at the age of 18 weeks. Growth and development basically stop at the age of 40 weeks, with very little weight gain. After 40 weeks of age Most weight gain is fat accumulation. Laying hens of different ages have different utilization of nutrients. When the hens just reach sexual maturity (17-18 weeks of age), the mature ovaries release estrogen, which significantly increases the calcium storage capacity of the hens and starts to lay to the peak of laying. During the period, the chicken's ability to digest and absorb nutrients is enhanced, and the feed intake continues to increase. In the late stage of laying, the digestion and absorption capacity is weakened, and the fat deposition capacity is enhanced. The body weight, egg weight and egg production of laying hens have a certain regular change in the first laying cycle. According to these changes, it can be divided into three periods: pre-laying period, peak period, and laying period Late.

2 Feeding management in the early stage of layer in automatic layer cage system

In the first 3 to 5 days before the transfer, prepare and disinfect the laying hen house, and do the immunization and repair work of the reserve hens before transfer. The light management during the laying period should be consistent with the light during the rearing period. Raised in an open chicken house, if the transfer group is in a season when natural light is gradually increasing, and the chickens fully adopt natural light during the rearing period, the light hours have reached 10h or more when the group is transferred. Artificial lighting is used. When natural light starts to become shorter, artificial lighting is added to supplement it. The progress of artificial lighting subsidy is increased every week.

3 Daily management during the laying period

There must be a certain empty slot time from 12 to 14 o'clock every day to prevent long-term storage of feed in the trough, causing chickens to have anorexia and picky eating habits. Each feeding should be evenly thrown while feeding, so that the fed material is evenly distributed in the trough. About 30 minutes after feeding, the feed should be evened once. This is because the chickens eat quickly in the first 10 minutes after feeding. They are picky eaters and hook feeders. At this time, there is still more feed in the trough. The chickens will quickly hook the feed in the trough into small piles, which makes the feed distribution in the trough extremely uneven, and often hooks the feed outside the trough. The waste of feed affects the feeding of other chickens. Do not add more than one-third of the depth of the trough each time.

4 Management during peak egg production
Keep the environment of the chicken battery cage system as stable as possible and reduce the interference of various stress factors as much as possible. According to the situation of the flock, preventive administration or administering broad-spectrum antibacterial drugs for 3 to 5 days every other month, and timely supplementation of nutrients, can ensure high-quality egg production.