The four key anchors in layer farming are essentially four core control points that run throughout the entire farming process. Any oversight at any one of these points will be magnified in the final production results.
I. The four key anchors Anchor points
I: Chicks — the “upper limit” that determines profitability
Day-old chicks are the starting point of poultry farming, and their quality directly determines the upper limit of the flock’s production potential—a foundational factor that no subsequent management measures can make up for.
Selection criteria:
Reliable sourcing: Be sure to obtain stock from a reputable breeding chicken farm or hatchery that holds a "Livestock and Poultry Production and Operation License" and an "Animal Epidemic Prevention Certificate." Give priority to suppliers with good disease-control and purification practices and a strong reputation, and try to use a fixed number of 1－2 sources to avoid the complex pathogens that may be introduced by sourcing from multiple suppliers.
Breed suitability: Choose according to local market demand and your own management conditions. Brown-shell laying hens generally consume more feed and are relatively easy to manage, making them suitable for farmers with limited experience. If targeting the premium egg market, consider specialty breeds with smaller body sizes.
Individual screening: High-quality chicks should be active and lively, have loud calls, neat, glossy down, and a well-healed navel with no traces of blood. Uniformity in age at 1 days is best at over 90%; below 70%, the difficulty of raising them increases significantly. As for body weight, the general requirement is over 35 g, with 36–40 g being ideal.
Anchor Point Two: Environmental Control — the “foundation” of stable production
The core of environmental control is to provide laying hens with a stable, comfortable space for growth and production, reducing stress.
Key control points:
Temperature: The suitable temperature during the laying period is 18–23℃, with an optimal laying temperature range of 18–25℃. The day–night temperature difference should be kept within 5℃. During the brooding period, start at 33℃ and lower the temperature by 2–3℃ each week. Humidity: The suitable humidity during the laying period is 60%–70%. Excessive humidity (above 70%) can easily trigger respiratory diseases.
Ventilation: During the laying period, the winter ventilation rate should be ≥0.5 cubic meters/minute·bird. In summer, evaporative cooling pads can be used to lower the temperature, but the temperature difference should not exceed 5℃. The ammonia concentration should also be kept below 20ppm. Lighting: During the laying period, the lighting duration should remain stable at 16–17 hours, with an intensity of 10–20 lux. Lighting duration should gradually increase, not decrease.
Density: Caged laying hens must be provided with a minimum area of 450 square centimeters per cage to reduce the risk of feather pecking and crushing injuries.
Anchor point three: Feed—the “fuel” for precision supply
Feed costs account for 60%－70% of total farming costs. Precise nutrient supply is key to realizing the flock’s genetic potential and controlling costs.
Stage-based nutrition strategy: (The indicator data were explained in the previous article; this will not be repeated here.) Brooding period (0－6 weeks): The focus is on high energy and high protein to promote bone and organ development. Growing period (7－18 weeks): The goal is to control body weight and exercise the digestive system to prevent excessive fattening.
Laying period: During the peak period (21–40 weeks), higher calcium and appropriate protein are needed. In the later period (after 50 weeks), appropriately increase additives that support liver health, improve eggshell quality, and delay aging.
Safety controls: Test purchased raw materials for mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1 ≤20ppb). Strictly prohibit the use of antibiotics as growth promoters during the laying period.
Anchor Point Four: Vaccines—the “line of defense” that holds the bottom line. The core of immunization is to establish uniform and effective antibody protection and avoid devastating losses caused by epidemics.
Key immunization milestone: 1 days of age: Marek’s disease vaccine must be administered by subcutaneous injection within 24 hours after hatching, with a required protection rate of more than 98%. This is a basic immunization measure that hatcheries must implement.
7－21 days of age: Focus on preventing Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis (administered by nasal and eye drops at 7 days of age) and infectious bursal disease (administered via drinking water at 21 days of age; 0.5％ skim milk powder may be added for protection).
Before production begins: booster immunization with inactivated vaccines, including avian influenza (H5＋H7), must be completed. The antibody test pass rate must be ≥80％.
Laying period: Based on antibody test results, booster immunization against Newcastle disease and avian influenza should be administered every 4－6 months.
Contraindication for use: Do not add antiviral drugs before or after vaccination. Multivitamins may be added before and after immunization to reduce stress. The prepared vaccine must be used within 2 hours. These four anchor points are interconnected and together form the foundation of layer farming profitability.
II. Common Misconceptions
Common misconceptions in poultry farming often lie in seemingly obvious practices involving these four key areas: chicks, environmental control, feed, and vaccines.
Chicks: prioritizing price over value, and brooding over rearing
Focusing only on price and appearance while ignoring the “essentials”: seeking cheap options by sourcing chicks through unofficial channels, or judging quality solely by whether they have a loud call and no black navel. Production performance is actually determined by underlying factors such as breed, consistency of maternally derived antibodies, and chick uniformity.
“Emphasis on chick rearing, neglect of pullet rearing”: Chicks are carefully cared for during the brooding period, but management is relaxed during the growing period (especially before 10 weeks of age). This stage is crucial for determining high production; if nutrition and management are inadequate, lifetime egg-laying performance will be directly affected.
Blindly pursuing new varieties: believing that “the newer the variety, the better” without considering whether the new variety is suited to the local climate and one’s own feeding and management conditions, resulting in a high risk when introducing new varieties.
Environmental control: Trust the equipment, not the chickens; prioritize temperature over how they feel.
Overreliance on temperature probes: If a probe is installed near a hot-air outlet or against a wall, the temperature it displays may not reflect the temperature the chickens actually experience. The system may therefore misjudge conditions, resulting in excessive or insufficient ventilation.
Ignoring drafts and poorly ventilated areas: Gaps caused by inadequate sealing of the chicken house (drafts), or improperly opened air inlets, can cause cold air to blow directly onto the chickens, leading to localized colds and decreased egg production.
Improper use of cooling pads: It is assumed that turning on the cooling pads will lower the temperature, but when the outdoor humidity exceeds 80%, their effectiveness is extremely poor. Running the water pump for too long can also cause cold stress in the chickens near the pads.
Neglecting minimum ventilation: Excessively reducing exhaust ventilation in cold weather to retain heat causes ammonia and moisture to build up, triggering respiratory diseases and E. coli.
Feed: overemphasis on protein and underemphasis on energy, while neglecting transitions between stages
“High protein means good nutrition”: Pursuing high crude protein alone while ignoring the balance between energy and amino acids and the actual utilization rate of protein leads to waste and may even burden the liver and kidneys.
Skipping “pre-lay feed”: From 16 weeks of age until before the start of lay, directly switching from grower feed to layer feed, or simply mixing the two in equal parts, can lead to diarrhea, paralysis, and an increase in soft-shelled eggs in hens at the start of lay. Use a dedicated pre-lay feed for the transition.
Calcium-phosphorus supplementation imbalance: The calcium-to-phosphorus ratio during the laying period should be appropriate. Calcium supplementation should not be increased too quickly; it should be completed gradually over 16－19 weeks to prevent diarrhea.
Overly frequent feed replenishment: Chickens prefer large-particle feed. Replenishing feed too often may result in insufficient intake of amino acids, vitamins, and other micronutrients.
Vaccines: Emphasis on procedures over testing, and on operations over details
“Once vaccination is done, everything is fine”: no antibody testing is performed, or attention is paid only to the average antibody level, while uniformity is ignored. Flocks often become ill because antibody levels are too low in some chickens, creating an opening for infection.
Paying too much attention to vaccine prices: Choosing a low-priced vaccine to save money may lead to immunization failure if the strains do not match or the antigen content is insufficient.
Improper drinking-water immunization procedures: To save time, using vaccines intended for intranasal or ocular administration in drinking water, or using chlorinated tap water or metal drinkers, can significantly reduce immunization effectiveness. Water should be withheld before and after drinking-water immunization, and the vaccine must be consumed within 2 hours.
Direct injection of oil-based vaccine without pre-warming: Taking the oil-based vaccine out of the refrigerator and injecting it directly leads to poor absorption and lump formation at the injection site, affecting the immune response.
Relaxing immunization in summer: Assuming that viruses do not spread in hot weather and skipping booster vaccinations leads to low antibody levels in the flock, making disease outbreaks more likely in autumn.
The common mistake with these four anchoring points is often replacing “looking at the data” with “making assumptions,” and sacrificing “a stable foundation” to “save costs.” Avoiding these pitfalls will take the stability of farming to the next level.
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