LOHMANN BROWN Classic Commercials-New
LOHMANN BROWN Classic Commercials-New
LOHMANN BROWN Classic Commercials-New
Layers
LOHMANN TIERZUCHT
LOHMANN BROWN-CLASSIC
LOHMANN LSL-CLASSIC
LOHMANN BROWN-CLASSIC
LOHMANN LSL-LITE
LOHMANN BROWN-LITE
LOHMANN LSL-EXTRA
The mainstream products are LOHMANN
LSL-CLASSIC and LOHMANN BROWN-
LOHMANN BROWN-EXTRA CLASSIC, well known for their efficient
production of quality white and brown
eggs, respectively.
LOHMANN TRADITION
LOHMANN SANDY
LOHMANN SILVER
2
Products of LOHMANN TIERZUCHT
For markets requiring more XL-size eggs LOHMANN SANDY is a white feathering
LOHMANN LSL-EXTRA and LOHMANN layer for the production of cream coloured
BROWN-EXTRA are the ideal white and eggs. The layer has an outstanding feed
brown layers. conversion and robustness.
3 Introduction
5 Breeding Scheme
6 Performance Data
7 Housing Chicks
7 General Recommendations
7 Cage Systems
7 Floor Systems
8 Body Temperature of the Chicks
9 Environment
10 Vaccination
10 General Recommendations
10 Vaccination Methods
10 Special Recommendations
11 Example of a Vaccination Programme
12 Beak Treatment
13 Nutrition
13 General
13 Feed Consumption
13 Rearing
14 Crude Fibre
1
Contents
23 Lighting
23 General
23 Intermittent Lighting Programme for Day Old Chicks
24 Lighting Programme after Arrival
24 Lighting Programme for Closed Houses
26 Lighting Programme for Open Houses
28 General Recommendations
28 Daily Control
28 Water Supply
29 Grit
29 Litter (Non Cage Housing)
29 Egg Quality and Egg Collection
29 Nests (Non Cage Housing)
30 Stocking Density
30 Equipment Requirements
31 General Information
31 Body Weight Development
33 Growth and Body Weight Development Curve
35 Performance Goals
38 Egg Grading
39 Egg Production Curve
Why should you study this data which apply to the current genera-
management guide? tion of layers and current management
practices. Newcomers in the business
Most people, who are involved in com- may need more detailed explanations
mercial egg production, have seen man- than can be presented in this compact
agement guides for different strains of format.
layers before and may think “if you have We hope that each reader will find some
seen one, you’ve seen them all”. Others useful information, to confirm proven
take the contents more seriously and ex- management practices or to stimulate
pect frequent updates to find specific improvements.
3
Top performance by systematic selection
Pure Lines
A A B B C C D D
Grandparents
A B C D
Parents
AB CD
Commercials
5
Performance data
• Warm up the house in good time up to • Unload all chick boxes and distribute
35 – 36 °C. In summer start heating at least them in the house. Remove all lids and
24 hours and in winter at least 48 hours place them on the top of the boxes.
before the chicks arrive. When the right
temperature has been achieved, supply • Quickly place the chicks near feeders
minimum ventilation. This will avoid tem- and drinkers. Distribute the chicks evenly
perature differences within the house. among the cages starting at the far end
of the house.
• Maintain the recommended tempera-
tures (35 – 36 °C) during the first 48 – 72 • Trigger nipples/water cups to encourage
hours. birds to drink.
• Supply the chicks with additional feed- • Low humidity level (heat transfer capac-
ing bowls to ensure a better feed intake ity of the air)
in the first few days.
• Missing to pre-warm the house at the
• Chicks should be fully feathered before right time
brooding equipment has to be removed.
After a few hours, check whether the
Body Temperature of the chicks have settled down well.
The chicks behaviour is the best indicator
Chicks of their well-being:
The body temperature of housed chicks • If the chicks are evenly spread out and
is a very useful indicator to adjust house moving freely, temperature and ventila-
temperature in an optimum way. A sim- tion are all right.
ple tool to measure the body temperature
of day old chicks is usage of modern ear • If the chicks are crowding together or
thermometers, known from human medi- avoiding certain areas within the house,
cine. The correct application to measure temperature is too low or there is a
the body temperature is just to touch the draught.
cloaca gently with the thermometer probe.
The optimal body temperature of the • If the chicks are lying about on the floor
chicks is about 40 to 41 °C. with outspread wings and gasping for
Obtain samples of the chicks distributed air, temperature is too high.
in different parts of the house in order to
have reliable results. Proceed in a way you At first signs that the chicks are not
normally do while weighing chicks/pullets feeling well determine the reason,
to check their uniformity. Collect the infor- correct the situation and check more
mation, calculate the average and adjust frequently.
house temperature accordingly to achieve
optimal chick temperatures. For example
increase the house temperature by 0.5 °C,
if the average body temperature of the
chicks is 39.5 °C.
Besides house temperature, there are other
factors which could affect the body tem-
perature of the chicks negatively:
Week 2 28 – 29
Week 3 26 – 27
Week 4 22 – 24
CO under 40 ppm
9
Vaccination
DW: Drinking Water SP: Spray F: Feed ED: Eye Drop WW: Wing Web IM: Intramuscular Injection
SC: Subcutaneous Injection Vaccination against Coccidiosis is optional for floor rearing systems
* An implementation of early live vaccination for Newcastle Disease (ND) and Infectious Bronchitis (IB)
is of high value in order to induce local protection in the respiratory system of the chicks (priming ef-
fect). The right choice of vaccine is crucial. Never vaccinate very young birds with high-virulence live vac-
cine. Depending on infectious pressure, birds are vaccinated with inactivated vaccine during the rearing
and/or prior onset of lay for booster the immunity. Revaccination with live ND and/or IB every
6–8 weeks during production period is beneficial in order to improve the local immunity.
A severe vaccination programme especially intramuscular injections may depress the body weight
development.
11
Beak treatment
Beak treatment is not necessary un- • Do not feed for 12 hours before treat-
der optimal conditions. In practice, it is ing.
widely used in environmental controlled
and light-tight facilities, as an efficient • Offer free feeding immediately after
precaution against cannibalism and treating.
feather pecking. Such behaviour may
develop at any age as a result of exces- • Increase the level of feed in the
sive light intensity, unbalanced feed, troughs.
poor ventilation, overstocking or bore-
dom. • Increase the temperature in the house
for a few days after treating.
Especially in floor management and/or
open houses with uncontrollable light • For 3 – 5 days after beak treating pro-
intensity, we recommend beak treat- vide an extra hour of light and supply
ment subject to local animal welfare feed in the late evening or at night.
regulations.
• Giving vitamins via the drinking water
Observe the following precautions for a can also help to alleviate stress.
conventional beak treatment:
Grower / Starter
2 130 125 – 135 195 17 196
Developer
11 961 927 – 995 685 60 2975
Due to starvation before and during transport, weight losses up to 15% of body weight may occur.
* The basis for switching between diet types is the hens‘ body weight development. The correct time for
changing the diet is determined not by age but by body weight. Chicks and pullets should therefore
be weighed at regular intervals.
** 1 kcal = 4.187 kJ
15
Nutrition
* The basis for switching between diet types is the hens‘ body weight development. The correct time for
changing the diet is determined not by age, but by body weight. Chicks and pullets, should therefore
be weighed at regular intervals.
** Chicks should be fed starter feed, if the standard body weight is not reached by feeding chick grower
or if the daily feed intake is expected to be low.
Correct Use of Pre-Layer Feed • The wrong way to use pre-layer feed
is either to start using it too early
Pre-layer feed should be used for a short and/or use it too long.
period of time before a flock starts be-
ing supplied with phase 1 layer feed. For example if the onset of lay is sched-
This leads to a smooth transition from uled for the 19th weeks of age, you may
the developer feed (low calcium and start feeding the birds with pre-layer
low nutrient density) to a diet with high feed only after they are 17 weeks old.
calcium and nutrient levels. It helps to In case of an earlier or later production,
avoid the often reduced appetite/daily adjust this schedule accordingly.
feed intake during early production.
Typically, pre-layer feed contains about Laying Period
2.0 – 2.5 % calcium. This is too much for a
typical feed for rearing but not enough Aiming at an optimal start of production
for a bird starting to produce eggs. From with feed intake around 90 – 100 g/day,
a nutritional point of view, it’s therefore it is recommendable to use a phase 1
considered a compromise and never as feed with 11.6 ME MJ/kg for a duration of
“optimal” feed. Nevertheless, it’s worth- 5 – 6 weeks. At around 26 weeks a nor-
while to use pre-layer feed for a short mal phase-feeding programme with
period of time. Correct use can enhance 11.4 ME MJ/kg should be introduced.
the uniformity of a pullet flock. It’s espe- The basis for the feed formulation in
cially beneficial for flocks with very low terms of nutrient and mineral content in
uniformity and also aids the develop- each phase is the daily nutrient re-
ment of Ca-metabolism in medullar quirement and actual feed consumption.
bones. Since pre-layer feed is a compro-
mise feed for the short transition period, The diet for phase 1 is designed to cover
it cannot supply a bird in full lay suffi- the requirement for maximum egg mass
ciently. Therefore, it cannot be used (over 59.8 g daily egg mass/hen).
when feed logistics and correct timing
do not work. The recommended nutrient allowances
shown in the tables 9–11 (phase 1–3) as-
Please consider the following recom- sume a dietary energy concentration of
mendations while using pre-layer feed: 11.4 MJ/kg (2725 kcal) metabolisable en-
ergy, a house temperature of 20 °C and
• Start using pre-layer feed dependent good plumage.
on to the birds sexual maturity, age
and their standard body weights. Under these conditions the daily
feed consumption of LOHMANN
• Use pre-layer feed for about 10 days BROWN-CLASSIC is expected to be
with a maximum of 1 kg per bird. 110 – 120 g/day. The feed formulations
17
Nutrition
for phases 2 – 3 cater for the reduced By stimulating feed intake egg weight
requirement for organic nutrients and can be increased and limited by con-
the increasing requirement for calcium trolled feeding. In the case of appropri-
as the hens age. The time for switch- ate house construction, there’s the pos-
ing diets is determined more by the sibility to adjust the house temperature
level of production and the need for in the opposite direction of desired egg
calcium rather than by age. weight and feed intake.
19
Nutrition
* without Phytase
* without Phytase
21
Nutrition
* without Phytase
25
Lighting
If flocks are moved to an open produc- • 04.00* o’clock in the morning: lights
tion house with windows that cannot be on – dimmer switch off at ≥ 50 – 60 Lux.
darkened, the lighting programme must
be adjusted to the natural day length at • Dimmer switch on at ≤ 50 – 60 Lux –
the time of rehousing. 21.00 * o’clock in the evening lights
off.
We distinguish between two variants: * Central European summer time
1. Production starts as the natural day These times should be varied depend-
length decreases. ing on the condition of the flocks, the
start of lay (production, egg size) and
2. Production starts as the natural day the facilities in the building.
length increases.
If for operational reasons a different
In both variations the lighting pro- diurnal rhythm from the one described
gramme at 17 weeks of age should above is applied, it should not differ
be set to a lighting period of at least too much from the dawn/dusk times
10 hours, taking the natural day length stated above, having regard to the
into account, and to be increased by diurnal rhythm of the hens.
ManagementGuide | LOHMANN TIERZUCHT 26
Lighting
As already mentioned, the lighting pro- • In the evening close the windows
gramme described here is just an exam- first, then switch off the light;
ple adjusted to Central European time.
• In the morning switch on the light
If the birds are driven indoors before the first, then open the windows.
end of the natural day and if the build-
ing can be darkened completely, the Contact your LOHMANN TIERZUCHT
lighting programme for windowless specialists for specific lighting pro-
laying houses should be applied. grammes adjusted to your location,
conditions and requirements.
The times for darkening the room or
opening the windows are determined
by the lighting programme. It is impor-
tant to follow the correct sequence:
27
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
• Set up the farm at a safe distance from When assessing the state of health, do
other poultry houses and fence in. not just go by the general impression
and mortality rate, but also take note of
• Keep birds of only one age group on feed and water consumption as well as
the farm. the texture of droppings.
Grit
Feeding grit is not a must but is rec- • Collect eggs at least once a day.
ommended when rations are supple- • Store eggs at temperatures between
mented by grains. This stimulates the 5 °C and 10 °C with a relative humidity
development of the crop and the giz- of between 80 – 85 %.
zard during the rearing period, which in
turn has a positive effect on feed intake Storing at higher temperatures and low-
capacity. er humidity leads to rapid loss of weight
and impairs the quality of the egg white
Table 13: Amount and Granula- due to an increase in gas exchange.
tion of Grit Dependent on Age Nests (Non Cage Housing)
Week once a week 1 g /bird
1 – 2 (size 1–2 mm) The quality of nests is also a factor which
Week once a week 2 g/bird affects egg quality. Renew the litter
3 – 8 (size 3–4 mm) in litter-type nests regularly and keep
once a month 3 g/bird
them clean. Provide individual nests at a
From
(size 4– 6 mm)
rate of one nest for 4 hens. Collect floor
week 9
eggs frequently to keep their rate as low
as possible.
Litter (Non Cage Housing) In addition to sufficient nesting space in
family type nests, the following factors
Only use shavings from untreated wood are important for a low rate of floor eggs:
in order to avoid poisoning and residues
in the egg. • Clean, dry litter or soft nest lining
Provide sufficient ventilation to ensure
good litter condition and remove wet • Easy access
litter, if necessary.
• Even distribution of the nests within
Egg Quality and Egg the barn
LOHMANN BROWN-CLASSIC layers pro- For optimum egg quality, rollaway nests
duce eggs of excellent quality. To pre- in combination with slats are better than
serve the quality, the following points litter-type nests or family type nests.
should be observed:
29
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Further details in the LOHMANN Management Guide for floor/free range housing.
31
GENERAL INFORMATION
2000
1500
Body Weight (g)
1000
500
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 4
Age in
33
ent Curve of LOHMANN BROWN-CLASSIC
46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90
Weeks
35
GENERAL INFORMATION
37
GENERAL INFORMATION
* Excluding double-yolk eggs **Cumulative up to Week *** According to the given standard
90
80
70
Egg Production (%) per Hen-Day
60
50
40
30
20
10
18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 5
Age in
39
HMANN BROWN-CLASSIC Layers
52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90
Weeks
Veterinary-Laboratory 3
Diagnostics
Quality Control
Research and Development
Veterinary-Laboratory
Abschnede 64 · D-27472 Cuxhaven · Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 4721 707-244 · Fax: +49 (0) 4721 707-267
Email: [email protected] · www.ltz.de
The performance data mentioned in this guide are based on traditional cage
management. Different management systems or poor environmental, feeding or
management conditions could lead to considerable deviations in performance.