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BULLETINTECHNICALMichelclech–SeniorTechnicalSpecialist–April2009

M99MaleManagement:HowtooptimizefertilityandliveabilitywithF15andJV

femalebreedersRearingperiod(0-21/22weeks)

Objectives:Toobtainsexuallydevelopedmaleswithgoodlegsthatareproperlysynchronizedwiththeleveloffemalesexualmaturity.

Themalesshouldbegrownseparatelyfromthefemales:

• Eitherintheirownhouse,whichallowswhenneededtoapplyalightandfeedprogrammedifferenttothatofthefemales

• Or in the samehouse; some social interactionbetweenmalesand females is thenpossibleduring thecourseofrearing,whichhelpstoreducetheriskofaggressivenesslateratthetimeofmixing.Inthistypeof system, male management is made easier since pen size is smaller and competition betweenindividualsisthereforereduced.Aseparatefeedcircuitforthemalesisnecessary.

Rearingcomprises3mainperiods:1dayto10weeks

Malegrowthmustbemanagedfromthestart.Duringthisfirstperiod,growthisimportant,asthisistheperiodforoptimalskeletonandimmunesystemandforgoodlegdevelopment.AlsoduringthisphasetheSertolicellsthatwilllaterprovidenutritiontothespermatozoaaremultiplying.

Bodyweighttargetat3weeks=475gFeedingastarterfeedincrumbleformforthefirst2to3weeksstimulatesfeedintakeandhelpstoencourageearlygrowth.Followingthisbyarelativelyfinemashfeedispreferred,inordertodecreasefeedcompetitionbyincreasingconsumptiontimetomaintaingoodflockuniformity.Compliancewiththerecommendeddensityandequipmentstandardsisessentialtoobtainoptimumuniformity.Non-feedingdayfeedprogrammes(5days/7oreven 4 days/7) should start as soon as feed consumption time becomes less than 50minutes. This generallyoccurs at about 4weeks of age and should bemaintained, if possible, until the start of production. The lightprogrammeusedisoftenthesameasforthefemales.Theconstantdaylengthperiodshouldbeachievedby10days,with light intensity in the range of 10 lux. Light intensity should bemonitored in accordancewith flockbehaviour. Avoid too big a change between the light intensity used during rearing and what will be laterperceived during production. To reduce aggressivity at the start of productionwhen transferred fromdark toopen-sidehouses,sufficientlightintensityshouldbeusedduringrearing.

By4-5weeksofage100%malegradingisrecommended.Whenplacedinaseparatepen,thesmallermalescanprogressivelycatchupwithbodyweightbeforetheageof10weeks,whenskeletongrowthhaspracticallycometoanend.

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Bodyweighttargetat10weeks=1450gCarefulbeaktrimmingatabout7daysofageisrecommended.

Grit(2g/bird)andgrainorasmallamountoffeed(2g/bird)distributedinthelitteronnon-feedingdayshelpsbehaviouralcontrol,digestivetractdevelopmentandlittermaintenance.

10weeksto15weeksUniformgrowthisessential:+120g/week

Bodyweighttargetat15weeks=2050g

15weeksto21–23weeks(ageatmixingwiththefemales)Testicle size development is significant during this period (maximum size being reached between 23 and 30weeksdependingontheindividuals).Foroptimumfuturefertilityweeklygrowthshouldbeuniformandregular(growthtarget=+135/140g/week)

Bodyweighttargetat20weeks=2750gBodyweighttargetat22weeks=3020g

Checkmalebeaksbeforemixingwiththefemales.Sharpbeaksshouldbere-trimmed.

Production(21–25weeks)This phase is essential to future sexual behaviour throughout production. During the days followingmixing, agoodpartofthemale/femalerelationshipisestablished

è Importantimpactonfuturefertility

Goodmalebodyweight and thenumberofmales at the timeofmixing areboth important to control theiraggressivitytowardsthefemalesforoptimumfertility.

Ageatmixing:As lateaspossible (21 to23weeks),butno later than10-12daysprior to5%dailyproduction.Maximum9%malesatfirstintroductionandat25-26weeks,keeponly8to8.5%males.Whenmaleweightanduniformityisundercontrol8%malesthroughoutproductionisusuallysufficient.

TheM99maletendstomaturebeforethefemales.Progressivemixingisthereforeidealtoobtainpositivemaleand female interaction. E.g. 5 to 6%maturemales at 22/23weeks and the rest of themales are introducedprogressivelybetween5and30%production.

Observetheflockcarefullyduringtheweeksfollowingmixing.Ifthemalesaretooaggressive,removesomeandreintroducethemslowlyasthefemales’becomemoremature.

Table1:EquipmentStandards

RearingHouse ProductionHouseDensity: 4males/m² ≠ofMalesfor100females: 8to9at24weeksofageBrooders(broodingperiod): 1for500males LinearFeeders:PansorHangingfeeders(∅35cm):

20cmaccesspermale1for8males 20cmaccesspermale1for8males

BellDrinkers:Nipples(flow120ml/min):

1for80males1for70birds

1for10males1for8birds

FeedDistributionTime: 4minutes 4minutesVentilationrate: 5m3/kgbodyweight/hour 5to8m3/kgbodyweight/hour

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BULLETINTECHNICALMichelclech–SeniorTechnicalSpecialist–April2009

Growth:

Growthmustbestrictlycontrolledduringthisperiod,asit isverylikelythatsomemalescanstealfemalefeeduntil25-27weeks,beforetheircombhassufficientsizetostopthemgettingtheirheadthroughtherestrictiondevice.Theriskofexcessivemaleweightgain ishighduringthisphase.Whateverthefeedingequipmentusedfor the females (pan or chain), the system to preventmales from eating together with the femalesmust beefficient.

Grillsizeisimportant.Whenusingchainfeeders,itispossibletoplaceaPVCtubeundertheupperangleofthegrilltofurtherreducemaleheadaccess.Thistubecanberemovedby30weeks.

Themalecombshouldnotbecut(fullcomb)

Observethemalestoseeifsomeareeatingwiththefemalesandadjustthefeedamountaccordingly.Itispossible to transfer a part of the male feed to thefemale feedersuntil theycanno longereatwiththefemalesatabout25-27weeks.

Example(withappropriategrills):

Supposingmalefeedbeforemixing=120g(at22weeks)toensurepropergrowth:

è 23rdweek:70ginmalefeedersand50gaddedtothefemalefeedè 24thweek:90ginmalefeedersand30gaddedtothefemalefeedè 25thweek:120ginmalefeedersè During the subsequent weeks male feed is progressively increased according to their weight gain,

uniformityandthetypeoffeedused(specialmalefeed?).

Malebodyweightistakenonaregularbasistoavoidbecomingoverweightandtoallowadjustmentofthefeedallocation.Weigh50to60maleseveryweekthroughouttheproductionperiodfromdifferentpartsofthepen.

Production(>25weeks)Withpropermanagement8%malesaresufficientduringtheproductionperiod.

Male bodyweight gain should be as regular as possible. Follow the upper line of the standard (bodyweightwithoutfeed).

Inverygoodconditions,itispossibletofollowtheminimumbodyweightstandard.

Uniformity is a key parameter that should be monitored over the whole production period. In the case of poor uniformity, the average bodyweight is not a clear indicator of the amount of truly active males, which is probably much lower. Their performance can deteriorate:

è Increasedriskoffemalesdamagedbythemales.

Observemaleconditionandbehaviour.Whensomemalesstart losingcondition,actquicklybyincreasingtheirfeedamountsignificantlyovera2dayperiodandthenreturntotheinitialfeedamount+5g

E.g.if130g/malewhensomestarttolosecondition,give170gfor2daysthenfeedto135g

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Mostimportantlythereasonsforbaduniformityshouldbeinvestigated:

• Insufficientfeedingspace?• Improperbirddistributionduringfeeding?• Unstablefeeders?• Inappropriate–toolowortoohigh–feederheight?• Insufficientfeedamount?

Inordertoproperlyassessthesituation,malefeedingshouldtakeplacewhenanobservercanbepresent:

è Whenmalescanstilleatfromthefemalefeeders,feeddistributionmustbemadeatthesametimeasthefemales.

è Latermalefeedingtimecanbedelayedtofacilitateobservationofeatingbehaviour.

Male feed quantity is frequently reviewed taking into consideration condition andmortality.Males that loseconditionmayrecoverwhenplacedinaseparatepen.

Whenfeedingismanual, it isbettertouselineartroughtypefeeders(20cmaccess/bird)comparedtoroundtypefeedersthatareunstable.

Specialmale feed,withhigher fibrecontent (6 -8%) is recommended,allowing fora longerconsumptionanddigestiontimefavoursacalmerbehaviour.

SupplementationofVitaminsE,C(antioxidants)andtraceelements(selenium)mayimprovespermquality.

Distributionofgrainandgritonthelitterattheendoftheafternoonencouragesmatingactivity.

“Spiking”ofmales is frequentlyusedasameansto improvehatchabilityduringthesecondhalfofproduction.Onepartofthemales(10to30%)isreplacedbyyoungermales(25-27weeks),withsufficientbodyweightofatleast3500gtoallowthemtobedominantoverthefemales.Thetimeofspikingisvariable.Itshouldtakeintoaccount male condition and should take place before hatchability has significantly started to decrease.Practically, spiking takesplacebetween38and45weeksofage.Theriskofaggressiveness towards females isincreased following the introduction of newmales. Therefore, the need for spikingmales should be properlyevaluated,inordertorematetheflockasrequired.Thehealthstatusofthesemalesshouldbecarefullycheckedbeforetheirintroduction.

Theroleoffemalesinmanagementofbothmalebehaviourandhatchability:

Femalebehaviourplaysanimportantpartinmatingfrequency.Therefore,controllingtheirbodyweightisoneimportant factor for good hatchability: It is very important tomaintain good female uniformityand toavoidexcessbodyweight.Bydoingthisdamagetothefemalesbythemalescanbereduced.

Femalefeeddistributionshouldbecarefullyobserved.Poorfeeddistributioninthefeeders–especiallybeforestart of productionwhen the birds are still not fed daily can stimulate aggressiveness and pecking. Also, thewaterlevelinthedrinkersmustbehighenoughtopreventcompetition.Anyfailureinfeedorwaterdistributionwillworsenuniformityandcanresult inapartof the femalesshowingsignsofbeingbeaten,poorlyfeatheredandmorefrequentlystressedbythemales

Goodlitterquality,ventilation,correctlydistributedandwellmaintainedequipment(feederheightanddistancebetween rows) are additional important points for good flock activity. As for themales, the use of feedwithhigherfibrecontent(4to6%)mayhelptoreducefemalenervousness.Flockactivityisstimulatedbydistributinggrainonthelitterattheendoftheafternoon(e.g.brokenmaize-3g/bird).

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www.hubbardbreeders.com

contact.emea@hubbardbreeders.com contact.americas@hubbardbreeders.com contact.asia@hubbardbreeders.comTheperformancedatacontained in thisdocumentwasobtained fromresultsandexperience fromourown research flocksand flocksofour customers. Innowaydoes thedatacontained in thisdocumentconstituteawarrantyorguaranteeofthesameperformanceunderdifferentconditionsofnutrition,densityorphysicalorbiologicalenvironment.Inparticular(butwithoutlimitationoftheforegoing),wedonotgrantanywarrantiesregardingthefitnessforpurpose,performance,use,natureorqualityoftheflocks.Hubbardmakesnorepresentationastotheaccuracyorcompletenessoftheinformationcontainedinthisdocument.