Programme overview
Introduction:
Poultry production management, focused on broiler and layer farm performance and biosecurity, is a 5-day course for poultry farm managers, house supervisors and integration production staff that ends with a Flock Performance Review and Improvement Plan for a case farm. Poultry businesses lose margin when house environment drifts, feed conversion worsens unnoticed, chick quality varies between deliveries and biosecurity gaps let disease into a flock. Nominees already run or supervise broiler, layer or hatchery-linked operations and work through case studies built on flock records, production curves and cost data. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this poultry production management course.
Course Objectives:
- Map the poultry chain from breeder flocks and hatchery to broiler grow-out, layer houses and processing, and position the farm within it
- Set ventilation, temperature, humidity and lighting targets by bird age and check that house controllers deliver them
- Calculate and interpret feed conversion ratio, mortality, EPEF, hen-day egg production and flock uniformity from house records
- Run brooding, feeding, drinker line and bodyweight sampling routines that protect chick quality and flock evenness
- Organise farm biosecurity zoning, vaccination scheduling at management level, welfare checks and litter and manure handling
- Model cost per kilogram live weight and per dozen eggs and build a Flock Performance Review and Improvement Plan
Target Audience:
- Managers responsible for the output, costs and staff of broiler or layer farms
- Supervisors responsible for daily house routines, environmental settings and flock records
- Production teams in integrated poultry companies responsible for linking hatchery, grow-out and processing schedules
- Technical service teams responsible for advising contract growers on flock performance
- Agribusiness staff responsible for production budgets and performance reporting in poultry enterprises
Course Outline:
Day 1: Poultry Industry Structure and Farm Current-State Assessment
- Poultry Value Chain Map From Breeder Flocks to Processing
- Broiler, Layer and Breeder Production Systems Compared by Output
- Housing System Options From Enriched Cages to Cage-Free Aviaries
- Integrated Versus Independent Contract Grower Business Models
- Farm Current-State Assessment Using a Flock Records Checklist
Day 2: House Environment, Lighting and Flock Performance Indicators
- Minimum, Transitional and Tunnel Ventilation Mode Selection
- Temperature, Humidity and Ammonia Targets by Bird Age
- Lighting Programmes for Broiler Growth and Layer Onset of Lay
- Feed Conversion Ratio, Mortality and EPEF Calculation Methods
- Hen-Day Egg Production, Egg Mass and Flock Uniformity Measures
Day 3: Flock Management, Feed, Water and Chick Quality
- Brooding Set-Up Checklist and Day-Old Chick Quality Scoring
- Hatchery Delivery Records and Chick Uniformity Feedback Loop
- Phase Feeding Plans and Feed Intake Monitoring by Week
- Drinker Line Management and Water Quality Testing Routine
- Stocking Density Planning and Bodyweight Sampling Procedure
Day 4: Biosecurity, Welfare, Litter Control and Flock Economics
- Biosecurity Zoning With Visitor, Rodent and Wild Bird Controls
- Vaccination Programme Scheduling and Vaccine Cold Chain Records
- Welfare Indicators Including Footpad Lesions, Gait and Litter Condition
- Litter, Manure and Ammonia Management Plan for Housed Flocks
- Cost per Kg Live Weight and Cost per Dozen Eggs
Day 5: Case Study: Flock Performance Review and Improvement Plan
- Case Broiler Farm Flock Data Pack and KPI Benchmarking
- Case Layer Farm Production Curve and Egg Grading Review
- Egg Handling and Broiler Catching Handover to Processing Plant
- Root Cause Analysis of Underperforming Houses Using Fishbone Diagrams
- Flock Performance Review and Improvement Plan Completion and Peer Challenge
Skills You Will Gain:
- Poultry House Environmental Control
- Flock KPI Analysis
- Brooding and Chick Quality Assessment
- Feed and Water Programme Management
- Farm Biosecurity Planning
- Poultry Welfare Monitoring
- Production Cost Modelling
- Flock Underperformance Diagnosis
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver a Flock Performance Review and Improvement Plan to the farm or integration production manager for approval and follow-up
- Decide which house, feed or hatchery issue to correct first using benchmarked flock indicators instead of impressions
- Avoid repeat losses from poor ventilation, wet litter, uneven chicks and biosecurity breaches that raise mortality and cost per kilogram
- Share KPI calculation sheets, brooding checklists and biosecurity audit forms with supervisors and house staff across the farm
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant gives the farm or integration production manager a Flock Performance Review and Improvement Plan that sets ventilation and lighting targets, feed and water checks, biosecurity controls and cost targets per kilogram or per dozen for each house. Management uses it to decide where to invest in housing equipment, which hatchery and feed issues to raise with suppliers and how to set grower performance targets. After the first full flock cycle, the team should review feed conversion, mortality, egg output and whether cost targets were met.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before a poultry production management course on broiler and layer farms?
Participants should already run or supervise broiler, layer or hatchery-linked operations and know how their farm records feed use, mortality and bodyweights. Bringing recent flock records or a cost sheet helps them apply the case work to their own houses.
How does poultry production management differ from general agribusiness or food safety courses?
It concentrates on running poultry houses and flocks: environment, feeding, chick quality, biosecurity, welfare and flock economics. General agribusiness courses cover investment and value chains across many crops, and food safety courses cover hazard control in processing, which this course touches only at the farm handover.
Why does poultry production management rely on feed conversion ratio and EPEF?
Feed is the largest running cost of a flock, so feed conversion ratio shows how efficiently birds turn feed into live weight. EPEF combines liveability, weight, age and feed conversion into one figure, letting managers compare houses and flocks fairly.
What do participants take back from the poultry production management course?
Participants take back a Flock Performance Review and Improvement Plan for a case broiler or layer farm, with KPI calculation sheets, brooding and biosecurity checklists, a welfare scoring form and a cost per kilogram and per dozen model they can adapt to their own farm.