Unit C: Field Records
Lesson 3: Poultry Production and Record Keeping
Student Learning Objectives:
Instruction in this lesson should result in students achieving the following objectives:
1. Understand the importance of record keeping in poultry production.
2. Identify record keeping systems used in poultry production.
3. Complete different record keeping forms used in poultry production.
Recommended Teaching Time: 1 hour
Recommended Resources: The following resources may be useful in teaching
this lesson:
4-H Poultry Production and Records. Cooperative Extension Service of Mississippi
State University. http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/4hrecord.htm
Importance of Record Keeping. Poultry Industry Council.
http://poultryindustrycouncil.ca/compendium-record_keeping.html.
List of Equipment, Tools, Supplies, and Facilities:
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Writing surface
PowerPoint Projector
PowerPoint Slides
Transparency Masters
Copies of student worksheets
Terms: The following terms are presented in this lesson (shown in bold italics and on
PowerPoint Slide 2):



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Breeding stock
Broilers
Chicks
Layers
Mortality
Poults
Pullets
1
Interest Approach:
Begin a discussion about record keeping. Why do we need records? What
are the benefits? What industries use record keeping? What type of records
would poultry producers utilize? Bridge this discussion into the first objective.
SUMMARY OF CONTENT AND TEACHING STRATEGIES
Objective 1: Understand the importance of record keeping in poultry production.
Anticipated Problem: Why is record keeping in poultry production important?
(PowerPoint Slide 3)
I. Record keeping is extremely important to successful poultry production.
A. Financial decisions-before creating a budget or making important and costly
financial decisions, records need to be analyzed.
B. Feeding decisions-records are useful in deciding what types of feed rations,
the quantity of feed rations, and the effectiveness of a specific feed ration.
(PowerPoint Slide 4)
C. Breeding decisions-when deciding which birds to mate, past breeding records
can be put to use.
D. Productivity of birds-records should be kept on the productivity of birds (eggs,
reproduction, pounds of meat, etc.) to be used when the flock must be culled.
Use TM: 3-1 to further explain this objective. Engage students in a discussion
about the connection of records and their importance.
Objective 2: Identify record keeping systems used in poultry production.
Anticipated Problem: What systems of record keeping are used in poultry production?
II. There are several different types of records to keep in poultry production.
(PowerPoint Slide 5)
A. These systems vary by many factors.
1. Species raised - The records kept for different species of poultry are going
to differ because of the different uses. For example chicken records are
going to be different from turkey records.
(PowerPoint Slide 6)
2. Breed raised - Certain breeds are raised for a specific purpose (laying,
broilers, breeding), and therefore need different records.
3. Type of bird - The type of bird raised is going to determine the record
keeping system. Some chickens are raised for egg production (for
consumption), egg production (for repopulating), meat production, etc.
2
(PowerPoint Slide 7)
B. There are different records to keep for chickens.
1. Chicks – chicks are young birds before the growth process has started.
The records for chicks may include date hatched, date moved to
pullet/broiler house, feed consumption, and water consumption.
(PowerPoint Slide 8)
2. Pullets – pullets are birds growing to become layers. Certain records to
be kept for these birds include feed consumption, water consumption, and
light-dark hours.
3. Layers – layers are female birds that are in the stage of laying eggs.
Records needed include feed consumption, water consumption, and egg
production.
(PowerPoint Slide 9)
4. Broilers – broilers are raised to be harvested for chicken meat to
consume. Specific records may include feed consumption, water
consumption, weight, average daily gain, days on feed, and processing
date.
5. Breeding stock – breeding stock are used to produce birds to repopulate
the flock. Breeding date, birds mated, and hatching date are examples of
important records.
(PowerPoint Slide 10)
C. Turkeys require specific records.
1. Poults – poults are young birds that will be raised to be harvested for
consumption. Specific records may include feed consumption, water
consumption, weight, average daily gain, days on feed, and processing
date.
2. Breeding Stock – breeding stock are used to produce birds to repopulate
the flock. Breeding date, birds mated, and hatching date are examples of
important records to keep.
Use TM: 3-2 to check for student understanding. Tie this discussion in with the
next objective.
Objective 3: Complete different record keeping forms used in poultry production.
Anticipated Problem: How do you complete record keeping forms used in poultry
production?
(PowerPoint Slides 11 and 12)
III. Whenever you begin a record keeping system, you must learn about the
information requested on each form.
A. Mortality (death) of birds – every day a record should be taken of any birds
that did not survive.
B. Feed used – daily records need to be taken on the quantity of feed fed to
birds.
C. Cost – Financial records must be kept of any items bought or sold, e.g. feed,
veterinary costs, equipment, supplies, birds, etc.
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D. Vaccinations – Specific vaccinations may be needed, depending on the bird
and location of production facility. An accurate record must be kept to insure
sufficient withdrawal times.
(PowerPoint Slide 13)
E. Hens removed – Periodically hens must be removed from the flock when their
productivity is too low. Be sure to keep record of which bird, when she was
removed, and the reason for removal.
F. Eggs produced – Eggs must be collected and recorded daily. Be sure to
include any inconsistency noticed.
Use WS: 3-1, WS: 3-2, and WS: 3-3 for a hands-on approach to this objective.
Review/Summary: Focus the review and summary of the lesson around the
student learning objectives (PowerPoint Slide 14). Call on students to explain the
content associated with each objective.
Application: Application can involve one or more of the following student activities
using attached lab sheets:
WS: 3-1 Brooding Record
WS: 3-2 Pullet Growing Record
WS: 3-3 Monthly Laying Flock Record
Evaluation: Evaluation should focus on student achievement of the objectives for
the lesson. Various techniques can be used, such as student performance on the
application activity. A sample written test is included.
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Answers to Sample Test:
Matching
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
C
F
D
B
A
E
Fill-in-the-blank
1. Mortality
2. Poults, breeding stock
3. Species, breed, bird
Short Answer
1. Use Objective 1 for scoring.
2. Use Objective 3 for scoring.
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Sample Test
Poultry Production and Record Keeping
Name:
Matching: Match each word with the correct definition.
a. breeding stock
b. broilers
c. chicks
d. layers
e. poults
f. pullets
1. Young birds.
2. Birds growing to become layers.
3. Female birds that are in the stage of laying eggs.
4. Raised to be processed for meat to be consumed.
5. Used to produce birds to repopulate the flock.
6. Young birds that will be raised to be processed for consumption.
Fill-in-the-blank: Complete the following statements.
1. ____________ is death of birds.
2. Turkeys require specific records for ____________ and ______________
___________.
3. The record keeping systems differ based on _________________ raised,
______________ raised, and type of ______________.
Short Answer: Answer the following questions.
1. What are four reasons to use record keeping in poultry production?
2. What are five different pieces of information requested on record keeping
forms for poultry production?
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TM: 3-1
IMPORTANCE OF RECORDS
 Financial decisions
 Feeding decisions
 Breeding decisions
 Productivity of birds
7
TM: 3-2
RECORD KEEPING SYSTEMS
Vary Depending Upon:
 Species
 Breed
 Type of bird
Chickens
 Chicks
 Pullets
 Layers
 Broilers
 Breeding stock
Turkeys
 Poults
 Breeding stock
8
TM: 3-3
INFORMATION ON FORMS
 Mortality
 Feed used
 Cost
 Vaccinations
 Hens removed
 Eggs produced
9
Utilize the following story to fill in WS: 3-1.
On April 1, you travelled 30 km to buy twenty-five local-grown chicks which were bought
for 20000 AFN. They were raised for the next 4 weeks on a chick starter diet. From
there, you fed them a grower ration until week 9, when you fed a broiler feed. For the
total length of these ten weeks, a total of 12.5 kg of chick starter was used, 25 kg of
grower was fed, and 50 kg of broiler feed. The chick starter was 400 AFN, 600 AFN
was the cost of the grower, and the broiler feed cost 800 AFN. All the prices are for 25
kg of feed. Each time you needed to buy another bag (25kg of feed), you drove to the
local feed store 15 km away using 25 AFN worth of fuel.
As these chicks grew for 10 weeks, some did not survive. During week 1, you lost 1
bird on Tuesday and another on Thursday. Week 2 brought on 1 death on Saturday.
During week 3, no birds were lost; however 3 birds were lost during week 4, one on
Sunday, one on Wednesday, and one on Friday. Week 5 again brought no deaths, but
during week 6, 2 birds were lost on Wednesday. During the remaining weeks, one bird
was lost each week. During week 7, the death occurred on Monday. Tuesday of week
8 and Thursday of week 9, 1 death was found. And the last bird lost was found on
Friday of week 10. At the conclusion of week 10, you sold six birds for 7000 AFN total.
Footnote: This story may not be an accurate representation of poultry production in
Afghanistan. Please substitute real data if it is available.
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WS: 3-1
BROODING RECORD
Date chicks started: ________ No. chicks started: ________ Breed or cross: _______
Mortality (number of chicks that died)
Week
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Total
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
Total: _________
Feed Used
Chick starter _______kg
Cost ________AFN
Cost of fuel
________AFN
Grower
_______kg
Cost ________AFN
Cost of chicks ________AFN
Broiler Feed
_______kg
Cost ________AFN
Cost of feed
________AFN
Other
_______kg
Cost ________AFN
Other
________AFN
TOTAL
_______kg
Cost ________AFN
Total
________AFN
Chicks dead to end of brooding period _________
Weight of feed used per chick started __________
Weight of feed used per chick raised ___________
Income (birds sold or used as broilers)__________
Expenses ________________________________
Net profit or loss ____________________
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WS KEY: 3-1
BROODING RECORD
Date chicks started: April 1 No. chicks started: 50
Breed or cross: local grown
Mortality (number of chicks that died)
Week
Sun
Mon
1st
Tue
Wed
1
Thu
Fri
1
Total
2
2nd
1
3rd
4th
Sat
1
0
1
1
1
5th
0
6th
7th
3
2
2
1
8th
1
1
9th
1
1
1
10th
1
1
Total: _12______
Feed Used
Chick starter _12.5__kg
Cost _200____AFN
Cost of fuel
_75_____AFN
Grower
_25____kg
Cost _600____AFN
Cost of chicks _20000__AFN
Broiler Feed
_50____kg
Cost _1600___AFN
Cost of feed
_2400___AFN
Other
_0_____kg
Cost _0______AFN
Other
_0______AFN
TOTAL
_82.5__kg
Cost _2400__AFN
Total
_22475__AFN
Chicks dead to end of brooding period _12______
Weight of feed used per chick started 82.5/50=1.65
Weight of feed used per chick raised 82.5/38=2.17
Income (birds sold or used as broilers)_7000_____
Expenses ______________________22475_____
Net profit or loss _________-15475_____
12
Utilize the following story to fill in WS: 3-2.
At the 10th week of growing, you have 32 birds. Mortality through the pullet
growing stage is extremely decreased. One death during the 12th week and 2 during
the 14th week. No deaths until one during the 18th week and two more during the 21st
week. The final death was during the 25th week.
Vaccinations began during this time. During the 12th week, you administered 2
fowl pox vaccines at 250 AFN each. The 16th week brought on 2 Newcastle
vaccinations at 600 AFN each. 4 Bronchitis vaccines were given during the 20th week
that each cost 400 AFN. The final vaccinations of Fowl Pox were given to 3 birds,
costing 350 AFN, during the 24th week.
Feeding during this period was on five week intervals. For weeks 10 through 14,
20 kg of grower was fed. For weeks 15 through 19, 25 kg of grower was fed. Finally 30
kg of grower was fed for weeks 20 through 25. The grower feed cost 600 AFN per 25
kg. No other feed was used.
Footnote: This story may not be an accurate representation of poultry production in
Afghanistan. Please substitute real data if it is available.
13
WS: 3-2
PULLET GROWING RECORD
(Starts at 10th week and ends at the completion of week first eggs were laid)
Number of birds at 10 weeks ___________
Mortality (number of pullets that died)
10th week __________
11th week __________
12th week __________
13th week __________
14th week __________
15th week __________
Date
Fowl Pox
16th week __________
17th week __________
18th week __________
19th week __________
20th week __________
21st week __________
Vaccination Record
Bronchitis
22nd week __________
23rd week __________
24th week __________
25th week __________
TOTAL
__________
Newcastle
Cost
Total Cost of Vaccination __________
Grower
Weight Feed Used
Other
Cost
10th week
11th week
12th week
13th week
14th week
15th week
16th week
17th week
18th week
19th week
20th week
21st week
22nd week
23rd week
24th week
25th week
Total Feed Costs ____________________
Number of birds that died during growing period __________
Pounds weight per pullet for the growing period __________
Brooding costs
__________AFN
Pullet growing costs
__________AFN
Total cost to date
__________AFN
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WS KEY: 3-2
PULLET GROWING RECORD
(Starts at 10th week and ends at the completion of week first eggs were laid)
Number of birds at 10 weeks _32________
Mortality (number of pullets that died)
10th week _0________
11th week _0________
12th week _1________
13th week _0________
14th week _2________
15th week _0________
Date
th
12 week
16th week
20th week
24th week
Fowl Pox
2 @250
0
0
3@350
16th week _0________
17th week _0________
18th week _1_________
19th week _0_______
20th week _0________
21st week _2________
22nd week _0________
23rd week _0________
24th week _0________
25th week _1________
TOTAL
Vaccination Record
Bronchitis
Newcastle
0
0
0
2@600
4@400
0
0
0
_7________
Cost
500
1200
800
700
Total Cost of Vaccination _3200_____
10th week
11th week
12th week
13th week
14th week
15th week
16th week
17th week
18th week
19th week
20th week
21st week
22nd week
23rd week
24th week
25th week
Grower
20 kg
20 kg
20 kg
20 kg
20 kg
25 kg
25 kg
25 kg
25 kg
25 kg
30 kg
30 kg
30 kg
30 kg
30 kg
30 kg
Weight Feed Used
Other
Cost
0
480 AFN
0
480 AFN
0
480 AFN
0
480 AFN
0
480 AFN
0
600 AFN
0
600 AFN
0
600 AFN
0
600 AFN
0
600 AFN
0
720 AFN
0
720 AFN
0
720 AFN
0
720 AFN
0
720 AFN
0
720 AFN
Total Feed Costs _9720 AFN__________
Number of birds that died during growing period _7________
Feed weight per pullet for the growing period
_16.2 kg___
Brooding costs
_12920____AFN
Pullet growing costs
_15475____AFN (from WS: 3-2)
Total cost to date
_28395____AFN
15
Utilize the following story to fill in WS: 3-3.
Beginning October 10, you had 27 hens that began laying. You lost one bird during the
1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th month. Your monthly totals for egg production are as
follows: 811, 783, 779, 742, 739, 706, 707, 675, 674, 642, 638, and 632. Each egg was
sold for 3 AFNS. During this time, you feed 1200 kg of layer feed and 600 kg of oyster
shell. The layer feed cost 600 AFN per 25 kg, and the oyster shell cost 700 AFN per 25
kg.
Footnote: This story may not be an accurate representation of poultry production in
Afghanistan. Please substitute real data if it is available.
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WS: 3-3
MONTHLY LAYING FLOCK RECORD
Date hens started to lay __________
Number hens at start of laying __________
Number hens that died or were removed from the flock
1st month ____________________
7th month ____________________
2nd month ____________________
8th month ____________________
3rd month ____________________
9th month ____________________
4th month ____________________
10th month ___________________
5th month ____________________
11th month ___________________
6th month ____________________
12th month ___________________
Eggs Produced
Monthly
Totals
1st
month
Egg
Sales
Layer
Feed Used
Cost
________kg ________AFN
2nd month
Oyster shell ________kg ________AFN
3rd month
Other
________kg ________AFN
4th month
Total
________kg ________AFN
5th month
6th month
7th month
Feed per hen for period
__________
8th month
Average number eggs per hen
9th month
Total egg sales
_______AFN
10th month
Total costs at start of lay
_______AFN
11th month
Feed & other costs during lay _______AFN
12th month
Total
_______AFN
Net profit or loss
_______AFN
(Include in your records the value of all eggs used at home. Calculate value based on retail
market price at time of use.)
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WS KEY: 3-3
MONTHLY LAYING FLOCK RECORD
Date hens started to lay _October 10_ Number hens at start of laying _27_______
Number hens that died or were removed from the flock
1st month _1__________________
7th month _1__________________
2nd month ____________________
8th month ____________________
3rd month _1__________________
9th month _1__________________
4th month ____________________
10th month ___________________
5th month _1__________________
11th month _1_________________
6th month ____________________
12th month ___________________
Eggs Produced
1st
month
Monthly
Totals
811
Egg
Sales
2433
Layer
Feed Used
Cost
_1200___kg _28800__AFN
2nd month
783
2349
Oyster shell _600____kg _16800__AFN
3rd month
779
2337
Other
_0______kg _0______AFN
4th month
742
2226
Total
_1800___kg _45600__AFN
5th month
739
2217
6th month
706
2118
7th month
707
2121
Feed per hen for period
8th month
675
2025
Average number eggs per hen _30.1_____
9th month
674
2022
Total egg sales
_25584_AFN
10th month
642
1926
Total costs at start of lay
_28395_AFN
11th month
638
1914
Feed & other costs during lay _45600_AFN
12th month
632
1896
_85.7 kg___
Total
_73995_AFN
Net profit or loss
_-48411_AFN
(Include in your records the value of all eggs used at home. Calculate value based on retail
market price at time of use.)
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