When Should Broiler Chickens Be Harvested?
In running a broiler farming business, besides being required to pay attention to the critical period, farmers are also required to pay attention to the final stage of maintenance, namely the chicken harvesting period because it is at this final stage that the success or failure of the farmer's business will be known.
In running a broiler farming business, besides being required to pay attention to the critical period, farmers are also required to pay attention to the final stage of maintenance, namely the chicken harvesting period because it is at this final stage that the success or failure of the farmer's business will be known.
 |
| When Should Broiler Chickens Be Harvested? |
For experienced breeders, it is certainly not difficult to determine when the chicken should be harvested and how it is carried out. However, for novice breeders, determining the time of harvest is not easy and of course more information is needed regarding its implementation. Here we present some points related to harvesting broiler chickens so that the implementation process can run smoothly.
Determining Harvest Age
Determining harvest time should not be done carelessly because the right time to sell broiler chickens will determine how much profit the farmer will get. There are several things to consider, including:
Feed conversion value (FCR)
Feed conversion ratio (FCR) or ration conversion value is defined as a unit value that shows the ratio between the number of kilograms (kg) of ration consumed by chickens to produce 1 kg of body weight. The formula is:
FCR = Amount of ration consumed (kg)
The resulting body weight (kg)
The greater the quotient of the formula above, it means that the efficiency of the use of the ration is even less good, and so should it. The breeder company usually has determined the standard FCR value so that farmers can continue to monitor the FCR of their broilers every week.
The data in the field show that the optimal growth of broiler chickens occurs in the 4th to 6th week of rearing. This means that in that week range, the FCR value is close to standard. However, when entering the age of 7-8 weeks, broiler body weight gain per week fell sharply and was not balanced between daily body weight growth and the number of rations consumed. As a result, the value of the FCR is even more swollen. Under these conditions, it will be more profitable if the broilers are sold earlier.
Consumers favorite
Currently, broiler breeders harvest a lot of their chickens at the age of 30-35 days with a live weight between 1.5 – 2.0 kg per chicken. However, this harvest time can also be adjusted to the time of achieving the chicken body weight that is favored by consumers. In certain areas, consumers prefer small chickens weighing less than 1 kg. Meanwhile, in other areas, consumers prefer large chickens weighing 1.5-2 kg, and there are also those who prefer chickens weighing more than 2 kg. The greater the body weight of the chicken (especially in chickens > 6 weeks old), the price per kg of live weight will usually also be lower because the chicken has a lot of fat and the level of tenderness of the meat has decreased.
Household consumers in Indonesia mostly like small broiler chickens (1 – 1.5 kg). While large sizes are usually intended for certain food processing (sate, opor, etc.) and for the chicken meat processing industry (nuggets, sausages, etc.) (Rahayu et al., 2002).
Selling price in the market
Fluctuations in the selling price of broiler chicken in the market sometimes affect the sale of chicken harvests, so this factor can also be a consideration in determining harvest age. If in the market there is an increase in selling prices, such as before religious holidays, the maintenance period can be shortened and chickens can be harvested and sold earlier so that the profits obtained are greater.
Some of the profits can also be used for cross subsidies if at any time the selling price of chicken in the market falls. In addition, if the price of broiler chickens in the market is low, then farmers can consider extending the maintenance period. However, this extension must also be in harmony with the weight of the chickens and the value of the obtained ration conversion.
Chicken health
The occurrence of disease attacks in broiler chickens often causes chickens to be harvested early. The main economic consideration is related to reduced profits due to medical expenses and ration costs during sick chickens. Not to mention the risk of losing body weight and also the death of chickens. An example of a case is a broiler chicken with colibacillosis aged 33 days (harvest age ± 35 days). With such conditions, it is recommended that the chicken is harvested rather than treated. The reason is because at that age the chicken's body weight has almost reached the selling weight.
Broiler Chicken Harvesting Procedure
After knowing what things can be considered in determining harvest time, here are 3 important points related to broiler chicken harvesting procedures that can be applied in the field, namely:
1) Preparation before harvest
One week before harvesting, give the cage lighting for 24 hours so that the chickens always eat and drink, so that the expected weight of the chickens is obtained.
Make a schedule of which cages will be harvested according to the size of the chicken's weight and the location of the cage.
Prepare cage workers or capture teams according to their needs and are accustomed to dealing with chicken harvesting activities.
Prepare harvesting equipment such as scales, stationery, travel documents, notes on scales, raffia, chicken baskets, and flashlights to help with lighting if the harvest is done at night.
Check the last chicken stock report in the coop and take a few chicken samples first to be weighed individually. This data will be used as a benchmark / control value for the overall weight report of the chickens to be harvested.
Do not give full rations to chickens, 12 hours or at least 8 hours before the chickens are harvested so that the rest of the ration is not wasted much. Another goal is that when the chicken is cut it doesn't produce too much manure. However, breeders are still allowed to provide ordinary drinking water or vitamin drinking water to chickens.
Immediately before the chicken is caught, remove the feed holder and drink so as not to interfere with the activities of workers when catching chickens.
Do not give antibiotics at least 2-10 days before the chicken is harvested (depending on the type of antibiotic used). This is to avoid the presence of antibiotic residues in chicken meat products. As for vitamins, it can still be given. In addition, the administration of antibiotics will only stimulate the work of the body's organs to become heavy so that the chicken will not be able to withstand the physical stress experienced.
Try to keep air circulation/ventilation good, and use dim lights for easy capture. Because of the nature of chickens tend to stay in dim or dark conditions
2) Harvest implementation
Harvesting time is actually flexible or can be done at any time. However, it would be better if the chickens are caught in the morning, afternoon, or evening so that the chickens are not so stressed. For catching at night, try to use dim lighting. The procedures for its implementation are:
Make a chicken partition gradually according to which chicken will be caught first so that other chickens that have not been caught do not go limp. The bulkhead can be made with a size of 7 x 3 meters or according to needs. In addition, when making the bulkhead, avoid over-lapping the chickens in the corner of the coop and don't overcrowd it so that many chickens don't die.
How to catch chickens when harvesting: Gently grasp the chicken feet, then grab the breasts, and pull the chicken up. Avoid catching the chicken violently and holding one of its wings first, as the chicken will struggle and cause the wing to bruise and the chicken to become stressed.
When harvesting, generally each coop worker can hold 3-5 chickens at once. After being caught, the two chicken legs are tied with rope so that they can be weighed in groups (about 3-5 birds together) and immediately record their live weights, because the selling price of broiler chickens will be calculated per kg body weight during life. Kill the chickens in one batch, do not use the select catch system to catch the chickens when harvesting.
Before weighing, the scales should be calibrated first to prevent miscalculations that can harm farmers. Once weighed, put the chickens in the chicken basket and avoid harsh actions to reduce the risk of many chickens being rejected due to broken wings or legs. The baskets containing the chickens are then loaded and arranged into the transport trucks. Do a re-check of the condition of the chicken after the catch is complete. Also, on the results of the weighing data that has been obtained so that there are no miscalculations. After all the data is correct and in accordance with the arrest warrant, then the chicken transporting vehicle may be allowed to leave the cage location to go to the collector or be taken directly to the chicken slaughterhouse.
The time of transporting chickens should be done at night with the aim of avoiding hot weather during the day, as well as avoiding the relatively denser traffic.
The length of time between the chickens being put into the basket and slaughtering, and the high air temperature around the basket will affect the amount of weight loss and mortality. For this reason, the time of transportation of chickens and the length of distance traveled also need to be taken into account. Keep in mind that losses during transportation range from 1-3%.
3) Postharvest action
During post-harvest, a mistake often made by farmers is not immediately collecting all of the cage equipment (especially scales and chicken baskets that are used) and cleaning them. Even though it is important to do so that at the next harvest, the process of preparing the tools can run faster.
In addition to this, post-harvest activities that need to be carried out are weighing the remaining rations and recording them, as well as calculating the total chickens and the total weight of the chickens sold, the total chickens that died due to stress, and evaluating by calculating the performance index (IP) value.
This IP value is important to calculate to determine the value of incentives/bonuses for breeders (for partnerships) and cage workers. The following is the formula for the performance index (IP):
IP = (100 – D) x BB x 100
FCR x (A/U)
Information:
IP : performance index
D : percentage of depletion or death (%)
BB : average body weight at harvest (kg)
FCR: feed conversion ratio
A/U: average harvest age
A good standard IP value is above 300. Therefore, the higher the IP value, the more successful the broiler farm is. To find out more about this IP value calculation information, please read the article Info Medion February 2010 edition with the title "Success or Not Your Broiler Maintenance" or can be searched on the web info.medion.co.id.
Make a report of all harvest data carefully so that there are no errors in recording the final data. This affects policy determination because up to date and accurate reports can avoid unwanted things such as fraud during one maintenance cycle.
Finally, from all the discussions, it can be concluded that broiler breeders should make careful planning, especially in determining the time and process of harvesting, so that what is expected from the broiler cultivation business can be achieved. Hopefully, with the implementation of the steps that are carried out properly, it will give good results as well.
Good luck for the future.
A good standard IP value is above 300. Therefore, the higher the IP value, the more successful the broiler farm is. To find out more about this IP value calculation information, please read the article Info Medion February 2010 edition with the title "Success or Not Your Broiler Maintenance" or can be searched on the web info.medion.co.id.
Make a report of all harvest data carefully so that there are no errors in recording the final data. This affects policy determination because up to date and accurate reports can avoid unwanted things such as fraud during one maintenance cycle.
Finally, from all the discussions, it can be concluded that broiler breeders should make careful planning, especially in determining the time and process of harvesting, so that what is expected from the broiler cultivation business can be achieved. Hopefully, with the implementation of the steps that are carried out properly, it will give good results as well.
Good luck for the future.