The first days in our chicks’ life on the farm will be critical for the future development of the flock.

On one hand, we must take into account the high growth rates of commercial broilers, which in less than two weeks multiply their birth weight tenfold. The differences in growth rates compared to other birds in intensive rearing are very pronounced, especially when compared with pullets of laying hens.

On the other hand, pullets of future layers have a more moderate growth, determined largely by their feed intake capacity, which means they follow much less steep growth curves. However, at all times we must ensure they reach or exceed standard weights and maintain proper uniformity. This means that at least 80% of the birds should remain within a weight range that does not exceed 10% of the average of all weights.

In this sense, we can compare future laying hens to a steam locomotive:

They must stay on track, represented by the weight curve, and they also need mineral intake for bone development — which, in the case of the locomotive, would obviously be coal, and in pullets, adequate contributions of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and trace elements.

Challenges for newly arrived chicks on the farm

The birds will face several challenges, among which we highlight the following:

Stress: Hatching, vaccinations, and the transport and unloading of animals on the farm are factors that contribute to increasing stress levels in chicks during their first days of life.

We must also keep in mind that the chick’s digestive system is not yet adapted to feed, but rather optimized for digesting lipids from the yolk. A gradual nutritional adaptation should be implemented; in this sense, the inclusion of highly digestible protein with a proper amino acid balance in the diet is highly recommended, together with B vitamins, which are essential for proper regulation of hepatic metabolic processes.

In many cases, animals arrive on the farm lethargic and with low energy reserves. In such cases, they will not have enough vitality to start drinking and eating, which becomes a serious problem and leads to a peak in mortality on the fourth day of life. These are the so-called “hypoglycemic chicks”, which have not eaten solid feed and present an empty crop, a gizzard with a greenish color, and a very yellowish liver — which by that day should already be brown (the liver normally has a yellowish color only during the first 2–3 days of life). In addition, they have exhausted their yolk sac reserves and inevitably die.

When this happens, the flock usually becomes quite uneven, as it indicates irregular and varied access to feed by the chicks. As a result, by one week of age we may find birds with very different weights, sometimes with differences of more than 50 grams.

Another very important nutritional aspect to consider is the low capacity of the chick’s digestive system, in which enzymes and gastric juices are not yet secreted at adequate levels, and intestinal absorption capacity is still limited.

If we add to all these factors the fact that the immune system is still developing and adapting to the farm’s environmental conditions, we find ourselves in a situation where any additional support is important, for example:

• Improve the farm’s environmental conditions: temperature, humidity, and levels of carbon dioxide and ammonia.

• Proper animal handling.

• Increase accessibility to water and feed.

• Pay attention to the feed’s format, size, and hardness.

• Supplement chicks with additional nutrients.

All these factors will contribute to the correct development of the birds and to achieving the objectives we have set in terms of uniformity, weight, and performance.

AMINOVITAL PLUS – Nutritional support for the start phase

For the starting phase and other cases of extra nutritional requirements, MIAVIT has developed AMINOVITAL PLUS — a nutritional supplement with:

• Additional energy

• Highly available protein with high concentrations of essential amino acids

• B vitamins for liver stimulation

• Vitamins A, C, D, E, K and rosemary extract to prevent oxidative stress, support proper immune response, growth, and bone development

• Electrolytes to combat dehydration

AMINOVITAL PLUS also contains citric acid to lower the pH of drinking water and compensate for the low production of gastric juices in birds at early ages.

AMINOVITAL PLUS is distributed by Levania in Peru.