Brake said that these weight differences, as much as a quarter of a
pound per bird, have been reproduced
in commercial broiler ;ocks.
Big breeders make
big broilers
Crowding the birds keeps the big
hens producing eggs and the big roosters
producing semen, Brake said. The aim
is to have the big roosters and big hens
producing as many fertile eggs as possible
because their superior growth rate will be
passed on to their offspring. If the smaller
breeders lay more eggs, the result is ;ocks
with more small broilers.
the number of eggs produced by both the
large and medium sized birds.
Overeating by some birds
Brake said that extra feeder space,
which might be de;ned as feeder space
which is not occupied by a bird’s head when
it is feeding time, will let some birds eat
too much feed. Eating too much will allow
these birds to grow more breast meat and
get heavier. He said that big-breasted birds
don’t get up and down as easily and don’t
use the nests as much, so they lay more
;oor eggs. More ;oor eggs mean fewer
big broilers.
“Fewer floor eggs were evident in
houses where feeder space was severely
limited,” Brake said.
