Many poultry farmers in Uganda rear layers but on small scale. Good management practices can help increasing productivity of the layers.
Layers can be kept either in battery cage or deep litre system but both systems are aimed at maximizing egg production. On the farm, biosecurity is very important irrespective of the scale of production and this helps prevent disease.
Biosecurity measures
To put biosecurity measures on your farm, you need to have a foot bath at the entrance of the farm where anyone entering the farm dips their feet to have them disinfected. If you allow vehicles have access to your farm, you need to have a wheel bath at the entrance where the wheels of the vehicles are disinfected from.
For effectiveness of the disinfectant, ensure the dilutions are correct and also prevent the disinfectant from getting too dirty. You can achieve this by having the people and vehicle tyres dipped in plain water before being dipped in the disinfectant.
You can also sanitize your hands using a hand sanitizer before entering the poultry house and also minimize the number of visitors on the farm because these can be a source of infection.
Other management practices
Ensure correct stocking density of of between 6 to 7 birds per m2. This space includes space occupied by feeders and drinkers.
Give patches to the birds because birds naturally like doing exercise.
Ventilation should be good to allow exit of carbon dioxide and ammonia and entrance of oxygen.
Give adequate lighting of at least 16 hours per day because light stimulates egg production.
