ct
ed
Once you entered the poultry house, start looking from a distance to their behaviour before moving around.
co py
rig ht
Look from flock to chicken Start your inspection by observing the whole flock. How are they spread out in the space? Are they avoiding certain places, maybe because the climate is different there (draught, cold, light)? Try to spot the differences between birds. Are they uniform? How do they differ? Is it in alertness, condition or in another way? Pick up birds that seem different and take a closer look. If you discover an irregularity, see whether it is an incidental case or a signal of a bigger underlying problem. Also pick up some birds at random and assess them. Not all abnormalities are immediately obvious. Things you observe in detail can only be properly assessed in their context. So look from chicken to flock as well. Sometimes you will need to take a step back to be able to see things better.
Check the flock from outside the poultry house. This way you can observe the flock unnoticed without disturbing the birds.
pr ot e
You’ll pick up a lot of signals during the daily routine of feeding, removing dead and abnormal birds and adding extra litter. But make sure you also do some inspections without doing other things at the same time. Then you will be more aware of the signals because you are giving observation your full attention. If you are doing other things at the same time you will disrupt the birds’ behaviour, causing relevant signals to be lost. The birds will also react less to your presence if you come into the house more often without doing anything specific. An inspection is a tour of the whole house. Make sure you pay attention to all the birds and all areas of the house. So look everywhere: front, back and middle. Stay calm and take your time!
Making a sound by hitting a bucket might also help to startle the birds and observe their reaction.
1. P ic k i n g u p t h e si g n a l s
Put a chair in the house and sit on it for a few minutes at regular intervals to observe the birds. Only then will you pick up on any irregular behaviour.
By hitting the corrugated iron wall at the beginning of your inspection, you can assess the chicks’ reaction and immediately select the ones that do not respond.
7
