This online course is a sound introduction to the care and management of poultry; this includes animals such as chickens, turkeys and much more. This course is suitable for people wanting to manage poultry from their home or on a commercial/business level. This Warnborough online course covers:
- Terminology
- Breeds
- Nutrition
- Disease
- Layers
- Broilers
- Incubation
- Brooding
- Management
Course Structure:
This duration of this online course is 100 hours. This consists of 8 in-depth lessons:
1. Introduction, Terminology and Breeds
- History of Poultry
- Terminology
- Contract Growing
- Regulations
- Management Factors
- Small Scale Production
- Breeds
- Classifying Fowls (Egg Laying Breeds, Meat or Table Birds, Dual Purpose Breeds)
- Cross Breed Poultry
- Sex Linkage
- Brooders
- Skeletal System
- Poultry Husbandry (Stock Selection, Feeding, Watering, Housing, Health)
- Turkeys
- Geese
- Ducks
2. Poultry Nutrition
- Digestive System (Gullet, Crop, Proventriculus, Gizzard, Intestine, Caecum, etc)
- Nutrient Sources (Carbohydrate, Protein, Minerals etc)
- Rationing
- Palatability
- The End Product
- Modern Feed Requirements
- Phase Feeding
- Limited Feeding
- Consumption Feeding
3. Diseases
- Avoiding Stress
- Viral diseases
- Bacterial diseases
- Mycoplasmosis, fungal and protozoan disease
- Non-infectious diseases
4. Layers
- Extensive (free-range) System
- Semi-Intensive System
- Intensive Systems
- Housing
- Deep Litter System
- Feeders
- Battery Units
- Feeding the Laying Hen
- Replacing the Flock
5. Broilers
- Caponising
- Brooding Period
- Feeding Broilers (Starter Period, Finisher Period)
- Housing
- Hygiene and Health
6. Incubation – The natural method (using broody hens)
- The artificial method (using incubators)
- Selecting Eggs
- Storing Hatching Eggs
- Turning Eggs
- Managing a Incubator (Temperature, Humidity, Testing, Hatching)
- Reasons for Poor Hatchability
7. Brooding
- Heating
- The canopy brooder
- The infra-red lamp
- The battery brooder
- The hay box brooder
- Feeders
- Drinkers
- Floor Space
- Rearing
- Problems during rearing
8. Record Keeping, economics and Marketing
- Growth Records
- Egg Production records
- Small Scale Business
- Compatible Ventures (Manure, etc)
- Preparing a Farm Business plan
- Finance
- Land Management
- Analyzing the Market place
- Developing a Marketing Plan
Business of Poultry
Smaller operations will sell eggs or even birds at farmers markets or off the farm directly. A poultry business will be much more sophisticated as it will have some sort of production contract with distributors.
Contract growing in the poultry industry is a wordwide trend – very popular but still very profitable. A growing contract is when a farmer comes to an agreement with a company to provide certain poultry goods, such as; broilers, breeders, replacement pullets, commercial laying hens or eggs. This method of business has been used for 50 years – proving very successful.
In some cases companies will supply:
- Specifically formulated feed (for maximum growth)
- Genetically selected chicks
- Professional support (for maximum flock performance)
How does a Warnborough Online Course work?
You can start the course whenever is convenient for you. You will be studying from home and have access to support from our qualified tutors. Practical exercises and research tasks will be set at the end of each lesson – including an assignment. You will submit this assignment to your course tutor, who will mark your work and give you constructive feedback and suggestions.
If you have any questions please contact us.
