Layers The female poultry bird which is reared for an egg laying is known as layers. These are sexually mature birds producing an egg. Laying Phase The birds produce their eggs between 20 – 72/75wks of age. Means laying starts at 20 wks of age and will lay the eggs up to 72 – 75 wks of age after that the egg production will decrease and the bird will be culled. This laying period is also known as laying cycle or biological year when bird reaches 5% egg production. The birds which completed their whole 75 wks laying phase is termed as “spent Hen”. The grower birds transferred to a layer house at 18 weeks of age Cages Now a day’s mostly all the layer farmer they are using a California cage system of rearing instead of pen system of housing because the space requirement is less, less problem of ectoparasite, less chances of disease spreading, more clean eggs and we may get actual egg production of birds, when we followed cage system of rearing. If we compared Space requirement in pen system it should be 1950 cm2 per bird while in cage 900cm2 per bird space is required. Some disadvantage with cage systems are wet litter, fly problem and high initial investment so, for a small poultry farmer high initial investment is a big problem. Site Selection

• A good market for egg exists.
• Land and labou

What is Brooding             Brooding is a period immediately after the hatch when special care and attention is given to chicks to support their health and survival. A recently hatched chick has not yet developed their own mechanism to regulate its own body temperature hence, it cannot maintain its body temperature properly for the first weeks and It is subject to chilling in the winter season when extra heat is not provided from externally; therefore the chicks will not take required feeds and water and this will  decrease the growth and improper development of internal organs, responsible for digestion, thus the chick will not be able to digest the yolk completely.   Brooding is classified into natural and artificial brooding. In today’s time, artificial brooding practices are the most prevalent which is only practiced by a farmer. Now a day for Broiler management during the first week of life the brooding operation is followed. Depending upon the season, brooding practices vary in tropical countries where large conventional open housing is normally practiced. Winter – Use 1/3 area of the house for brooding. Summer – Use 1/2 area of the house for brooding.   Various industrial events are now organised in Kenya which bring forward different management practices and technologie