TVL- OAP 3

(Raising Organic Chicken)

Second Semester (Midterm) -
Module 2: Select Healthy Chicks
Based on Industry Indicator for
Healthy Chicks
TVL- OAP 3 (Raising Organic Chicken) – Grade 11
Alternative Delivery Mode
Second Semester (Midterm) – Module 2: Select Healthy Chicks Based on Industry Indicator for
Healthy Chicks
First Edition, 2021

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 TVL- OAP 3
(Raising Organic Chicken)
Second Semester (Midterm) -
Module 2: Select Healthy Chicks
Based on Industry Indicator for
Healthy Chicks

i
Introductory Message

This Self-Learning Module (SLM) is prepared so that you, our dear learners, can
continue your studies and learn while at home. Activities, questions, directions, exercises,
and discussions are carefully stated for you to understand each lesson.

Each SLM is composed of different parts. Each part shall guide you step-by-step as
you discover and understand the lesson prepared for you.

Pre-tests are provided to measure your prior knowledge on lessons in each SLM. This
will tell you if you need to proceed on completing this module or if you need to ask your
facilitator or your teacher’s assistance for better understanding of the lesson. At the end of
each module, you need to answer the post-test to self-check your learning. Answer keys are
provided for each activity and test. We trust that you will be honest in using these.

In addition to the material in the main text, notes to the Teacher are also provided to
our facilitators and parents for strategies and reminders on how they can best help you on
your home-based learning.

Please use this module with care. Do not put unnecessary marks on any part of this
SLM. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises and tests. And read the
instructions carefully before performing each task.
If you have any questions in using this SLM or any difficulty in answering the tasks in
this module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator.
Thank you.

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 What I Need to Know
This module in Raising Organic Chicken was designed and written with you in mind
to guide you on how to select healthy stocks and suitable housing. The scope of this
module includes identifying breed/strains as per PNS/Organic Agriculture livestock and GAHP
(Good Animal Husbandry Practices) guidelines, select healthy chicks based on Industry
Indicator for healthy chicks, determine suitable site for chicken house design equipment
installation design in line with PNS (Philippine National Standard) recommendation and actual
scenario. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the
order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the materials you may be
using as additional references.

This module focuses on:

Lesson 1- Select Healthy Chicks Based on Industry Indicator for Healthy Chicks

After going through this module, you are expected to:

a. Determine the healthy chicks based on industry indicator for healthy chicks;
b. Identify the defects and deformities of discarded chicks; and
c. Appreciate the importance of identifying healthy chicks.

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 What I Know

Directions: Read and understand each question. Choose the letter of the best answer and
write it on your answer sheet.
1. What are characteristics of ideal hatching eggs?
A. eggs come from mature parents
B. eggs weigh at least two ounces
C. the eggs have thick shells.
D. all the above
2. These are good layer of hen, EXCEPT one;
A. compact and refined head
B. smooth and clean-cut face
C. short and absence of yellow color shank
D. they should have strong, refined heads.
3. Pullets should possess the following characteristics, EXCEPT:
A. They should have large body.
B. They should have deep yellow pigment in the skin, shank and beak.
C. They must be strong, healthy and vigorous.
D. Smooth and clean-cut face
4. The selection of breeds should start with the choice of hatching eggs. Ideal hatching eggs
have the characteristics EXCEPT:
A. smooth and clean-cut face
B. eggs weigh at least two ounces.
C. the eggs have thick shells.
D. the eggs are regularly-shaped.
5. The following are the physical characteristics of chicks that should be considered in
selecting healthy chicks, EXCEPT:
A. eyes C. color and weight
B. legs D. feathers
6. Which of the following characteristics show good quality chicks?
A. chicks that have pale thin legs and with chalk-white coat
B. chicks with crooked legs and toes
C. chicks that have strong well filled legs of good bright color
D. chicks with blindness and paralysis of the legs or neck
7. Below are the undesirable strain characteristics of chicks, EXCEPT:
A. large, prominent eyes
B. crooked or deformed neck
C. slipped wing
D. decided bow leggedness
8. What is the ideal weight of a good quality chick?
A. 2 lbs. C. 4 lbs.
B. 3 lbs. D. 5 lbs

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 Lesson Select Healthy Chicks Based on

1 Industry Indicator for Healthy

Chicks

What’s In

To raise healthy chickens, you must start with healthy chicks. That’s easy enough to
say — but how do you know if the chicks are in good health? Even a reputable hatchery may
miss the earliest signs of a problem. If you’re starting your backyard chicken flock with chicks,
keep an eye out for any signs of distress or ill health.

Healthy chicks are active, but not too noisy. Of course, they do sleep more than adults,
like all baby animals, but if disturbed, they quickly get up and move away. If you look at a
content group of chicks in a proper brooder, some will be under the heat lamp or near it
sleeping peacefully, while others will be eating or drinking or walking around. They will be quiet
except for an occasional peep.

Baby chicks should have two bright, clear eyes, and their rear ends, or vent area,
should be clean. Their beaks should be straight. Some hatcheries trim the end of the beak to
prevent chicks from picking at each other, so don’t be alarmed if the beak tip is missing. Their
toes should be straight.

1. How to identify a healthy and unhealthy chick?

2. What are the defects and deformities of discarded chicks?

3. Why is it important to know the PNS (Philippine National Standard) and GAHP
(Good Animal Husbandry Practices) guidelines in selecting a chick?

What’s New

Physical Characteristics of Good Quality Chicks

1. Eyes. Good quality chicks must have large, prominent eyes, indicating health and
vigor. These are two essential requirements for quality chicks. If one looks into a box
containing day-old chicks, the first impression that he should get should be the
condition of the eyes.

2. Legs. Good quality chicks have strong well filled legs of good bright color, and creamy
white down (the fluffy fine feathers just below the anus). Chicks that have pale thin legs

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 and with chalk-white coat should be rejected. Chicks with thin, white, or pale shank do
not possess the vigor and health needed for efficient growth.

3. Weight and color. Good quality chicks should have uniform size and color, (the color
characteristic of the breed or strain,) and must weigh about 2 lbs. per 25 chicks.

4. Posture. A healthy chick will stand tall and walk with ease. An unhealthy or physically
challenged chicks may have difficulty standing or walking crouch, sit back on its body,
its beak may point towards the sky or bend towards its back or it may flip backwards.

5. Down. The down should be well fluffed out and should have the proper color of the
breed or strain. Chicks with sticky off-colored down denote faulty incubation that
produces weak chicks.

6. Deformities. Deformed chicks with crooked legs and toes, crooked beaks, small eyes,
or chicks with blindness, paralysis of the legs or neck and imperfectly healed navels
should be discarded or rejected

Selecting Chicks for Broiler-Meat Production

Male and female chicks intended as breeders for broiler production should be selected
at one-day old, and should be observed at regular intervals. They should show indication of
fast feathering as day-old chicks, and at 10 days, and at 8 to 12 weeks. They should indicate
rapid growth at 4 to 6 weeks. Before the birds are placed in breeding pens, they must have
good breast development at 6-12 weeks of age. They should show no defects.

Selecting replacement pullets

Egg-type. Select pullets which are offspring of hens with high production record (220 or more
eggs per year). They must belong to a batch of chicks of good livability – meaning a group of
chicks with low death rate.

Broiler type. Select pullets which are progeny of fast grower tender-meat producing hens. A
stock offered at a “bargain” or other form of inducement to get one to buy should be carefully
examined because the chicks being sold may be of poor quality.

Guidelines/Rules for Selecting Stock

It must be pointed out that sometimes more variations exist within a breed than
between different breeds with regard to production. It would be of help to inspect and compare
the production records of different sources of chicks. It would likewise be practical to inquire
about, analyze, and compare experiences of other broiler or egg producers in one’s locality to
serve as guide in the selection of the source for one’s stock.

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 What is It
Activity 1:

Direction: Answer the following questions on your answer sheet.

1. What is/are the indicators of healthy chicks?

2. Is/are the indicators in selecting healthy chicks important? Justify.

Defects and Disqualifications

Practically all poultry breeders want their birds to conform reasonably well to standard
breed requirements. This is important to those who sell hatching eggs, baby chick, or breeding
stocks. Several of the undesirable strain characteristics are inherited, so that in many cases,
birds which possess them should be discarded from the breeding pen. Some of the more
important disqualifications are as follows:

1. Deformed beak 2. A crooked or otherwise deformed back.

3. Novels. A chicks novels should not be red or oozing and should have no crust, egg yolk or
stringy attachments.

4. A split wing, in which the feathers are 5. Slipped wing, in which the primaries
irregularly developed that a gap shows sag when the wing is folded.
between the primaries and the secondary.

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6. Knock- kneedness. 7. Bow Leggedness.

What’s More

Never take a chick with cloudy or dull eyes, a twisted beak, bent or missing toes, or a
dirty vent area. Chicks that are very noisy are unhappy and stressed, either from being cold
or hungry and thirsty. When they arrive in a shipping box, the stress is evident from the shrill
cheeps. But if you place them in the right temperature with food and water, they should quickly
calm down. A droopy-looking chick may not be healthy. If a chick is touched and it responds
very little, it probably isn’t healthy. If it’s lying on its back with its legs in the air, it’s definitely
unhealthy.

Chicks that are panting, with their beaks open, are either too warm or sick. If they
appear normal after being cooled down, they should be fine. If the chicks are as far from the
heat source as possible, it’s probably too hot. If they’re piled on each other near the heat
source and peeping loudly, it’s probably too cold. If chicks are very noisy but they aren’t
obviously hot or cold and food and water are available, something else is wrong. While you
can fix the temperature or hunger problem, avoid purchasing chicks if you can’t tell what is
wrong.

The belly area should not look sore and red. The chicks shouldn’t have any wounds or
bloody areas. (Newly hatched chicks will have a slight lump on the belly where the egg yolk
was, and that’s okay.)

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 Whether you buy chicks, hatch eggs, or adopt adult birds, having a healthy flock begins
with choosing healthy birds. Healthy baby chicks will be noisy and active when they arrive in
the mail. If many chicks are dead or appear weak and drowsy, contact the shipper right away.
Serious breeders usually have their flocks tested and vaccinated for prominent diseases. If
you’re buying from a hatchery, make sure the chicks are from certified pullorum-tested flocks.
Pullorum is a serious bird disease that will kill all your chicks and endanger anyone else’s
chickens in your area.

Activity 2:

Directions: Take a look on the poultry house in your locality and list down at least 4
observable defects and deformities of chicken. Take pictures and copy the
table on a separate sheet.

Physical Characteristics Defects/Deformities

Example: Pasty butt due to the stress of shipping,
chilling, or overheating and some
infections.

1.
2.

Questions:

1. Based on the activity above, what have you found out?

2. Is it important to select healthy chicks based on industry standards? Why?

What I Have Learned

1. The physical characteristics to be checked in selecting good quality chicks are eyes, legs,
weight, color, posture, down and deformities.

2. Male and female chicks intended as breeder5s for broiler production should be selected
at one-day old, and should be observed at regular intervals.

3. Several of the undesirable strain characteristics are inherited and that birds which possess
such characteristics should be discard from the breeding pen.

4. The following are undesirable characteristics:

• Deformed beak
• Crooked or deformed back
• Novels
• Split wing
• Slipped wing
• knock-kneedness
• bow leggedness

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 •
What I Can Do

Directions: Answer the crossword below. Write your answer on your answer sheets.

Assessment

I. TRUE OR FALSE

Directions: Tell whether the given statement about the healthy chicks is true or false. Write
(T) if the statement is True and if your answer is False write (F). Write your answer
on your answer sheet.

1. Chicks are active, but not too noisy. Of course, they do sleep more than adults, like all
baby animals, but if disturbed, they quickly get up and move away

2. Baby chicks should have two bright, clear eyes, and their rear ends, or vent area, should
be clean. Their beaks should be straight. Some hatcheries trim the end of the beak to
prevent chicks from picking at each other, so don’t be alarmed if the beak tip is missing.
Their toes should be straight.

3. Chicks that are very noisy are unhappy and stressed, either from being cold or hungry and
thirsty. When they arrive in a shipping box, the stress is evident from the shrill cheeps. But
if you place them in the right temperature with food and water, they should quickly calm
down.

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4. Chick with cloudy or dull eyes, a twisted beak, bent or missing toes, or a dirty vent area.

5. The belly area should not look sore and red. The chicks shouldn’t have any wounds or
bloody areas. (Newly hatched chicks will have a slight lump on the belly where the egg
yolk was, and that’s okay.)

6. Difficulty standing or walking crouch, sit back on its body, its beak, its beak may point
towards the sky or bend towards the sky or bend towards its back or it may flip backwards.

7. Chicks that is very alert and active, bright eyes and good posture.

8. Chick with cloudy or dull eyes, a twisted beak, bent or missing toes, or a dirty vent area.

II. Multiple Choice

Directions: Read and understand each question. Choose the letter of the best answer and
write it on your answer sheet.
1. What are characteristics of ideal hatching eggs?
A. eggs come from mature parents
B. eggs weigh at least two ounces
C. the eggs have thick shells.
D. all the above
2. These are good layer of hen, EXCEPT one;
A. compact and refined head
B. smooth and clean-cut face
C. short and absence of yellow color shank
D. they should have strong, refined heads.
3. Pullets should possess the following characteristics, EXCEPT:
A. They should have large body.
B. They should have deep yellow pigment in the skin, shank and beak.
C. They must be strong, healthy and vigorous.
D. Smooth and clean-cut face
4. The selection of breeds should start with the choice of hatching eggs. Ideal hatching eggs
have the characteristics EXCEPT:
A. smooth and clean-cut face
B. eggs weigh at least two ounces.
C. the eggs have thick shells.
D. the eggs are regularly-shaped.
5. The following are the physical characteristics of chicks that should be considered in
selecting healthy chicks, EXCEPT:
A. eyes C. color and weight
B. legs D. feathers
6. Which of the following characteristics show good quality chicks?
A. chicks that have pale thin legs and with chalk-white coat
B. chicks with crooked legs and toes
C. chicks that have strong well filled legs of good bright color
D. chicks with blindness and paralysis of the legs or neck

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7. Below are the undesirable strain characteristics of chicks, EXCEPT:
A. large, prominent eyes
B. crooked or deformed neck
C. slipped wing
D. decided bow leggedness
8. What is the ideal weight of a good quality chick?
A. 2 lbs. C. 4 lbs.
B. 3 lbs. D. 5 lbs

Additional Activity

Directions: Based on your experiences/observations in raising organic chicken answer the

following questions below. Write your output in a narrative form. Submit your
output to your teacher.

Questions:

1. What deformities you had observed? (10 points)

2. What are the causes of having deformities? And how to control it? (10 points)

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Assessment Activities What I Can What I Know
do 1. d
I. True or false II. Multiple Choice
All activities 2. c
1. T 1. d
may have Answers may 3. d
2. T 2. c
varied vary 4. a
3. F 3. d
answers. 5. d
4. F 4. a
6. c
5. F 5. d
7. a
6. T 6. c
8. a
7. F 7. a
8. F 8. a
Answer Key
References
Anacleto B. Coronel, MS., DVM. In Animal Husbandry Technology and Livelihood Education
III. Agriculture and Fishery. Animal Production. SEDP Series.

TESDA. "Competency Based-Learning Material." In Animal Production NCII Module 1 -6

Deciding Raise Poultry . Bayawan City, 2016.

Satori. Poultry Manual. 2021 Accessed March Tuesday, 2021.

https://poultrymanual.com/contact-us/

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