Chicken Snippets

Poultry farming (…in an egg-shell…) is a game of:

Feed conversion.

That’s the root aim of the discipline.

Nothing more.

And certainly nothing less.

However, feed conversion has limits.

And also its factors of influence.

The primary limit of poultry feed conversion is genetic potential.

i.e. the physical growth limit of any particular breed of bird.

According to heritage, a bird can only grow so big as determined by its ancestry.

The goal:

To turn as much of the lovely golden feed into marketable eggs or meat.

(Whilst making the most of selling or using side products, like manure or spent hens, also.)

As every poultry breed is different…

…so too is its feed conversion ratio and physiological response to rearing factors like space, heat, ventilation etc.

So depending on your desired outcome of quantity and quality of meat or eggs,

Along with the rearing conditions that will apply to your project,

Your selection of the perfect poultry breed for your project must be diligently considered.

Let’s take Cobb 500.

According to the breeder’s (Cobb Vantress) manual,

Cobb 500 broilers have an average FCR (feed conversion ratio) of 1.65.

This can be interpreted to mean that for every 1.65 kg of feed given,

The Cobb 500 will produce 1 kg of carcass weight.

The FCR is seen as the optimal result for the poultry farmer.

The best he could hope for.

Where he earns his stripes is managing the farm to bring out of the birds their peak potential.

And this involves everything from the farmer’s choice of land or housing to stockmanship and processing labour.

With a unique blend of farm management inputs,

The poultry farmer hopes to yield an optimal harvest.

But is the topic of poultry feed conversion really that elementary?

According to this article by Poultry World called,

“Data capture and genetic progress in feed conversion”

In this article, two important considerations were raised regarding calculating FCR:

1. flock feed conversion (averaged over all birds)
2. liveability

Flock feed conversion

Averaging flock feed conversion is too broad a brush stroke to use.

Mainly, because there is no chance of pinning down causes related to outcomes calculated.

The analytical water is muddied. Unclear.

Liveability

When birds die, you get a net downgrading of FCR.

i.e. feed consumed by the dead bird will never contribute to the end-stage harvested meat on the processing date.

So, the question remains – how do we sidestep these inconsistencies for a more accurate FCR analysis:

Answer: We need a tighter controlled FCR test environment.

But…

“Just how should I practically capture reliable data for poultry feed conversion calculation?”

There are two proposed methods within this Poultry World article:

Analog and digital.

In both cases, FCR is a direct cause-and-effect relationship,

And therefore input and output must be directly tied.

You can’t take arbitrary flock averages here. It dilutes the meaningfulness and reliability.

Short term – Analog feed conversion testing

Quite lo-fi.

1. Each test bird is separated into its own pen.
2. The bird is given solitary access to its own feed and water supply.
3. Testing only happens over a number of days.

Pros – relatively low cost, direct cause and effect, close monitoring

Cons – short term data collection,

Digital feed conversion testing

Leans upon the modern Internet of Things (IoT) advancements.

1. Small cohorts of test birds are kept in pens.
2. They have shared feed and water.
3. Computer technology is used to track the weight and feed consumption of birds, individually.
4. Testing happens over many weeks.

Pros – birds test environment is shared not isolated, less manual work because of IT solution, long term

Cons – expensive

In conclusion

Feed conversion ratio is your primary poultry farm key performance indicator (KPI).

Coupled with your key cost inputs and price outputs (feed cost, labour cost, product pricing),

FCR is a fundamental building block for eveluating your poultry farm ROI.

A viable method of data capture and measuring FCR is critical to judging if your agri-venture is paying off or not.

Also, understanding the hidden influencers of the FCR equation helps us establish figures we can depend on.

Are you currently looking for a practical method to calculate feed conversion ration for your poultry farm?

Are you interested in performing digital data capture and need recommendations on equipment?

Write me back in the comments below.

I read every one.

Speak soon.

What’s your leaning on the free-range vs. caged debate?

Which side do you support?

Whilst we are aware of most points of contention on the matter,

Here are some considerations that might NOT have crossed your mind before.

The results in this document prove our current understanding of the pros and cons in this debate – as simplistic.

So, if you are still undecided on the matter – I recommend reading this study before making a commitment either way.

Quick highlight:

In this study, researchers closely examined parameters of egg quality between a caged flock of layer hens vs. free-range counterparts (Hyline Brown).

Here’s what they found:

• “…free-range environment hens were significantly lighter in body weight than their caged counterparts”
• “…caged hens had better overall egg production and quality characteristics compared with free-range hens”
• “…free-range hens experienced a reduction in nutrient partitioning devoted to egg production”

The rationale behind WHY this is could be argued.

However, it seems apparent that free-range environment taxes the hen’s bodies more to fuel additional movement.

And where there is a greater energy expense/demand, the resources from other functions, like egg production, will be drawn upon to suffice.

So, egg weight and production will be less in such cases.

HOWEVER, what can’t be ignored is the free-range hen’s access to a much broader range of nutritional input which will naturally give rise to a more nutrient diverse egg.

That said, the artificial fortification of layer hen feed given to caged birds, will produce artificially enhanced eggs.

The difference?

Whatever a discerning customer can pick out.

Ultimately, whatever the consumer values will reign supreme at the end of the day.

For more information on this study:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272758570_A_comparative_examination_of_rearing_parameters_and_layer_production_performance_for_brown_egg-type_pullets_grown_for_either_free-range_or_cage_production/fulltext/58faec6c0f7e9ba3ba50472d/A-comparative-examination-of-rearing-parameters-and-layer-production-performance-for-brown-egg-type-pullets-grown-for-either-free-range-or-cage-production.pdf

If you are considering milling your own layer feed, or sourcing layer feed from a local miller…

…then, this study teaches is a valuable addition to your reading library.

Now, it’s no news to you that corn contributes the main food source in layer feed.

Until now you might have applied more planning focus on calculating your feed consumption – for cost planning purposes.

However, HOW the corn is prepared can also have a significant impact on your:

• cost-effectiveness
• product regularity
• & ultimately profit

And here’s how…

Quick highlights:

This study features a cohort of caged layer hens who were fed 3 different grades of corn grain within their feed preparation.

Grain sizes were as follows:

• 638 micron/micrometres
• 870 micron/micrometres
• 1079 micron/micrometres

The hens were in 10 cages – 4 hens per cage.

They were monitored for:

• feed intake
• weight gain
• egg production
• egg weight
• mortality
• egg quality

What were the results of the varying sizes of feed?

Interestingly, the lower particle sizes of corn grain resulted in:

• less feed intake
• greater uniformity of – egg weight, egg yolk colour and egg white weight

…but no difference was noted in either body weight gain, egg production, egg weight or mortality rate.

To sum up, by saving roughly 1/3 of the corn particle size (638 – 870 microns vs. 1079 microns), your caged layer hen farm could save on feed consumption and produce more uniform eggs (in weight, egg yolk colour and albumen weight).

Greater profitability all round.

To view this study in detail:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Seksom-Attamangkune/publication/242241027_Effects_of_Corn_Particle_Size_in_Layer_Diet_on_Laying_Performance_and_Uniformity_of_Egg_Quality_under_High_Stocking_Density/links/56eb655a08ae9dcdd82ab4c2/Effects-of-Corn-Particle-Size-in-Layer-Diet-on-Laying-Performance-and-Uniformity-of-Egg-Quality-under-High-Stocking-Density.pdf