What is a poultry farming batch interval?
Poultry farming batch interval is the amount of time which occurs between buying two batches of chicks.
It is usually quoted in weeks. And is dependent on your preferred rearing system.
Keeping on top of rearing schedule keeps your poultry business ticking like clockwork.
Why is a poultry batch interval important?
Poultry batch interval is where the momentum of your production engine comes from.
Overlapping your rearing cycles at set intervals ensures predictable and continual waves of production.
As these cycles surge through your farm like waves crashing against the shores, a pulse runs through your business.
Each surge brings new:
- purchases
- sales
- deliveries
- profits
The tighter your intervals the more consistent your production.
The longer your rearing interval periods the more variable your poultry farm production.
Getting it just right establishes the best balance overall for you and our customers.
Example poultry batch intervals
Best practices
Know your rearing system
Your rearing system governs your batch buying intervals.
The rearing system is the gearing to which your production engine is calibrated.
Therefore, your batch intervals will be set according to the tempo of your rearing system.
Know your system INSIDE-OUT.
Understand its engineering and how it will produce the results you expect.
Memorise its timings, routine, peaks and troughs…
Know it like the back of your hand and diarise your entire year head.
See it this way,
Without the right inventory of birds on hand – your production will be off,
And your profits will hit choppy waters.
Navigate future financial storms by setting a sure path in inventory management.
Further reading: What is inventory management? Quickbooks Commerce
Keep a strict schedule
Make sure you have all key dates firmly set in your personal diary.
Give your self plenty of notice to make all necessary preparations for interval activities like:
- buying
- culling
- cleaning
- feed change over
- equipment rinse and adjustments etc.
Set multiple alerts to ensure you don’t miss a single beat on your way to crossing a batch buying interval.
Visualise
Produce a visual overview or guide representing your batch intervals over, say, a year.
Gantt charts are great tools for seeing how subsequent activities line up alongside one another.
A Gantt chart presentation of your upcoming batch intervals enables you to skim read months ahead.
Further reading: Free Gantt Chart Template for Excel – Vertex 42
Refine
Get strategic with your batch buying intervals.
As you start out, doubtless you will find inefficiencies in your approach.
There will be LOTS of room for improvement.
Be hyper-analytical about every grain of timing and preparation to squeeze out optimal efficiency.
Strategic purchasing is profitable purchasing.
Further reading: Strategic purchasing can increase your profits – BDC
Scenario plan
Consider – in advance – what to do ‘IF’ (…) happens.
So many hiccups crop up in life and business,
And when things don’t go to plan it can knock us completely out of sync.
Put some time into planning damage limitation escape routes when circumstances threaten your batch buying intervals.
This will help you preserve your poultry profits.