How nipples corrode and its effects on flock performance
Nipple drinkers, which are an integral part of poultry houses today, must be maintained properly. Otherwise, they will become waterlogged over time due to corrosion and lose their effectiveness. The first effect of this waterlogging is the creation of a wet pack and an increase in ammonia gas, which causes skin damage and other complications related to the bird’s respiratory system.
Skin ulcers, reduced carcass quality of the produced chickens, and reduced end-of-life weight are also among its other disadvantages in broiler flocks. In mother flocks, as the humidity of the litter increases, its bacterial concentration increases, which in turn endangers the health of the mother hens and leads to various digestive problems such as chronic enteritis and coccidiosis. Therefore, we must be more sensitive in maintaining and maintaining nipple drinkers in breeding houses.
Five nutritional recommendations to improve feed efficiency in broiler chickens
As a rule, improving feed efficiency leads to increased profitability. Common methods for improving this include increasing the ratio of energy to amino acids or improving the digestibility of nutrients in various ways. However, feed conversion rates can also be improved after mixing and entering the poultry house. Here are five tips to ensure that the majority of the feed provided to broilers is consumed properly.
1. Avoid creating hot spots in feed silos:
Molds consume valuable nutrients and produce aflatoxin toxins. Moldy feed is not only unpalatable but also toxic. Often, feed entering the poultry farm is transferred to empty silos that have not yet been cleaned.
In hot and humid climates, molds grow easily, so that even in empty silos there are hot spots (pieces of old moldy feed stuck to the inside of the silo) that can pose a threat to the next fresh feed. In these conditions, adding aflatoxin adsorbents and mold inhibitors alone will not be enough. Silos should be inspected periodically and thoroughly cleaned. Mentioning the permissible doses of aflatoxins in feed, which will be a very serious challenge under adverse conditions, is beyond the scope of this issue of the magazine.
One of the factors that has a significant impact on increasing feed efficiency is the correct placement of waterers near the feeders, of course, it should be noted that they are close enough to each other to not cause food spoilage.
2. Using feeders that do not waste feed:
Usually, using feeders with the least amount of feed waste is very good, but the attractive factor is reducing costs. Feeders also need management (cleaning – water intake location – their distance from each other – number of chicks per feeder, etc.) Therefore, the feed consumption behavior of the chicks will not be out of fatigue, nor will they fight in a hurry to eat the feed.
3. Darkness and light:
It has been said that a continuous light schedule (23 hours of light and 1 hour of darkness) may not lead to the best digestibility. During a continuous light schedule, chicks tend to consume more feed, which leads to an increase in the speed of food passage through the digestive tract. Suppose we feed the chicks to their genetic potential. In this case, the excess feed consumed by them has a limited time to come into contact with digestive enzymes, which will lead to a decrease in digestibility. Conversely, an intermittent light schedule, for example, one hour of light and one hour of darkness, allows the bird to fully digest the feed consumed during rest. Since the birds will not be walking around unnecessarily during the day, it improves feed efficiency and they are also given enough time to refeed during the light hours. The only problem with this method is that there must be enough feed to feed all the chicks at the same time, which requires careful feed management.
4. Avoiding heavy weight of chickens at slaughter age:
If you are raising chickens for a specific age or weight, then you should proceed according to your commitment, but if you have a free sale and according to market conditions. Keep in mind that feed efficiency decreases with age. This is due to the fact that larger birds require more maintenance, which includes energy and amino acids. Finding the minimum acceptable weight for each bird also minimizes feed efficiency, and this does not necessarily mean maximum profit. All the same, other factors such as the cost per pound of meat produced, the rate of weight gain per flock density, and other points should also be considered.
5. Maintain the health of the chickens as much as possible:
Another common occurrence in poultry farms that will be detrimental if repeated is that sick chickens do not grow, and as a result, when they do not grow, their feed efficiency will never be ideal. Sick or subclinical (chronic) chickens do not eat as much food as healthy chickens, and what they eat is usually spent fighting the disease. In addition, sick chickens may even break down their muscle proteins, which causes them to lose weight and reduce feed efficiency to the worst possible state, while healthy chickens, especially those with a very healthy digestive system, will get the maximum benefit from nutrients.
Chronic diseases can have the worst loss on feed efficiency if ignored. While we have examined all the other reasons that may cause performance reduction. Not all of the above are applicable on every farm, but if even one of these things is considered and feed efficiency improves slightly, it means that profitability has increased. Especially since all of the above are normal matters in poultry management units.
