The debate on reducing carbon emissions from the egg industry, the welfare of slow-growing poultry and the negative impact on the environment, and recent developments in on-site hatching were key topics of discussion at this year’s Poultry meat and Egg meeting at the Pig and Poultry Forum. There are detailed reports on world poultry.
– Tony McDougal
The entire poultry industry needs innovative solutions to help free range egg producers become more carbon efficient. A study by Promar International, a consultancy, found that the largest source of carbon emissions from free-range laying hen farms is outsourced feed, which typically accounts for more than 85 per cent of an egg’s carbon footprint. Promar International, a consulting firm, used data from two free-range farms: a multistory system with two sheds for 64,000 birds and a flat-story system for 12,700 birds. Data from the multi-layer system managed by Martin and Nikki Lawrence of Wells Farm, Llandrindod, showed that 1kg of eggs produced 3kg co2e, compared with 3.44kg co2e on a smaller flat layer farm.
The Lawrences have planted 85 acres of trees over the past five years and installed 50 kilowatts of rooftop solar panels on a farm shed, but can’t install more because they can’t connect to the local power grid. “When the project started, I thought feed would account for about 50 percent of co2 emissions, but it actually accounts for 85 percent,” Martin said. As a poultry farmer, it is very difficult to improve the situation on the farm.” James Baxter, chairman of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (Bfrepa), said he hoped the findings would help drive positive improvement initiatives – across the supply chain – to help farmers continue to play their part in improving sustainable food production.
Promar International, a consultancy, says there are a number of practical approaches that free-range farmers can adopt:
Storage sites for coverings and faeces: potential reduction of 2.5-3%
Egg production increased by 5% : 5%
Prolonged laying cycle: 2-5%
Closely examine and monitor the protein content of the diet and aim to reduce it: 1-5%
Installing renewable energy sources on farms to capture energy and use batteries: 2-4%
Transport of feces to aerobic digester: 5-7%
Grow poultry slowly
The importance of slow-growing broilers is increasing and will continue, but consumers need to better understand why they pay higher prices to retailers for slow-growing poultry products. Patrick Nicholls, technical manager at Hubbard, highlighted the key points of slow-growing broiler management, saying that chicks need more attention in their first week of life than conventional broilers because they require less feed and water intake, grow more slowly and produce less heat. However, it is normal for slow-growing broilers to form a cyclical social group in the first few days of life and should not be confused with cold. Due to the low water intake of chicks, good sanitation is essential and fresh water should be supplied at the start of life with a water system that is regularly flushed. It is beneficial to use a water booster during the first 24-72 hours of life.
Nicholls says that on the first day of life, chicks should have a slightly higher ambient temperature (+1C), with a target exhaust temperature of 39.5-40.5c. For free-range systems that need to be cooled more quickly, the breeder should set the temperature at 23C at 21 days of age. The bedding should not be too dry, otherwise it will cause skin scratches or dermatitis, and the ventilation Settings should be changed according to the number of chickens in the coop, the number of growing days and the growth curve. Farmers should aim for 50 lux of lighting in their poultry sheds and reduce lighting intensity a bit for the first seven days. Too much light may drive the chicks against the wall. The short dark period should start at 1 day of age, and the lights should be turned on at 3 a.m., to activate the birds during the coldest part of the day.
When changing pellets, the age of poultry is important: pellets should be fed until body weight reaches 300 g (JA757 is 12-14 days of age). Mini-pellet feeds with an ideal diameter of 2.5 mm can be fed from 12 to 14 days of age and then from 400 g bw if growth is shortened or from 500 g bw if growth is not shortened to 3.2 mm bw; Starting at 800 g body weight, pigs were fed pellets of 4-4.5 mm in diameter (JA757 was 21-28 days of age). Charles Bourns, a gloucestershire first generation breeder and member of the NFU poultry Council, has two sheds with 38,800 Hubbard JA87 broilers per lot at 12.4 per square metre (30kg/m2). Broilers are raised to 2.4 to 2.5 kg bw at 49 days of age and are currently fed a 50% corn diet. He says they spend more time in the air than conventional broilers and appear to be more resistant to disease and can resist small problems as they grow. The benefits of raising broilers in this strain are the absence of antibiotics and the use of fewer veterinary products, reduced water consumption, and fewer foot pad and hock problems. “Slow-production broiler farming has its benefits but also its challenges, requiring a premium to cover the additional costs of farming, and slow-production systems need to be better communicated to consumers.” “He said emphatically. Additional costs must be taken into account as slower production of broilers results in a reduction of one batch per year due to a longer breeding cycle, higher management costs per broiler, and higher gas costs for brooding due to lower stock sizes.
Development of on-site incubation techniques
As Crown moves to 100 per cent on-site incubation, producers benefit from improved animal welfare and stable production performance, delegates heard Erik Hoeven, Managing Director of NestBorn. Erik Hoeven highlights many of the stress issues associated with traditional hatchery one-day-old chicks (delayed access to feed, water and light, waiting times at the hatchery, time for hatchery processing and transportation to the farm and dumping containers). Hoeven says the NestBorn system requires no additional investment for farmers. The incubators will place the pre-hatched and illuminated eggs on the mat on the 18th day, and the chicks will be hatched for three days. The remaining eggs and hatchery waste will be collected and removed from the farm.
The analysis showed that this effect of on-site incubation improved production performance, reduced early mortality and increased chick emergence rate by 1%. Due to on-site incubation providing early feeding and avoiding the stress associated with being in the hatchery, the chicks had healthier intestines, reduced antibiotic use, better growth and feed conversion performance, and significantly fewer foot pad lesions. Erik Hoeven highlighted that the levels of diamine oxidase (DAO) in poultry in the NestBorn system were lower than in conventionally hatched chicks. Diamine oxidase (DAO) is released into the blood when intestinal cells are damaged or underdeveloped — the lower the DAO level in the blood, the less damage there is to the gut.
Poultry farmer Thomas Wornham says he believes the presence of hatching helps reduce turnaround time between batches and the days of preparation needed to place eggs. He noticed that the hatching chicks were also calm, very quiet. Wornham said he felt the benefits of on-site hatching also included low mortality — his four batches averaged 2.4% — while he saw birds grow at a rate of 2.4kg at 36 days of age. The challenges associated with such systems include reduced maintenance time, additional thermal energy needed to facilitate hatching, and water quality concerns due to low consumption. “The cost of additional thermal energy consumption can be offset by the reduction in feed requirements at one day of age at the start of batch. It is very important that the breeder is able to be proactive and intuitive to get the best out of the flock.”