Preventing Barn Fires Barn fires wreak havoc in many ways. In addition to the damage to business and livelihood, barn fires are a great danger to employees, neighbors, and livestock. It is crucial to take steps to prevent, as much as possible, barn fires from occurring. Barn fires can be caused by a variety of […]
Read More >E.coli – Symptoms, Prevention, Treatment
Escherichia coli, or E. coli is distributed among poultry of all ages. The Escherichia bacteria is a natural inhabitant of the gut in poultry and most other animals. Normally, it is kept in check by other bacterium in the gut, but if large colonies form it can cause severe discomfort, illness, and mortality. E. coli is […]
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Water Consumption vs. Water Usage
Water consumption vs water usage Broiler chickens consume roughly two pounds of water for every pound of food consumed, making water the nutritional backbone of broiler performance. Having palatable, plentiful drinking water is always important, but perhaps even more so during periods of heat stress, when consumption increases to help regulate body temperature. Water consumption […]
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ASPECTS OF LIGHT FOR POULTRY PRODUCTION
ASPECTS OF LIGHT FOR POULTRY PRODUCTION: Birds sense light via the eyes and via the pineal gland, and through deep encephalic photoreceptors in the hypothalamus. Therefore, their circadian rhythm is controlled by changes in day length and light intensity. Successful farmers use this to manipulate the environment to maximize productivity. Breeders: Light stimulation is critical […]
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Management Minute – Broiler Weight Monitoring
Management Minute – Broiler Weight Monitoring Broiler weight is an important parameter when growing broilers. After all, the end goal of raising broilers is to get as many birds to market as possible, using the least amount of feed, and producing the greatest amount of meat. With pressures on the industry to reduce antibiotic usage, […]
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How Proper Humidity Control Helps You Raise Healthy Poultry
How Proper Humidity Control Helps You Raise Healthy Poultry Raising and looking after poultry is a strenuous process that demands patience and dedication, regardless of whether you’re bringing up broilers or not. However, with the help of incubators, we can at least get embryos and hatchlings off to a good start. They have precise environmental […]
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Why Humidity is Relative to Flock Management
Why Humidity is “Relative” to flock management Temperature and air quality go hand in hand with humidity, and all three directly result in a healthy flock, egg production and egg quality. However, humidity gets the least attention in the industry. Most, if not all growers, farmers, managers, and helpers directly related or responsible for a […]
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Caged VS Cage Free Egg Laying Systems
Caged vs Cage Free Egg Laying Systems The two common types housing used in the egg laying industry are Caged and Cage Free. Up until recently, the most common style in the United States has been the caged system. This system was efficient and a proven method to produced table eggs, but because of public […]
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Chain Tension, Feed Depth for Breeder Hens
Chain Tension and Feed Depth for Broiler Breeder Hens Chain feeding has been in use for decades. Typically, they require little maintenance, but can be a problem if the tension of the chain in the loop or the feed volume is not right for the birds and equipment. Chain Tension There is a certain tightness […]
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Tips for Organic Bird Operations
Tips for Organic Bird Operations Organic chicken has gained popularity over the last few years for consumers. The grain that the feed is made from comes from certified organic farmland which follows strict guidelines on growing grain, such as how and what can be put on the fields for fertilizer and weed prevention. These fields […]
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Fan Maintenance for Efficient Ventilation
Fan maintenance for efficient ventilation Now that the warmer weather is upon us and temperatures are dictating the ramping up of our ventilation stages, it is a great time to check a few easy wear points of our barn fans to make sure they are still working at the efficiency we expect and count on. […]
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The “Duck” stops here…. When you think of the word “duck”, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For some of you, it probably sends you into “hunting mode” and you are making a beeline for the gun safe…sorry, that season is still several months away. But “Hey Jack”, we will have a […]
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Installing the Sentry Disinfectant Delivery System
Installing the Sentry Disinfecting System The Sentry Disinfecting System is a vehicle disinfectant delivery system that improves on-farm biosecurity. When setting up a new Sentry System, it is ideal to plan out where the trough for the undercarriage sprayer line needs to be, as well as the magnetic sensors before pouring the concrete. If the […]
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Tips for Chicks As many of you know, preparing for your next flock of chicks is crucial to the flock’s performance. Many growers will state that the time spent during this time out is where the “hard work” of growing birds is at. Below are tips to get your chicks off to a great start. […]
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Time to Spring into Action… I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it’s already spring and we are nearly a quarter of the way through 2020. With parts of the South already having temps in the 80’s, it will be summer before we know it and this winter will be a distant memory. […]
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Male Management for Best Performance
Male management for best performance Male management starts at placement of chicks. Floor temps need to be in the area of 98 degrees with chicks having access to heat, food, and plenty of fresh water. The caretaker must continually refresh food supply and water supply and maintain heat and ventilation, so birds are comfortable. House […]
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Is your farm on “ALERT STATUS”?
IS YOUR FARM ON “ALERT STATUS”? The current high-alert status within our country right now makes me think about how farms often go without being on “Alert” for signaling troubles before it’s too late. Alarm systems are essential for keeping your poultry houses safe and are yet another step in preventing major losses. I’ve seen […]
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