AgSpeak Blog

AgSpeak Magazine Vol. 4, No. 1

The strongest possible commitment to customer support drives nearly everything we do at VAL-CO. In the latest edition of AgSpeak™, you will read about how we support our customers with training on the proper use and maintenance of our equipment. Our Tech Support team is available by phone 24/7 but is also hands-on and corrects […]

Poultry Red Mites

Red poultry mites are one of the most common external parasites to plague commercial egg flocks and backyard birds alike. They are a common vector of pathogenic diseases, but are arguably a bigger problem on their own. The two-week life cycle of the red mite means they reproduce rapidly. They prefer high heat, high humidity […]

Methods for Managing Heat Stress

We’ve all seen it before – it’s the middle of the day and your broilers are hunkered down on the floor, wings slightly spread, and panting fast. Your birds are too hot, and are spending their energy trying to cool themselves rather than eating, drinking, and growing. In swine we see similar actions – pigs […]

The Importance of Water Pressure & Volume

It’s easy to forget the importance of the water supply when the power is running and the pump is working; when water is coming into the house. The increasingly hot weather only highlights the importance of having an adequate amount of water available to help birds regulate their temperature. Two factors affect the availability of […]

Understanding Rodents & Controlling Them

Rats and mice have long been a problem on farms where food and nesting sites are plentiful. They are carriers of some 45 diseases and are capable of contaminating farm feed and water supplies helping to spread disease from contaminated to uncontaminated areas and from animal to animal. Many of these diseases are harmful to […]

Equipment Care – Watering Lines

We have to care for equipment in the poultry house in order to keep it working for as long as possible. Water is the most important nutrient that we can supply to our birds, so we should take extra care to ensure that the water delivery system is always clean and free of debris. It […]

Preparing for Spring – Tunnel & Exhaust Fans

Fans get used all year long, but they still require regular maintenance and cleaning so that they continue to work smoothly and efficiently. Remember to put safety first, and always unplug the fans before performing any maintenance procedure. Start the summer off right with a little care, and a lot of fan performance! Subscribe to […]

Breeder Barn Maintenance – Flat Chain Feeding

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Setting Up & Troubleshooting a Gas Cremator

A cremator is a great method of mortality removal. It uses relatively little energy, works quickly to reduce mortality to ash, and kills all potential pathogens in the process. Properly setting up and troubleshooting a cremator are imperative if the unit is going to function the way it was designed to, so we are here […]

Breeder Management to Avoid Floor Eggs

Floor eggs are bound to happen, but too many floor eggs will require corrective action to prevent a recurring problem. Floor laying is habitual, and once it become routine, there is no way to stop it. Therefore, good nest setup and maintenance is necessary from the very beginning. To start, you can “train” pullets during […]

Male Spiking to Maintain Fertility

Spiking is the addition of young broiler breeder males into an older flock to compensate for the decline in fertility that occurs around 35 weeks of age. This decline in fertility could happen for several reasons – a lack in mating interest or decrease in sperm quality, a decrease in mating efficiency or an increase […]

Preparing for Spring – Cool Cell Pads

Spring is in the air! As the temperature starts to rise we have to start thinking ahead and getting our barns ready for warmer weather. Part of that preparation process includes cleaning up the cool cell pad system and making sure all of the necessary components are working. We’ve developed this comprehensive checklist on how […]

How Automation Changed Broiler Breeder Rearing

Remember back in the day when breeder eggs were hand gathered from galvanized nests? Farming was a lot different then than it is now. Today, automation is in full swing and moving forward. Conventional nests are still being used today in various applications, but they require a significant amount of manual labor. From collecting eggs […]

Nest Pad Care for Cleaner Eggs

Nest pads are used as a hygienic alternative to other nesting amendments. Straw, peat, and litter all work as nesting substrates, but hold more dirt and debris than nest pads, and often don’t allow eggs to roll out of the nest so easily, which can result in cracks and damage. Nest pads are designed with […]

Preventing African Swine Fever in the US

For most of the 20th century, African Swine Fever had been comfortably concealed in Eastern and Southern Africa. First described in Kenya in the 1920’s as an acute hemorrhagic fever, African Swine Fever was noticed in domestic swine after they had come into contact with wildlife, primarily warthogs. With globalization and industrialization came the spread […]

Extend Fan Life with Regular Maintenance

Fans are arguably the most important component to an effective ventilation design, and therefore require regular maintenance to keep them working at their full capacity for as long as possible. We’ve developed some guidelines to help keep performance up flock after flock. Inspect the propeller Check that it is secure on the shaft and there […]

Winter Management of Tunnel Ventilation Devices

Wintertime weather brings its own unique challenges for growers.  Cold temperatures force growers to focus on keeping buildings warm while simultaneously maintaining good air quality without breaking the bank with heating costs.  For most of the cold weather months ventilation needs are adequately covered by “minimum ventilation” and the first couple stages of cooling. So […]

Optimize Chick Performance with Gas-Fired, Low-intensity Infrared Heaters

Integrators and growers are continually evaluating and implementing automated technologies to produce birds more efficiently. The management of poultry houses during the early brooding stage of a chick’s life largely determines whether they will reach their full potential. Every hour that a chick’s environment is less than optimum reduces growth rate and increases feed conversion. […]

Creative Problem Solving for Frozen Feed

This week farmers across the countries endured possibly the worst thing about winter: bitter freezing cold. Some parts of the Midwest were colder than Antarctica. In Pennsylvania, it was in the negative double digits. Frigid temps cause frozen everything, the worst of which might be frozen feed lines. And the worst thing about frozen feed […]

Wet Litter & Antibiotic-free… BFFs?

Litter serves many roles in a poultry barn – insulation, dust bath, scratch area, and importantly, moisture absorber.  This last role is important because houses that are too dry are dusty and can lead to higher incidences of respiratory disease in birds, but too wet leads to ammonia-related illnesses including footpad dermatitis, breast blisters, and […]