As in earlier years, poultry farmers are at the moment going through quite a lot of challenges. These embrace, specifically, an additional enchancment in animal welfare and animal well being, as demanded by politicians and society. By way of animal well being, they have to proceed to give attention to the extremely contagious hen flu (avian influenza). Lowering antibiotic use and emissions from poultry farming can also be on the to-do listing of many corporations. And final however not least, poultry farmers have to deal with increased feed and vitality costs. The tendencies proven are mirrored within the improvements within the poultry sector at EuroTier 2024. Along with progressive developments for bettering animal well being, exhibitors may also be presenting improvements for rearing and for laying hen amenities.
Dr. Christiane Keppler, Landesbetrieb Landwirtschaft Hessen (LLH – Hesse State Framing Authority)
Laying hens are saved for considerably longer
In laying hen farming, appreciable efforts have been made to boost the birds with an intact beak and on the identical time to enhance animal welfare. With the intention to compensate for the excessive rearing prices, laying hens are and can proceed to be saved for considerably longer. This may be achieved by breeding for longer persistence of laying and by bettering animal well being and administration.
Improvements for bettering animal well being
This 12 months, quite a lot of improvements have been launched to enhance animal well being, and these have been honoured with a complete of 5 medals.
Important additional improvement in poultry vaccination
Optimising vaccination success whereas additionally bettering animal dealing with is a vital prerequisite for an extended lifespan and for avoiding vaccination harm. Two improvements have been honoured on this context: For instance, Agri Superior Applied sciences (AAT) has developed Vaccybot, the primary absolutely automated breast vaccination course of for poultry. It’s a new improvement that revolutionises poultry vaccination by way of accuracy and vaccination success. The system permits the simultaneous injection of as much as six completely different vaccines with unprecedented precision and pace, with out the necessity to maintain the animals in place by hand. This innovation was subsequently awarded gold. The MultiVacc vaccination machine from Large Dutchman Worldwide is the primary semi-automatic vaccination machine that may concurrently administer 4 chest and one wing vaccination in an animal-friendly approach, by manually catching the birds and holding them in a sure place in opposition to the gadget. It was subsequently awarded silver. Each vaccination strategies characterize a big development within the subject of poultry vaccination and supply main enhancements with regard to perform and process.
Preventing pink hen mites with out chemical compounds
The pink mite is discovered worldwide in poultry barns, particularly in laying hen operations. If the variety of mites will increase dramatically, animal well being and profitability are severely affected. The brand new expertise of the EX Chilly Plasma Mite Entice from MIK Worldwide makes use of a mite entice to fight mites by exposing the parasites to a chilly atmospheric stress plasma. This might scale back using acaricides, silicates or antiparasitics sooner or later and considerably enhance animal well being and financial effectivity. A gold medal was awarded right here as nicely.
Larger disinfection efficiency for hatching eggs
Hygiene in the course of the hatching course of can also be an necessary issue for the animal well being of poultry. The eggytizer from Agri Superior Applied sciences (AAT) makes use of electron beam sterilisation expertise (eBeam) to disinfect hatching eggs. The method permits a better degree of disinfection than standard strategies and, in preliminary trials, confirmed a greater hatching charge. The usage of this expertise is anticipated to enhance chick well being and supply an financial benefit whereas eliminating the necessity for chemical disinfectants. The eggytizer was subsequently awarded silver.
Enhanced washing robotic for aviaries
Cleansing and disinfecting laying hen coops is a problem because of the complicated and irregularly formed amenities on completely different ranges. When cleansing manually, some areas are troublesome to succeed in, which implies a variety of work and cleansing outcomes that aren’t all the time passable. The Sharky 430 from Large Dutchman Worldwide is a complicated washing robotic for cleansing rearing and laying hen coops with aviary programs. The well-known washing robotic has been prolonged by a really versatile washing arm that makes it potential to succeed in all areas in an aviary. This development was awarded silver.
Improved animal welfare for laying hens
Elevating laying hens with intact beaks and optimally making ready them for the situations within the laying aviary is a problem. The Vencomatic Group has improved its well-known Bolegg Starter Breeding Aviary for this goal. Large Dutchman Worldwide went one step additional by combining the well-known Natura Nova Laying Aviary with a rearing aviary by which hatching is even potential within the coop. The hens can stay right here from hatching till the tip of the laying section, do not need to be transported and do not need to turn into accustomed to a brand new system and a brand new coop. This technique might considerably scale back the stress on the animals and contribute to larger animal welfare.
Ergonomic perch
Perches are an necessary factor in laying hen farming programs, because the birds use them for roosting at evening and for resting in the course of the day. They have to additionally present a very good grip to make sure protected touchdown. The corporate BARKU Barnsdorfer Kunststofftechnik has developed a brand new ergonomic plastic perch for laying hens that’s flattened on the prime and has ridges to forestall hens from slipping off once they fly as much as it. As well as, the perch is made out of recycled, high- high quality plastic.
Larval snacks for chicks
Within the first few weeks of life, chickens naturally eat primarily bugs and worms. With the intention to hold the animals occupied and on the identical time present them with high-quality protein, the corporate WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp has developed ‘ProBar – The Larvae Snack Bar’ for poultry. Right here, just a few reside larvae are gently allotted at particular time intervals.
Abstract
5 medals shall be awarded for progressive developments at EuroTier 2024 that purpose to enhance the well being of poultry. These improvements, together with different developments which have the potential to enhance animal welfare, are persevering with the pattern of latest years in direction of bettering poultry farming whereas additionally facilitating labour administration and rising occupational security.
Supply: EuroTier
