As in earlier years, poultry farmers are presently going through quite a lot of challenges. These embrace, specifically, an extra enchancment in animal welfare and animal well being, as demanded by politicians and society. When it comes to animal well being, they need to proceed to give attention to the extremely contagious hen flu (avian influenza). Decreasing antibiotic use and emissions from poultry farming can also be on the to-do checklist of many firms. And final however not least, poultry farmers have to deal with greater feed and power costs. The tendencies proven are mirrored within the improvements within the poultry sector at EuroTier 2024. Along with revolutionary developments for bettering animal well being, exhibitors can even 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. So as 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 yr, quite a lot of improvements had been launched to enhance animal well being, and these had been honoured with a complete of 5 medals.
Vital additional improvement in poultry vaccination
Optimising vaccination success whereas additionally bettering animal dealing with is a vital prerequisite for a protracted lifespan and for avoiding vaccination harm. Two improvements had 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 when it comes to accuracy and vaccination success. The system permits the simultaneous injection of as much as six totally different vaccines with unprecedented precision and velocity, 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 manner, by manually catching the birds and holding them in a sure place towards the machine. It was subsequently awarded silver. Each vaccination strategies symbolize a major development within the subject of poultry vaccination and provide 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 know-how of the EX Chilly Plasma Mite Lure from MIK Worldwide makes use of a mite entice to fight mites by exposing the parasites to a chilly atmospheric stress plasma. This might cut 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.
Increased disinfection efficiency for hatching eggs
Hygiene through the hatching course of can also be an vital issue for the animal well being of poultry. The eggytizer from Agri Superior Applied sciences (AAT) makes use of electron beam sterilisation know-how (eBeam) to disinfect hatching eggs. The method permits a better stage of disinfection than typical strategies and, in preliminary trials, confirmed a greater hatching fee. The usage of this know-how is predicted 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 as a result of advanced and irregularly formed amenities on totally different ranges. When cleansing manually, some areas are tough to achieve, which suggests numerous 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 methods. The well-known washing robotic has been prolonged by a really versatile washing arm that makes it potential to achieve all areas in an aviary. This development was awarded silver.
Improved animal welfare for laying hens
Elevating laying hens with intact beaks and optimally getting 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 function. 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 top of the laying section, do not need to be transported and do not should develop into accustomed to a brand new system and a brand new coop. This technique may considerably cut back the stress on the animals and contribute to higher animal welfare.
Ergonomic perch
Perches are an vital ingredient in laying hen farming methods, because the birds use them for roosting at night time and for resting through the day. They have to additionally present an excellent 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 after they fly as much as it. As well as, the perch is constructed from recycled, high- high quality plastic.
Larval snacks for chicks
Within the first few weeks of life, chickens naturally eat primarily bugs and worms. So as to maintain 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 dwell larvae are gently disbursed at particular time intervals.
Abstract
5 medals will probably be awarded for revolutionary developments at EuroTier 2024 that intention 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 current years in the direction of bettering poultry farming whereas additionally facilitating labour administration and growing occupational security.
Supply: EuroTier
