Transcript Alternative Poultry Production Small-Scale Poultry Training Apr. 27, 2006 Anne Fanatico Graduate Student/Program Associate Program Specialist.

Alternative Poultry Production
Small-Scale Poultry Training
Apr. 27, 2006
Anne Fanatico
Graduate Student/Program Associate
Program Specialist
Poultry Production
Systems
Conventional
Layers – cages
Broilers – litter
Alternative Poultry Production Systems
Enriched cages
Cage-free
Aviaries
Outdoor access
• Allows birds to express natural behaviors (foraging, dustbathing)
• Can provide a healthy environment
Ample space
UV sunlight
Fresh air
•“Extensive production” vs. “intensive production”
USDA definition for free-range poultry; not very
specific
“Free-range” permitted on labels after review process
• Producer submits description of production
• Livestock have free access to out-of-doors
for at least 51% of their lives”
Example of Definitions: European Union
Free-Range
• Finishing feed must at least 70% cereal (low protein)
• Minimum age at slaughter: chickens must be 56 days of
age or older
• Maximum stocking density for indoor area: 13 chickens
per 10.8 ft2 (with a maximum of 59.5 lbs of total
liveweight)
• 13 ft of pophole per 1076 ft2 of house
• Outdoor area mainly covered by vegetation
• Birds must have outdoor access for at least half of their
lifetime
• Maximum stocking density for outdoor area: 1 chicken
per 10.8 ft2 (4033 chickens/ac)
Traditional Free-Range
• Strains: only slow-growing
• Minimum age at slaughter: chickens must be at least 81 days
• Finishing feed must be at least 70% cereal
• Maximum stocking density for indoor area: 12 chickens
per 10.8 ft2 (with a maximum of 55 lbs of total liveweight)
• Maximum stocking density can be increased to 20 chickens
if doors are left open at night
• 13 ft of pophole per 1076 ft2 of house
• Flock size (house): House can’t have more than 4,800 chickens
• Flock size (site): 17,222 ft2 of poultry houses at a single site
(limits number of birds)
•Chickens must have outdoor access after 6 weeks
• Maximum stocking density for outdoor area: 21.6 ft2 per chicken
(2026 chickens per acre)
Free-Range Production Systems:
Fixed House and Yard
Large-scale
Automated house
Subdivide yards
In order to rotate
Or rest pasture
Portable housing
Moved frequently or infrequently
On wheels
Eggmobile
Skids
Floor vs no floor
Use of portable electronet fencing
Houses moved frequently
Houses moved infrequently
Pasture pens
Cons: Very labor-intensive to move pens daily by hand,
provide little protection from the elements
Pros: Flexible, low-cost, good for beginners
Portable shelter
Pasture pens are moved daily
Floorless
Shelter
Many different types and modifications
Integrated Poultry Production
Poultry manure good for building soil fertility for gardens
and pastures, organic fertilizer encourages earthworms
Cattle parasite control
Sheep manage sward for poultry
Stagger species in paddock
Graze simultaneously
Cattle and goats may disturb poultry housing
Exclusion feeding
Complementary with vegetable production
“Chicken Tractor”
Poultry raised with
vegetable
production for:
fertility
tillage
weed control
pest control
“Stack” enterprises: hoophouse overwinters rabbits
and layers; grows early vegetables
Poultry and corn in vineyard
Urban Poultry
Eglu for the suburbs
Look back
in history
Land Management
Provide the same services outdoors as indoors
Feed and water outside encourages
birds to go outside
Provide shade
and shelter
Chickens do not
like open range
Provide sufficient popholes so birds can find
their way outside
Pasture management
Poultry obtain limited nutrients from forage
Keep forage short and vegetative
• Forage is usually planned for the ruminants
• Diverse pasture needed
• Cool season: oats; warm-season: clover, alfalfa
• Legume forages increase omega-3 fatty
acids in eggs and meat
Dryland provides little green forage but has other benefits
of outdoor access
• Rotate pastures every 2-3 months
• Mobile house is ideal
• If house is fixed, subdivide yard into
at least 4 yards
Multiple yarding
Source: Thear, 1997
Consequences of
not rotating/resting:
• Turf damage
• Pathogens build up
• Excessive nutrients
Predator Control
Ground predator control:
• Electronet fencing
• Humane traps
Overhead predator control:
• Net covering
• Interfere with flight
Long rectangle yards
String
Guardian dogs
Housing
Housing protects chickens from rain, wind, sun, predators,
Insulation reduces temperature extremes
Many styles depending on
Shelter vs. house
Fixed vs. portable
Materials:
•Built of wood, sheet metal, poultry wire
•Concrete, brick
•Developing countries: Adobe, bamboo, thatch
Roof:
•Rainproof: Tarps, sheet metal, shingles, wood
•Roof should have a large overhang to provide shade and
prevent rain from getting in
•Insulated
Power
Orient so birds are not exposed to direct sunlight
Floor: dirt, gravel with wire mesh to keep out rats, concrete
Raised floor: wood, slats
Solid floor: use litter
Make house easy to clean
Ventilation
Usually natural because popholes open
Makes use of air movement (hot air rises, cold
air falls)
Build roof high above floor to create differential
Open side walls or curtains for cross ventilation
Mechanical ventilation (fans) can help exhaust
air out building more quickly
Ventilation tricky in winter because producers
keep house more tightly closed
Temperature
If house is not heated, birds eat more in cold
weather to stay warm
Heat stress is more of a problem
Should not be over 85 F in house, birds pant
Use a thermometer to display recent high and low
Lighting
Dark period is needed for good health
Usually natural in alternative poultry production
Usually bright
Reduce intensity if aggression occurs
Incandescent or fluorescent
Artificial light important for managing layers
Electrical, battery-powered, kerosene
Litter
Litter dilutes manure
Wood shavings, rice hulls
Keep litter in good condition; wet litter causes many
problems
30% moisture
Clean out
Litter provides nutrients for crops and forage
Compost is good soil amendment
Alternative litter management
Interest in composting litter to reduce volume and
to provide a healthy, probiotic environment
Requires more carbon
Air Quality
Measure ammonia levels
Paper strips
Drag tubes
Meter
Small-Scale
Brooding
Heat lamps
Hovers
Standing, insulated
Hover; electrical
Outdoor access during brooding
Warm litter before chicks arrive
Put feed in pans
Keep chicks at 90 F and with full light for first few days
Rodent Control
• Habitat reduction
• Physical exclusion from facilities and feed
• Trapping
• Predators
• Rodenticides/Baits
• Anticoagulents
• Vitamin D metabolites
• Single dose toxins
• Sulfur dioxide (smoke bombs) for underground control
Equipment: Waterers
Simplest type of water
Can inverted on a pan
To keep litter dry, place waterer on wire-covered platform
Buckets can provide small reservoirs, but carrying
buckets of water is labor-intensive;
Serving mobile houses or pens is difficult
To reduce having to refill waterers often,use a large
barrel connected to the waterer; gravity fed
Pipe in water
Reduces labor
Types of waterers:
Founts (not automatic)
Float value
Bowl
Bell
Nipple
Cleanliness
• Water sources
• Water quality
• Don’t let birds drink out of puddles
Too cold
• Use bucket heaters or heating tape to prevent freezes
• Use all metal values for freezable systems; plastic splits
Too hot
• Shade water
• Use a large reservoir
Feeders
Troughs
Put a spin bar on top to prevent roosting
Enough feeder space should be provided so all birds can
feed at one time
Troughs: Only put in a small amount of feed at a time to
prevent wasting (feed several times a day)
Old style trough
Height of ledge can be adjusted
Bin Feeders
Store feed so no
need to feed
several times
per day
Hanging feeder
Adjust feeders to bird back level
Feeder and waterer should be raised here
Range feeders
Bulk feeders
Automated systems
Pan feeders
Perches
Chickens like to roost at night
Nestboxes
Baskets, cardboard boxes, pots
Dust-bath