As in earlier years, poultry farmers are at the moment going through a variety of challenges. These embrace, particularly, an additional 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 concentrate on the extremely contagious hen flu (avian influenza). Decreasing antibiotic use and emissions from poultry farming can be on the to-do checklist of many corporations. And final however not least, poultry farmers have to deal with increased feed and power costs. The traits proven are mirrored within the improvements within the poultry sector at EuroTier 2024. Along with revolutionary developments for bettering animal well being, exhibitors will even be presenting improvements for rearing and for laying hen services.
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 similar 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, a variety of improvements had been launched to enhance animal well being, and these had been honoured with a complete of 5 medals.
Important additional growth in poultry vaccination
Optimising vaccination success whereas additionally bettering animal dealing with is a crucial 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 growth that revolutionises poultry vaccination by way of accuracy and vaccination success. The system allows 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 Huge Dutchman Worldwide is the primary semi-automatic vaccination machine that may concurrently administer 4 chest and one wing vaccination in an animal-friendly method, by manually catching the birds and holding them in a sure place in opposition to the system. It was subsequently awarded silver. Each vaccination strategies signify a big development within the subject of poultry vaccination and supply main enhancements with regard to operate and process.
Combating crimson hen mites with out chemical compounds
The crimson 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 strain plasma. This might cut back the usage of acaricides, silicates or antiparasitics sooner or later and considerably enhance animal well being and financial effectivity. A gold medal was awarded right here as effectively.
Greater disinfection efficiency for hatching eggs
Hygiene through the hatching course of can be an essential 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 allows a better stage of disinfection than typical strategies and, in preliminary trials, confirmed a greater hatching charge. 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 complicated and irregularly formed services on totally 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 Huge Dutchman Worldwide is a complicated washing robotic for cleansing rearing and laying hen coops with aviary techniques. The well-known washing robotic has been prolonged by a really versatile washing arm that makes it doable 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 objective. Huge Dutchman Worldwide went one step additional by combining the well-known Natura Nova Laying Aviary with a rearing aviary wherein hatching is even doable within the coop. The hens can stay right here from hatching till the tip of the laying section, would not have to be transported and do not must turn into accustomed to a brand new system and a brand new coop. This technique might considerably cut back the stress on the animals and contribute to better animal welfare.
Ergonomic perch
Perches are an essential ingredient in laying hen farming techniques, because the birds use them for roosting at evening and for resting through the day. They have to additionally present a great 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 high and has ridges to forestall hens from slipping off once they fly as much as it. As well as, the perch is comprised of 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 similar time present them with high-quality protein, the corporate WEDA Dammann & Westerkamp has developed ‘ProBar – The Larvae Snack Bar’ for poultry. Right here, a couple of dwell larvae are gently disbursed at particular time intervals.
Abstract
5 medals might be awarded for revolutionary developments at EuroTier 2024 that goal 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 development of current years in the direction of bettering poultry farming whereas additionally facilitating labour administration and growing occupational security.
Supply: EuroTier
