Need help starting a layer production? On this episode of Farmer’s Inside Track, Gay Boomgaard, divisional technical manager for poultry at Meadow Feed, shares tips on how new farmers can set up a laying hen operation.
Any farmer should know that in order for their layer production to be successful, biosecurity is fundamental and should therefore not be ignored.
“Biosecurity is the best method of preventing disease. Some simple processes to [follow] include controlling movements of people and equipment, as well as limiting access to the farm and the movement between houses on the farm.”
Another way is to limit contact of free ranging birds and wild poultry on the farm. Boomgaard points to various other ways in which biosecurity can be ensured on a poultry farm.
With layer production there are various housing systems that farmers can explore, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Boomgaard explains the pros and cons of layers in a battery cage system, and layers on a floor system
“There are some combination systems… which are more suitable for adult birds. The design of the house should be carefully considered together with the environmental conditions.”
Water, lighting and ventilation
In the episode she also breaks down why water, lighting and air control is important to the overall well-being of layers.
Starting with water, Boomgaard explains why fresh and quality water is so essential in layer production. Layers, she says, should drink twice the amount of water than the weight of feed they would consume. It’s a good thing to get your water supply tested before your layers drink it, she advises.
Boomgaard also unpacks what comfortable temperatures for layers are and lists reasons why proper ventilation is required.
In this episode Boomgaard also details:
- The importance of quality feed;
- What Meadow Feeds offer farmers; and
- How environmental conditions, housing and the breed affect the amount of feed fed to layers.
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
Option 1: Click here to listen on Spotify (all mobile and other devices).
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Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
ALSO READ: This #SoilSista’s poultry farm puts quality first
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