Managing broiler weight gain

As eating habits change, consumers increasingly buy chicken meat in the form of cuts and processed products instead of whole birds, the latter currently representing less than a quarter of household purchases. In an aim to remain competitive, the French agri-food industry puts demands on farmers to maximise yields. Conventional farming systems see the advantage of heavier standard broilers.

Nutritional solutions for broiler growth.

Longer rearing periods of up to 50 days can increase the amount of meat that can be used on the carcass. A chicken’s body composition changes over time and slaughtering older birds means the industry can yield more material for pro­cessing.

Nutrition plays a key role in achieving those performances. The team of nu­tritionists at Feedia develops feeding programmes that meet the animals’ ge­netic potential for maximised yields and better command over feed conversion ratios. Formulation is geared heavily towards gut health to limit in particular the incidence of pododermatitis. There is special focus on ensuring good mobi­lity and leg strength through diets with appropriate levels of phosphorous and calcium.

Animal husbandry, a key component in achieving a successful flock.

Of course, rearing conditions also play a vital role in flock success. Let’s not forget that to ensure good growth, it’s impor­tant to comply with guidelines in terms of housing management (temperature, ventilation, etc.) and material. Litter ma­nagement becomes even more critical with bird growth. There’s more risk of pododermatitis as animals gain weight or if they are housed in higher density conditions.

The digital tool WeFeed supports bree­ders and technical teams by offering a module for each of them to help monitor and analyse flock performance. Interme­diate weights, mortalities and visit and audit reports are viewable at any time. Monitoring the situation this closely will allow users to detect any potential devia­tions so that they can react as quickly as possible.

Which production strategy?

Heavy chicken production can take on numerous forms. Whether it involves mixed-sex or sexed poultry, removing and slaughtering a part of the flock helps optimise the volumes the farmer produ­ces.

Each organisation should reflect the op­timum production strategy by conside­ring constraints and specificities, inclu­ding scheduling, volumes for slaughter, industrial constraints, etc. And of course we must also consider breeder remune­ration, animal welfare, compliance with the regulatory framework and specifica­tions.

To support a farm’s organisation, We­Feed’s “projection” module lets users create scenarios with varying parame­ters such as density, male/female dis­tribution, slaughter weight, etc. This will help determine the best strategy to achieve target objectives.

Our experts are here to advise you on weight gain strategy and optimisation. Feel free to contact them for more in­formation.