To ensure the maximum outcome in poultry farming, it is necessary to be vigilant about the signs that show possible failures in the way which the production is managed.
In fertile egg production, for instance, there are some performance indicators that might contribute to avoid pointless losses and to optimize profits of grange’s profit.
We talked about four of these indicators below, check it out:
Do you monitor the number variation on chicks that hatch in the grange? Poultry farmers know that it is usual that some eggs don’t hatch, but when the unhatching egg rates are too high, there is something wrong about the way that the eggs are being handled.
Besides that it is a strong indicator of how is the grange’s productivity, it also helps in local hygiene control, once that one of the causes for unhatching might be related to egg contamination. So, the poultry farmer or production manager must look for answers to these questions::
To the noted example, embryo death by egg contamination, enhancements could be verified in the disinfection method. In this case, a method that ensures higher egg hatching rates can generate a raise in the grange’s production.
Another indicator related to egg loss is the number of cracked eggs. In addition of not being suitable for incubation, those are also non-edible eggs. Therefore, they must be discarded – which explains the fact of a high rate of cracked eggs are responsible for harming the grange’s income.
One of the reasons for a high rate of cracked eggs is the lack of proper care in handling, as at the moment that they are put in the incubating tray. Another possible cause is the egg build up in the barn. To avoid losses for this reason, it is recommended that the collection is made, at least, four times a day – six when is at its peak production. The usage of inadequate equipment to carry out the collection – such as baskets, buckets, sharp plastic trays – could also add to the increase of the number of cracked eggs (choose fiber trays over plastic).
Even after the eggs have hatched, it is possible to assess the quality of fertile egg production in the grange, watching the chicks. How many die just after birth? A high mortality rate could e related to problems in egg handling. The scraping, for instance, is a cleaning method used by some poultry farmers. However, it is a method that may render the egg’s interior more vulnerable to infections. Beyond reducing hatching rates, it could affect the number of healthy newborn chicks as well. Thus, improving the egg disinfection method also enables a greater quantity of chicks in the grange.
Finding out the cause to a high rate of chicks that do not survive and eliminating these flaws in how the management of fertile egg production is being done is fundamental to ensure better results in poultry farming.
How the chicks develop in the grange? If many of them are not growing strong, it is also a sign that something might be wrong in the eggs. Chicks that come from cracked eggs, for example, tend to be smaller than those born in unspoilt eggs. Eggs like these should not be put in the incubator, because they could explode and contaminate other eggs. However, sometimes the crack might be invisible to the eyes of the farmer. The egg candling helps to identify the integrity of the egg and reduce the risks of infection by explosions on the incubator
Which other performance indicators do you use to ensure the maximum productivity in the grange? Share in the comments!
