Poultry Your Way - Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems ...

MANAGEMENT
ALTERNATIVES
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Poultry Your Way
MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES
INDUSTRIAL: CONFINEMENT
Feed and Water. Birds raised in confinement are fed very specialized diets to meet nutritional needs
throughout different growth and production stages. Complete feeds are nutritionally balanced to promote bird
health, growth, and production for the least cost (least-cost diets). They may contain grain, livestock byproducts
(such as meat and bone meal or feathermeal), and medication (Fanatico, 2002a). The integrator with which
you contract will provide a complete feed for your birds. You may use between four and eight different diets,
depending on your contractor’s feed regimen, to take your birds from the brooder stage to slaughter (California
Poultry Workgroup, 1998).
Feeding is done entirely indoors with the help of equipment. Feeders are activated by a time clock to ensure
fresh feed is available for broilers, turkeys, and layers. In most cases birds are given continuous access to feed
and water (called “free choice” or “ad libitim”). More recently, however, some commercial broiler and breeder
operations have begun turning to a restricted feed routine to reduce late-term mortality associated with heart
failure. When feed is restricted to eight hours for broilers during days 7 to 28, there is a significant reduction of
ascites (fluid in the heart cavity) and late-term mortality (heart attack) rates (Mattocks, 2002).
Equipment and Supplies. Industrial equipment is almost always automated and designed for very specific
tasks. The most common equipment and supplies needed include:
• Brooder stoves
• Automatic feeders and waterers
• Nipple drinkers
• Misters
• Fans
• Bulk feed storage bins
• Pan-type feeders
• Front-end loader for clean out
• High-pressure sprayer for cleaning
• Hoses and brushes
• Disinfectants
• Manure spreader
• Truck with trailer
Integrators will help you determine what equipment is needed and where to find it at the lowest cost. Most
likely, you will be purchasing equipment new since technological improvements occur so frequently that used
equipment is quickly considered inefficient. Specified equipment is purchased by the producer.
Health and Welfare. Flock mortality averages five percent for broilers and between ten to twelve percent
for turkeys on industrially managed farms (National Chicken Council, 2002). Growers who employ industrial
practices maintain health and welfare from a biosecurity approach. Industrial-style managers use the following
preventive measures to limit disease, bird injury, and mortalities:
• Biosecurity precautions • Beak trimming for turkeys
• Sanitation • Staff training
• Vaccination
Biosecurity precautions. Routine biosecurity measures include: limiting visitors; providing foot-baths, showers,
and protective clothing; restricting workers’ contact with other poultry; controlling rodents and wild birds; and
confining pets away from production barns (California Poultry Workgroup, 1998). Sanitation measures involve the
complete cleaning and disinfecting of housing and equipment in between flocks.
Another biosecurity issue is air quality—both inside and outside the barn. Litter moisture must be maintained at
the proper level to prevent the buildup of dust and ammonia, which can be fatal to the birds. During the winter,
this can be a challenge—managers must carefully balance ventilation and fresh air with the need to retain heat in
the buildings.
Vaccination and beak trimming. Vaccination is a common preventive measure performed at the hatchery for
both broilers and turkeys. Follow-up vaccines depend on which diseases, if any, are prevalent in the area. Beak
trimming is another common preventive measure performed at the hatchery for turkeys.