Thread by @jahman_adamski

Cde's & friends,

Thread 🔥🔥🔥👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

On Poultry in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼

FEED

I have been doing some research and have come up with some important discoveries.

I think my advise would be useful to some!

I have seen poultry feed suppliers giving out calculations on what amount of feed is consumed by poultry through their life cycle. This is usually per 100 birds and is their selling point. In the pictures provided you will see the feed suppliers expectations through a complete

cycle with reference to the genetics performance guides.

This feed is supplied as crumb & Pellet.
The most efficient feed in order to achieve the goals the performance guide sets out.

Now, what I know is most poultry farmers in Zimbabwe work on a 6week cycle.

Thats 42 days

According to the Ross308 performance objectives @ 42 days your target weights should be 2.9KG with an FCR of 1.6

Most farmers are anything from,
1.9kg to 2.3kg after 42 days. Many are approximately 6 days behind the performance objective. There could be many reasons for this.

Given the calculation from feed suppliers you looking at a 1.7 FCR over a 42 day cycle.

Expectation of Feed consumption given by these suppliers shows you should be achieving 2.3kg birds @ 36days in accordance to the Performance guide.

So what am I getting at?

You might have had poor quality chicks to start off with, but that's something you should take up with the hatchery. There could be many reasons behind this. All flocks have traceability records. It's the LAW.

Yolk sack infection being the biggest issue.

•This can be cause from poor hygiene at the hatchery

• Poor hygiene at the parent farm.

• Chicks left in boxes for to long from hatchery, this can cause infection through faeces.

So you could be off to a bad start from the get go and its upto you...

To get those birds into the Vet for a PM so you can medicate. If you dont do so it is a serious welfare issue on your behalf. Medicate & cull out all birds that are non starters or showing illness.

Leaving sick birds in will not only compromise the flock.

they will NEVER achieve their full potential.

Be sure their is no wastage where feed is concerned. Weigh your birds once a week on their birthday so you can see what they achieving in accordance to the performance guide.

If your birds are underperforming be sure to get PM done. It is most likely they have an underlying infection.If not check your environment to make sure even yourself is comfortable in the poultry house. Best thing a poultry farmer can do is sit in the hse for 30mins and observe

Bird behaviour...check water & feed consumption daily. 24hr cycles, if all is well except water 💧 be sure to get an independent person to analyse the feed. In some cases feedmills get it wrong and formulars are not mixed correctly.

Ie. Lack of salt = poor water consumption

Getting back to feed suppliers...

Their expectations are only a guide and its upto you as a farmer to achieve the performance objectives given by the genetic companies.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL... I CANT STRESS THE Importance of this anymore its key.

If you doing all the right thing that means your feed supplier is not. Change feed suppliers and try achieve the performance objectives.

Its all about FCR if you not converting feed to meat well enough you not making money.

I would also like to put it to you that these feed concentrates are utter rubbish. If you can mill your own Maize with these concentrates.... you can mill your own complete ration. It is no more labour intensive than what they make it out to be.

This will give you full control of what nutrition is going into your birds and make it easier to monitor the process.Not only that, these feedmills are make $120 to $200 per tonne of you. Do your calculations in accordance to the performance guide.....see how much money is lost!

You will be suprised!!!

I thank you & hope you enjoy the thread.

Will Love ❤ DrCde Adamski Jahman 🔥

Performance objectives by feed company & Genetic company