Page 4 - Demo

There are pros and cons to debeaking.
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Page 4 – National Poultry Newspaper, May 2022
www.poultrynews.com.au
WHILE switching to white fully beaked chickens requires close attention to detail, ac- cording to the United Kingdom-based farmer Phil Davies from Powys in Wales, it can improve production and welfare.
straight away,” Mr Davies said.
Mr Davies and wife Hel- en began free range egg production in 2018 using brown birds.
In the current flock, only 10 birds are handled each night in the first few days, keeping stress and flock disruption to a minimum.
But they moved to ful- ly beaked white Dekalb birds from their second flock after discussions with their egg packer Stonegate, according to a recent story in UK’s Farmers Weekly.
Initially, Mr Davies was concerned at potential increased injury to the birds and what the impact would be on the day-to- day running of the flock.
ensuring the set-up of the rearing shed matched the laying shed to help the pullets settle quickly on arrival.
As well as matching shed layout to what the pullets experienced dur- ing rearing, ensuring the routine remained the same, helped the flock settle quickly and start gaining weight.
With many retailers eyeing a move to fully beaked systems and the promise of a hardier bird with greater longevity, the move made sense.
But advice from suppli- ers and making minor ad- justments to the manage- ment has helped achieve a seamless transition.
The farm’s rearer uses a multi-tier arrangement, which exactly matches the system in the Davies’ 16,000 bird laying shed.
Initially, feeding times and light levels match those from the rearing shed, but can be adjusted as the flock progresses.
What looks right, brown or white?
Colourful debeaking debate
Cant
Comment
by BRENDON CANT
That process began by
“When they arrive, pul- lets move up onto the tiers
For example, lighting
This reduces the time spent handling birds to get them to use the system in the first few nights in the laying shed.
* continued P5