Today is: Thursday 17 May 2012 21:40:52
Husbandry
In the icy weather that we are currently having, the Accident and Emergency Departments in the hospitals are likely to be treating an increased number of people with broken bones. It is likely that there will be more elderly people with broken bones than young ones. Bones can become more fragile as we get older. We don’t bounce so well! B...
Very occasionally a feed mill may make a mistake. This is not knock the mill time, because it is impressive how load after load, the feed quality invariably matches the specifications / formulae. Nevertheless mistakes can occasionally happen and this may make a big dent in your egg production, egg size and profitability. When this happens, the f...
The Ranger magazine provides a whole host of husbandry and veterinary information to free range egg producers. To receive the Ranger visit www.theranger.co.uk In the hurly-burly of every day life where there are increased stresses, conflicting priorities and added distractions, it is easy to become ’side tracked’. We sometimes forge...
For many free range egg producers there is now absolutely no incentive to produce Very Large eggs. For many, the price received for Very Large eggs is now only one penny per dozen more than for Large ones. This is something of a problem for producers because it is difficult to know how to manage the flocks to produce neither Medium eggs (worth abo...
Not long ago, many arable farmers regarded poultry manure as something that would be worth using so long as no money changed hands. Times have changed. Because of the crippling rise in the costs of artificial fertilisers, manure from free range hens is now regarded by many as a good source of nutrients for the crops, at a lower total cost than us...
During 2008, the financial problems that we are and will be facing have led to a reduction in the sales of organic eggs. Fortunately for the free range egg industry, those who have been purchasing organic eggs seem to be deciding that the perceived welfare advantage of free range egg production is one of the key factors in their decision making. ...
This is the time of year when some free range egg producers are able to thank their lucky stars that the hens are in warm and dry houses. Oh, are they? Not everyone keeps hens in large houses. What about the mobile ones? Not all hens are able to escape the weather. I have written in the past about summertime problems. In the winter a differen...
With the increase in pullet prices organised gangs are targeting free range farms stealing in large numbers and possibly to order. Whilst most of the thefts have involved rare-breeds their are reports of laying stock also being targeted. Retired gas engineer Nigel Cank, who had 150 of his 200 rare-breed poultry stolen in one night, said yeste...
Pale shelled eggs and vitamin D3 In the June issue of the Ranger, I discussed the problem of pale shelled eggs in the summertime. I suggested that healthy unstressed and well-feathered hens in houses with no red mite ought not to lay many paler shelled eggs. Since then, useful research by Judy Ryan / University College, Dublin has shown that, al...
This is a very common problem on free range farms. Eggs are allowed to get too big. Ah, but I hear you say, "the price of large and extra large eggs encourages me to produce large eggs, so that is what I do". The reply to that is, "clearly profitability is reduced if eggs are too small but it is not necessarily improved by allowing eggs to get to...
With feed constituting a major component of any animal production system and in the case of egg production, the major cost, it is vital that every aspect of the diet is correct in order to ensure optimum performance. When formulating rations suitable for organic egg production it is necessary, as with any ration, to take into consideration not only...
Millions of consumers completely ignore animal welfare issues when shopping in the supermarket, says a new report. Well over a third of the population fall into this category and would be unlikely to change even if they had more disposable cash. The findings—which could be of critical importance to the continued expansion of the free range marke...
The area of shade required for birds on range is set to double. Freedom Food standards already include the new regulation—which comes into force on 1 June. And the Soil Association is set to introduce the same ruling, combined with a requirement for aerial perches. The amount of overhead shade will increase from 4 square metres per 1,000 bir...
Scientists from Bristol University are looking for a hen house with a red mite problem so that they can trial a novel control method. Not a problem, you would have thought, but the volunteer will have to agree to run the flock on a lighting regime which involves a continuous cycle of 3½ hours of light followed by 2½ hours of darkness. And becau...
Although we may have seen little in the way of sunshine so far this year, for some producers what we have had has already cost them dear. The problem of pale shelled eggs in free range layers is one that seems to rear its ugly head during the summer months. There may well be no scientific data to back up his theory, but Ranger Editor John Widdowson...
Producers and farmers should be aware from December 4th 2000 proposed changes to the Consumer Protection Act will increase their legal responsibility to the general public. This is the date an EU directive is expected to become law. Farmers and growers might be forgiven for thinking their liability, under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and Supply o...
Although the introduction of scratch areas has arguably brought about welfare benefits for the laying hen, it is becoming increasingly apparent that birds are now dying as a direct result of their usage. Smothering problems on the litter may not be well publicised but BFREPA Vice Chairman, John Widdowson, believes it is a problem not just restricte...
When it comes to getting ventilation right for poultry, the most difficult set of circumstances will be found in free range systems – that was the verdict from ADAS poultry consultant Mr Stephen Edge, who addressed producers at a recent meeting in Exeter. Mr Edge made no apology for getting back to basics. "I am still amazed at the number of farms ...
What began with a simple, yet superbly successful, marketing stunt by supermarket chain Iceland developed into a direct assault on the values that the free range industry stands for. Iceland harvested media exposure worth hundreds of thousands of pounds simply by raising the issue of yolk colour. The public 'revelation' that 95% of eggs...
by Ranger editor John Widdowson When our esteemed team of vets write in the Ranger each month we are often told that one of the major disease prevention measures is avoiding stress amongst our hens (just read this month's offering for confirmation of that fact). But such advice, while sound, can still leave producers looking for other ...
BFREPA member Georg van den Berg has taken the unusual step of installing a llama in his free range paddock as he attempts to reduce fox losses. Georg originally came over from Holland to grow intensive vegetables on his farm near Crewkerne, Somerset, but switched to free range egg production two years ago. But despite his hens being protected by ...
Using chemicals to control fly problems should be a last resort, producers were told by ADAS pest control manager Barbara Bell at a meeting in the south west. And alternative control methods would become ever more important as products continued to be removed from the shelf. Ms Bell said that the loss of Alfacron this year—as a result of the noo...
In most free range management plans grit is the vaguely worded add on. It is usually described as simply being "available" or fed "ad-lib". There are experienced egg producers who have had success with flock after flock without feeding so much as a handful of the stuff. But the RSPCA is now to include guidance, in its latest version of the Freedom...
Coccidiosis is estimated to cost the UK's poultry industry £40 million every year, with poor performing chickens the result of intestinal damage caused by a tiny, but ubiquitous, protozoa. In acute cases, it will even lead to mortality. But using Paracox vaccine will give protection against all seven species of coccidiosis known to affect chick...
By consultant nutritionist John Portsmouth As day-length lengthens, ambient temperature almost always increases and as it does so, feed intake decreases. This is a direct result of a change in the body's need for energy for maintenance purposes. How much feed consumption falls is directly proportionate to the rise in temperature. So if our &...
The lighting pattern in most free range sheds is as predictable as night following day. Pullets which have come off a 10 hour day on the rearing farm are switched to 12 hours on arrival and then extended to 16 hours over the next few weeks. But just in case you think there is a lighting law which lays down that this must be so just consider t...
This was written at the turn of the century, it contains a wealth of poultry keeping information most of it still very relevant today and gives us an insight into the work of the poultry keeper January Is one of the coldest months of the year, and one must see that the fowls are all comfortably housed and in good condition. Pullets will be mo...
Where there's muck there's money. And now DEFRA has started spelling out just how much cash the contents of a droppings pit can be worth. And at £83 per hectare, the answer is probably a lot more than you thought. The facts are revealed in a new series of booklets called 'Making The Most of Manure' which point out that maximising th...
A new area of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones was designated in October this year and farmers within these zones will have to draw up an Action Plan to reduce nitrate leaching with effect from 19th December 2002. So how will this affect the free range egg producer? As a registered agricultural holding identified as being in an NVZ you should have alre...
Many types of bacteria are present in the gut of animals and in most cases a symbiotic relationship exists where the type and numbers of bacteria are in balance with the host. Some animals, notably ruminants, depend upon gut bacteria to assist with digestion. If an imbalance between the host and the number of pathogenic bacteria occurs, a disease s...
The traditional pattern of increasing day length for pullets, followed by egg producers for years, can be simply abandoned. That was just one of the striking assertions presented to delegates at the free range conference by lighting expert Peter Lewis in his presentation 'Light, more to it than meets the eye'. Dr Lewis also raised eyebr...
Any free range producer, who has struggled over the years to get his system working well, is sure to have learnt that to fix one problem usually creates another. John Widdowson suspects this might be the case with the increasing incidence of broodiness. "When we had nests with mesh floors and a wind howling through them, we rarely saw a broody chic...
First quality eggs must have first quality shells. First the egg must have a strong shell to withstand transportation and packing. Second, a clean shell. Thirdly, and perhaps most important in the UK, a uniform brown colour. The third of these is often the hardest to achieve and pale shells can be a particular frustration to producers. The ...
I was recently asked by a free range producer how concerned he should be about the increasing number of game birds visiting his site at this time of the year. I suppose the stock answer is that you should always try to see your site as a fortress and repel all boarders. Clearly, any visitors (two legged or four legged) should be considered ...
It is the biggest problem facing the alternative egg production sector. But after 30 years of research scientists have come up with no solutions to the feather pecking problem and still cannot even agree on an explanation for why it happens. This is the picture that emerged from the first major seminar aimed at "exploring solutions" to the mena...
By BFREPA vice-chairman John Widdowson It may be less than a millimetre in size but that most persistent of parasites, the red mite, has got to be the only thing that in fourteen years of free ranging has almost reduced me to tears of despair. It's been little comfort either that my frustration to fully control this blood-sucking beast has p...
The original purpose of an egg was a protective development chamber for an embryo to eventually produce a day old chick. Genetics and nutrition have led to current layer strains, aimed more specifically at producing eggs for human consumption. The knack is to establish a successful partnership between you and your hens where these hens lay plen...
Blackhead, more correctly known as Histomoniasis, is a disease of the digestive tract of a number of bird species caused by the parasite, Histomonas meleagridis. Increasing numbers of free range producers are coming across this disease either in their own flocks or from hearing horror stories from their colleagues. Losses of up to 20% have occurred...
Very occasionally a feed mill may make a mistake. This is not knock the mill time, because it is impressive how load after load, the feed quality invariably matches the specifications / formulae. Nevertheless mistakes can occasionally happen and this may make a big dent in your egg production, egg size and profitability. When this happens, the f...
The Ranger magazine provides a whole host of husbandry and veterinary information to free range egg producers. To receive the Ranger visit www.theranger.co.uk In the hurly-burly of every day life where there are increased stresses, conflicting priorities and added distractions, it is easy to become ’side tracked’. We sometimes forge...
For many free range egg producers there is now absolutely no incentive to produce Very Large eggs. For many, the price received for Very Large eggs is now only one penny per dozen more than for Large ones. This is something of a problem for producers because it is difficult to know how to manage the flocks to produce neither Medium eggs (worth abo...
Not long ago, many arable farmers regarded poultry manure as something that would be worth using so long as no money changed hands. Times have changed. Because of the crippling rise in the costs of artificial fertilisers, manure from free range hens is now regarded by many as a good source of nutrients for the crops, at a lower total cost than us...
During 2008, the financial problems that we are and will be facing have led to a reduction in the sales of organic eggs. Fortunately for the free range egg industry, those who have been purchasing organic eggs seem to be deciding that the perceived welfare advantage of free range egg production is one of the key factors in their decision making. ...
This is the time of year when some free range egg producers are able to thank their lucky stars that the hens are in warm and dry houses. Oh, are they? Not everyone keeps hens in large houses. What about the mobile ones? Not all hens are able to escape the weather. I have written in the past about summertime problems. In the winter a differen...
With the increase in pullet prices organised gangs are targeting free range farms stealing in large numbers and possibly to order. Whilst most of the thefts have involved rare-breeds their are reports of laying stock also being targeted. Retired gas engineer Nigel Cank, who had 150 of his 200 rare-breed poultry stolen in one night, said yeste...
Pale shelled eggs and vitamin D3 In the June issue of the Ranger, I discussed the problem of pale shelled eggs in the summertime. I suggested that healthy unstressed and well-feathered hens in houses with no red mite ought not to lay many paler shelled eggs. Since then, useful research by Judy Ryan / University College, Dublin has shown that, al...
This is a very common problem on free range farms. Eggs are allowed to get too big. Ah, but I hear you say, "the price of large and extra large eggs encourages me to produce large eggs, so that is what I do". The reply to that is, "clearly profitability is reduced if eggs are too small but it is not necessarily improved by allowing eggs to get to...
With feed constituting a major component of any animal production system and in the case of egg production, the major cost, it is vital that every aspect of the diet is correct in order to ensure optimum performance. When formulating rations suitable for organic egg production it is necessary, as with any ration, to take into consideration not only...
Millions of consumers completely ignore animal welfare issues when shopping in the supermarket, says a new report. Well over a third of the population fall into this category and would be unlikely to change even if they had more disposable cash. The findings—which could be of critical importance to the continued expansion of the free range marke...
The area of shade required for birds on range is set to double. Freedom Food standards already include the new regulation—which comes into force on 1 June. And the Soil Association is set to introduce the same ruling, combined with a requirement for aerial perches. The amount of overhead shade will increase from 4 square metres per 1,000 bir...
Scientists from Bristol University are looking for a hen house with a red mite problem so that they can trial a novel control method. Not a problem, you would have thought, but the volunteer will have to agree to run the flock on a lighting regime which involves a continuous cycle of 3½ hours of light followed by 2½ hours of darkness. And becau...
Although we may have seen little in the way of sunshine so far this year, for some producers what we have had has already cost them dear. The problem of pale shelled eggs in free range layers is one that seems to rear its ugly head during the summer months. There may well be no scientific data to back up his theory, but Ranger Editor John Widdowson...
Producers and farmers should be aware from December 4th 2000 proposed changes to the Consumer Protection Act will increase their legal responsibility to the general public. This is the date an EU directive is expected to become law. Farmers and growers might be forgiven for thinking their liability, under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and Supply o...
Although the introduction of scratch areas has arguably brought about welfare benefits for the laying hen, it is becoming increasingly apparent that birds are now dying as a direct result of their usage. Smothering problems on the litter may not be well publicised but BFREPA Vice Chairman, John Widdowson, believes it is a problem not just restricte...
When it comes to getting ventilation right for poultry, the most difficult set of circumstances will be found in free range systems – that was the verdict from ADAS poultry consultant Mr Stephen Edge, who addressed producers at a recent meeting in Exeter. Mr Edge made no apology for getting back to basics. "I am still amazed at the number of farms ...
What began with a simple, yet superbly successful, marketing stunt by supermarket chain Iceland developed into a direct assault on the values that the free range industry stands for. Iceland harvested media exposure worth hundreds of thousands of pounds simply by raising the issue of yolk colour. The public 'revelation' that 95% of eggs...
by Ranger editor John Widdowson When our esteemed team of vets write in the Ranger each month we are often told that one of the major disease prevention measures is avoiding stress amongst our hens (just read this month's offering for confirmation of that fact). But such advice, while sound, can still leave producers looking for other ...
BFREPA member Georg van den Berg has taken the unusual step of installing a llama in his free range paddock as he attempts to reduce fox losses. Georg originally came over from Holland to grow intensive vegetables on his farm near Crewkerne, Somerset, but switched to free range egg production two years ago. But despite his hens being protected by ...
Using chemicals to control fly problems should be a last resort, producers were told by ADAS pest control manager Barbara Bell at a meeting in the south west. And alternative control methods would become ever more important as products continued to be removed from the shelf. Ms Bell said that the loss of Alfacron this year—as a result of the noo...
In most free range management plans grit is the vaguely worded add on. It is usually described as simply being "available" or fed "ad-lib". There are experienced egg producers who have had success with flock after flock without feeding so much as a handful of the stuff. But the RSPCA is now to include guidance, in its latest version of the Freedom...
Coccidiosis is estimated to cost the UK's poultry industry £40 million every year, with poor performing chickens the result of intestinal damage caused by a tiny, but ubiquitous, protozoa. In acute cases, it will even lead to mortality. But using Paracox vaccine will give protection against all seven species of coccidiosis known to affect chick...
By consultant nutritionist John Portsmouth As day-length lengthens, ambient temperature almost always increases and as it does so, feed intake decreases. This is a direct result of a change in the body's need for energy for maintenance purposes. How much feed consumption falls is directly proportionate to the rise in temperature. So if our &...
The lighting pattern in most free range sheds is as predictable as night following day. Pullets which have come off a 10 hour day on the rearing farm are switched to 12 hours on arrival and then extended to 16 hours over the next few weeks. But just in case you think there is a lighting law which lays down that this must be so just consider t...
This was written at the turn of the century, it contains a wealth of poultry keeping information most of it still very relevant today and gives us an insight into the work of the poultry keeper January Is one of the coldest months of the year, and one must see that the fowls are all comfortably housed and in good condition. Pullets will be mo...
Where there's muck there's money. And now DEFRA has started spelling out just how much cash the contents of a droppings pit can be worth. And at £83 per hectare, the answer is probably a lot more than you thought. The facts are revealed in a new series of booklets called 'Making The Most of Manure' which point out that maximising th...
A new area of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones was designated in October this year and farmers within these zones will have to draw up an Action Plan to reduce nitrate leaching with effect from 19th December 2002. So how will this affect the free range egg producer? As a registered agricultural holding identified as being in an NVZ you should have alre...
Many types of bacteria are present in the gut of animals and in most cases a symbiotic relationship exists where the type and numbers of bacteria are in balance with the host. Some animals, notably ruminants, depend upon gut bacteria to assist with digestion. If an imbalance between the host and the number of pathogenic bacteria occurs, a disease s...
The traditional pattern of increasing day length for pullets, followed by egg producers for years, can be simply abandoned. That was just one of the striking assertions presented to delegates at the free range conference by lighting expert Peter Lewis in his presentation 'Light, more to it than meets the eye'. Dr Lewis also raised eyebr...
Any free range producer, who has struggled over the years to get his system working well, is sure to have learnt that to fix one problem usually creates another. John Widdowson suspects this might be the case with the increasing incidence of broodiness. "When we had nests with mesh floors and a wind howling through them, we rarely saw a broody chic...
First quality eggs must have first quality shells. First the egg must have a strong shell to withstand transportation and packing. Second, a clean shell. Thirdly, and perhaps most important in the UK, a uniform brown colour. The third of these is often the hardest to achieve and pale shells can be a particular frustration to producers. The ...
I was recently asked by a free range producer how concerned he should be about the increasing number of game birds visiting his site at this time of the year. I suppose the stock answer is that you should always try to see your site as a fortress and repel all boarders. Clearly, any visitors (two legged or four legged) should be considered ...
It is the biggest problem facing the alternative egg production sector. But after 30 years of research scientists have come up with no solutions to the feather pecking problem and still cannot even agree on an explanation for why it happens. This is the picture that emerged from the first major seminar aimed at "exploring solutions" to the mena...
By BFREPA vice-chairman John Widdowson It may be less than a millimetre in size but that most persistent of parasites, the red mite, has got to be the only thing that in fourteen years of free ranging has almost reduced me to tears of despair. It's been little comfort either that my frustration to fully control this blood-sucking beast has p...
The original purpose of an egg was a protective development chamber for an embryo to eventually produce a day old chick. Genetics and nutrition have led to current layer strains, aimed more specifically at producing eggs for human consumption. The knack is to establish a successful partnership between you and your hens where these hens lay plen...
Blackhead, more correctly known as Histomoniasis, is a disease of the digestive tract of a number of bird species caused by the parasite, Histomonas meleagridis. Increasing numbers of free range producers are coming across this disease either in their own flocks or from hearing horror stories from their colleagues. Losses of up to 20% have occurred...
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