Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 39


     
     1        on.
     2
     3   Q.   Finally, I think in the shed, well, not quite finally,
     4        penultimately, space:  There are recommendations, are there
     5        not, in relation to stocking density?
     6        A.  There are.
     7
     8   Q.   What is your maximum stocking density at Sun Valley?
     9        A.  The maximum stocking rate that would occur at the end,
    10        either at the thinning point where the pullets are taken
    11        out, or at the point where the cockerels are taken out, the
    12        absolute maximum is 36.5 kilos per square metre.
    13
    14   Q.   MAFF's recommendations is 34 kilos per square metre, I
    15        think, is it?
    16        A.  That is the code of practice.
    17
    18   Q.   It is paragraph 35 of tab G of orange file V, if anybody
    19        wants to be reminded.
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I had rather understood -- I was not
    22        confident I had got it right -- the impression I got was
    23        that the maximum density was when you had both male and
    24        female birds there together?
    25        A.  Yes.
    26
    27   Q.   That is on the 42nd day?
    28        A.  That is correct.
    29
    30   Q.   Then it drops and rises again slowly until the 52nd day?
    31        A.  That is correct.
    32
    33   Q.   But even at the 52nd day it will not be as high as it was
    34        on the 42nd; is that right?
    35        A.  No, that is usually the case, yes.
    36
    37   MR. RAMPTON:  That was my understanding too, my Lord, but your
    38        Lordship is entitled to intervene.
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, but I wanted to make sure I got it
    41        right.
    42
    43   MR. RAMPTON (To the witness):  Are the male birds bigger than
    44        the females?
    45        A.  The male birds are considerably bigger than the
    46        females.
    47
    48   Q.   So they will compensate to some extent in point of density
    49        for the loss of the females by the fact that they are
    50        bigger, in other words, they will make up some of the lost 
    51        density? 
    52        A.  That is correct. 
    53
    54   Q.   What I want to ask you is this:  Given that MAFF recommends
    55        34 kilograms per square metre, 34 kilograms of chicken per
    56        square metre of floor space, and that your maximum density
    57        is 36.5 kilograms per square metre, does this cause you any
    58        disquiet or anxiety?
    59        A.  No.  I am comfortable with that as long as the
    60        environment and the design of the farm and the equipment is

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