Day 089 - 15 Feb 95 - Page 36
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2 Q. Is there any respect in which that process is affected by
3 what the chickens have eaten?
4 A. It can be affected. There are certain raw materials
5 which will produce wet and sticky droppings in poultry and,
6 obviously, we would wish to avoid those.
7
8 Q. Do you try to avoid them?
9 A. We do. We have certain limits on certain ingredients
10 which we do not, which we do not allow because of wet
11 droppings. We also use enzymes in the feed to improve the
12 digestibility of ingredients such as barley which tend to
13 have an indigestible fraction of the carbohydrate and the
14 enzymes help the digestion of the barley. They also seem
15 to help the working of the environment/index.html">litter. We have found a big
16 improvement in environment/index.html">litter conditions since we have started to
17 use enzymes in the feed.
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19 Q. What problems do you face if the environment/index.html">litter is too wet, too
20 damp?
21 A. If the environment/index.html">litter is damp, for whatever reason, it makes
22 the -- it makes it very uncomfortable for the birds. They
23 can develop a sores on the feet or sores on the hocks
24 causing hock scabs.
25
26 Q. Is Hock Burn, as I think it is called, directly related
27 then to humidity or dampness?
28 A. Hock Burn is related to the wetness of the environment/index.html">litter.
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30 Q. What about ammonia, does that constitute a problem and, if
31 so, in what conditions and for what reasons?
32 A. Ammonia is very much a hazard, and one of the reasons
33 for keeping a good environment in the poultry sheds is to
34 remove ammonia. Ammonia is damaging to the respiratory
35 system of the birds and too much ammonia in a poultry house
36 is very undesirable.
37
38 Q. What are the causes of excessive ammonia in poultry houses?
39 A. Poor ventilation, damp, wet environment/index.html">litter which is not
40 composting correctly; those are the basic causes.
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42 Q. Are there any other reasons why the level of humidity or
43 dampness in the shed is important?
44 A. The other reasons, possibly, would be that if the
45 conditions are damp and humid they may well predispose the
46 birds to viral respiratory infections.
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48 Q. You mentioned ventilation. Is ventilation an important
49 aspects of animal welfare in the sheds?
50 A. Ventilation is probably the most important and critical
51 aspect of the control of the environment of the poultry
52 sheds.
53
54 Q. How is your ventilation controlled or provided in your
55 sheds?
56 A. It is provided by air inlets and which pull in air from
57 the outside and this is driven by fans. The inlets may be
58 in the roof or in the sides and the fans in the roofs or
59 the sides, depending on how you want to ventilate the
60 house.
