Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 46
1
2 Q. Have you always had specifications on feed?
3 A. We have always had feed specifications. The
4 requirements from several customers is that they see what
5 our feed specifications are and actually approve them.
6 That has been so for a long time.
7
8 Q. What were the previous specifications of the use of animal
9 fat then, what quantity did you ----
10 A. I am not a nutritionist and I can only speak in general
11 terms. There is a certain percentage of animal fat above
12 which we do not want to go and that has been progressively
13 reduced over the years as we have learnt what the
14 limitations of the material are. I would have thought that
15 the maximum animal fat being used would be about three per
16 cent of the total diet.
17
18 Q. What are the other problems that have been found with
19 feeding too much animal fat to the birds?
20 A. Well, obviously, if you have greasy environment/index.html">litter, it is a
21 sign of indigestible material which has not been properly
22 utilised by the bird. So, that, I would have thought,
23 really, is the major problem. You, obviously, do not want
24 to feed too much fat to have an excessively fatty carcass
25 either. So, that is another limitation on the amount of
26 fat that you give.
27
28 Q. The capping can also occur as a result of poor
29 ventilation ---
30 A. Yes.
31
32 Q. -- as well?
33 A. Capping is a sign of moisture accumulation in the
34 surface of the environment/index.html">litter, so anything which predisposes to
35 that will predispose to capping.
36
37 Q. As well as suffering from Hock Burn it can result in birds
38 suffering from breast blisters and ulcerated feet?
39 A. That would be the ultimate result which could occur,
40 yes.
41
42 Q. Has that occurred at Sun Valley apart from the Hock Burns?
43 A. Breast blisters, I believe, are a thing of the past.
44 We do not commonly see those at all now.
45
46 Q. They are seen occasionally then?
47 A. You will occasionally get a bird with a breast blister,
48 but that may have been as a result of that particular bird
49 sitting down for some reason. It may be it was a sick
50 bird, or whatever, and it was not noticed.
51
52 Q. But that would have been common prior to the introduction
53 of the new --
54 A. No, it was not.
55
56 Q. -- food or water systems?
57 A. It was not common.
58
59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I was going to say, if I am to take this into
60 account, I have to have some picture not just of whether it
