Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 43


     
     1        A.  Yes, the birds would be fed them from arrival until
     2        five days before slaughter when the birds are put on to a
     3        withdrawal diet, which does not contain any Coccidiostat or
     4        growth promoters.
     5
     6   Q.   What is the one apart from growth promoters?
     7        A.  Coccidiostat.
     8
     9   Q.   What was that one used for?
    10        A.  The Coccidiostat is a compound which prevents the
    11        development of Cocciliosis.
    12
    13   Q.   So is that an antibiotic?
    14        A.  They may be antibiotics or they may not be.  It
    15        depends, there are both chemical compounds and antibiotic
    16        compounds that will do the same job.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can you spell that as well?
    19        A.  The Coccidiostat, C-O-C-C-I-D-I-O-S-T-A-T.
    20
    21   MS. STEEL:  The use of these growth promoters it is thought it
    22        may contribute to leg problems by increasing the rate of
    23        growth; that is right, is it not?
    24        A.  I do not think we can say -- we could really say that
    25        leg problems we could ascribe directly to the use of growth
    26        promoters.  I think it would be correct to say that there
    27        is a greater chance of leg problems with the faster the
    28        chickens grow.
    29
    30   Q.   When did you start to include barley in the feed?
    31        A.  Barley has always been a minor ingredient in feed for
    32        many years.
    33
    34   Q.   Sorry, when you say "minor", what kind of quantity are you
    35        talking about?
    36        A.  The inclusion rate would no higher than five per cent,
    37        but with the advent of enzyme technology we have been able
    38        to increase the amount of barley used because the enzymes
    39        actually aid the digestion of the carbohydrate fraction,
    40        which previously was indigestable to a chicken.
    41
    42   Q.   So, when was that increased?
    43        A.  The use of enzymes started about four years ago.
    44
    45   Q.   What amount of barley is used now; what percentage is that?
    46        A.  I should think we can probably use up to 10 to 15 per
    47        cent barley.
    48
    49   Q.   What advantages has this provided in the broiler houses?
    50        A.  The advantage to us is that barley is a common cereal 
    51        grown in Northern Europe, which up to that time had not 
    52        really been able to be used for chickens.  Now that it can 
    53        be used for chickens, it means that broilers in Northern
    54        Europe can be fed for a slightly reduced cost using barley
    55        as opposed to wheat.
    56
    57   Q.   I think you said yesterday that the use of enzymes such as
    58        barley had made a big improvement in the environment/index.html">litter; is that
    59        right?
    60        A.  That is correct.

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