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
