Automatic systems in broiler chicken production farms

One of the biggest challenges of technicians (veterinarians, engineers and nutritionist) in charge of broiler chicken farms is to achieve a profitable feed conversion ratio.  This means the amount of feed needed to produce one kilogram of meat.  We need to keep in mind that a bird can survive several weeks without food, but only a few days without water.

Chicks must get off to a good start and good management is very important especially during the first week of life. It is well known that the first stage of poultry production is a key point that will determine their performance during future stages of development.  When chicks arrive to the farm the first thing they should do it’s drink water, and the more water they consume the higher their feed intake resulting in greater body weight gain. This rule applies throughout all the production cycle.

If a chick does not consume enough feed and water it will not reach the optimum weight for the processing stage.  The main objective of the automatic feeding and drinking systems is precisely to achieve that objective. Besides minimizing labor and making poultry farm management more efficient, the automatic systems also serve to stimulate feed and water consumption and thus to achieve greater weight and increase yields.

The automatic drinking systems are specifically designed to make it easy for chick to drink water from it, making sure it is clean water under the best possible conditions and that is why the water control unit must be complemented it with a medicator.  This will allow to medicate the flock safely if or whenever it is necessary.

The automatic drinkers must be installed at the correct height and with the right water pressure. Water pressure and drinker height must be adjusted weekly to levels recommended by the manufacturer and taking in consideration the poultry house level, weather conditions and type of bird reared. .

For example, for a day-old chick the nipple should go at eye level and for adult birds they should raise their head without having to stretch their body or legs.

Nipple drinkers minimize labor, but they are not maintenance-free. With just a little effort and a planned routine-maintenance program, your enclosed drinkers will operate better and longer. More importantly, you will be eliminating or at least minimizing problems before they cost you money.

Automatic Feeding Systems

The feeder is simply a machine that takes feed from a central hopper or bin out to the birds continuously all day. In place of having to fill a score of separate feeding troughs, the poultry man fills just one – the hopper – and does it just once a day.  JAT’s own Broilermatic® system offers several advantages compared to our competitors.  One of them is the closing mechanism on each plate.  This allows dispensing the correct amount of feed depending on the capacity of each poultry house.

Another advantage is the adjustable ring on each plate.  This permits to dispense feed more efficiently to the pan depending on the type of ration used.

The most important adjustment is height.  Keeping the top of the trough level with the backs of the birds means that the flock will waste a minimum of feed.

Summary

Some of the main advantages of installing automatic feeding and drinking systems in your poultry house are:

1. Save feed, the most expensive cost of production and reduce water spillage (wet beds). This means better-feed conversion and dryer beds with fewer condemnations.
2. Stimulate feed consumption due to the easy access that broilers have to it.
3. The feeders are activated through sensors. It is not necessary for someone to keep an eye on the supply manually, which helps productivity by reducing labor costs.
4. Supply of medicines through a water medicator.
5. Better biosecurity thru higher hygiene and greater welfare of the birds.
6. Better management efficiency and therefore more profits.
7. You can increase poultry density and therefore increase kg of meat produced per house.
8. Reduces the cost of labor. For example,  a 120.000 broiler farm requires 14 people to operate it.  The same farm with automatic systems will only require 3.

JAT understands the needs of the poultry producer as well as the industry challenges of today.  Broilermatic® and Prolife® are JAT  own brands, 100%  made in Mexico.  Get to know them and learn more about the advantages and quality of our products.  We are here to help you do better.