Background and Benefits

by

David Filmer MA (Cantab)

1

David Filmer’s historyDeveloper of FLOCKMAN

Son of a Chicken Farmer Raised on poultry farm then Farm Institute London/Cambridge Universities Nutrition, Poultry Husbandry, Statistics Experiments and Computer modelling Technical Director, Dalgety-Agriculture Unilever Nutritionist, Poultry Marketing 26 years MD of FLOCKMAN company

2

Chicken’s Digestive system

We have forgotten that broilers have crops and gizzardsSo did some Dinosaurs 66 Million years ago: and birds evolved from them!They improve the efficiency of the birds’ digestive system So, evolution has had plenty of time to perfect bird’s crops and gizzards

3

Study chicken ancestor -Indian Jungle FowlThen learn and apply to modern Broilers

4

Behaviour of the Jungle Fowl (Gallus Gallus)

Lives in Tropical Rain Forest a dim hot humid environment Forages rapidly as dawn breaks, before the temperature

rises and fills its crop with berries, seeds, small insects During the heat of the day, shelters in undergrowth and

seeks damp wet patches to preen and assist cooling Lives on the feed stored in the crop during this time When the sun goes down, forages rapidly in the cool and

fills its crop for the second time in 24 hours Finds night roost, safe from predators and sleeps Crop again empties and bird awakes slowly but hungry! We can learn from above and our elders’ ideas TODAY!!

5

Poultry Feeding in the UK (1940-1950)

Kept in Night Arks or small sheds (50 - 100 max) at night Feed was put out in troughs close to unit soon after dawn All pop holes then opened quickly Birds rush out and feed rapidly to fill crops Stockman observed how quickly feed is eaten Cut back next day if feed left or increased if eaten quickly A scratch cereal feed (barley, wheat, etc) was fed 4-5 pm All birds herded into housing at dark and pop holes closed So, birds had full crops and active gizzards to digest feed

6

Industry changes in the late 1950’s .

Large numbers of birds kept in intensive houses with no

access to pasture including seeds, grains, grit, etc

Mechanisation of feeding systems

Tube & Chain Feeders, Cable and Flight, now Feed Pans

Feed started to be fed ad-lib (new system)

All feed components (including cereals) were hammer milled

23 hours of light/day common. So poor immune defence

So, no full crops and inactive gizzards. Poorer digestion7

Problems caused by Industry Changes

Higher Mortality due to poor Immune Defence system

Ascites & Heart Attacks in some birds who eat too much

Higher variability from small birds not eating enough

Poorer LW & FCR due to digestive system not optimised

Bad litter from protein excretion. Crops & gizzards inactive

Higher coccidiosis risk, (Gizzards not destroying oocysts)

Poor Health & Welfare from poor life-style. From long light

periods & ad-lib feeding. No stimulating events in the day8

FLOCKMAN

Aim was to reverse these trends Controls Meal-Time Feeding and Lighting Birds’ crops / gizzards work properly (If wheat is fed) Improves bird welfare and cuts mortality Feed and light programs are scheduled and then carried

out on the due days. Flock feedback optimises feed fed Lights / feed start is preset before the start of the crop 16 Preset Profiles included to choose from Daily entries by farm staff are zero Repays it’s cost in 2 – 3 crops of broilers

9

Benefits of FLOCKMAN

Less Feed Used (several tonnes per house)

Better Feed Conversion

Lower Mortality, Less Leg Culls = more birds to factory

Heavier Birds

Improved Health and Welfare

More Profit

FLOCKMAN = Improved Productivity and more Profit10

Why FLOCKMAN is different

Developed by a poultry expert not an supply company

Understands poultry husbandry and bird management

Understands bird behaviour and response to nutrition

Gets automatic feedback from each flock of chicken

Works in collaboration with skilled poultry stockmen

Developed in liaison with world best broiler farmers

Provides evidence of worldwide success 11

Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture

David Filmer MA (Cantab)

March 2015

Executive Summary

Population increase – more food needed Middle classes looking for a safe, healthy diet Chicken meat used more than ALL other meats 60 billion chicken grown in 2014: = 8 per person Produces more chicken meat from less feed Increases grower profit by 5 US cents per bird Potential: 5 cents x 60 billion = 3 billion US $ Equivalent to10 million tonnes less chicken feed Better lifestyle, health and welfare for the birds

FLOCKMAN R&D (1989 to 2014)

1989 WPSA paper – Computers for Poultry Production 1998 Integrated Management Systems for broilers

Silsoe Research Institute 3 year study – see final report Verification trial showed £10,562 extra profit/house/year

2012 Bristol University – Intermittent dark periods and new lighting programs gave better health, less mortality

2014 WPSA paper – A new more welfare friendly and feed efficient way to grow intensive broilers. Chester UK.

Continuous trialing to observe bird response + feedback from innovative growers to fine tune the system

Current FLOCKMAN System

Simple retrofit to existing feed augers, lights

No feed/bird weighers, computers, modems

Continuous feedback changes birds daily feed intake

Active crops: better digestion, so less feed needed

Better lighting programs – dawn/dusk dimming

Improves immune defence system and welfare

Low cost – quick return on investment

The FLOCKMAN box

FLOCKMAN has 5 ON/OFF/AUTO switches. For FLOCKMAN Control, ALL must be in ‘AUTO’, Green light ‘ON’. The Keypad enters flock details. The LCD display shows data. Status bar LED lights show what’s happening inside the house.

FLOCKMAN Forster trial - Liveweight per bird (grams)

Control (H 13, 12, 10, 4, 5, 8): FLOCKMAN (H 14, 7, 11, 3, 6, 9)

1 2 3 4 50

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

20952140Control Liveweight

FLOCKMAN Liveweight

Weeks of Age

gra

ms

FLOCKMAN Forster trial - Feed Conversion RatioControl (H 13, 12, 10, 4, 5, 8): FLOCKMAN (H 14, 7, 11, 3, 6, 9)

1 2 3 4 50.80

0.90

1.00

1.10

1.20

1.30

1.40

1.50

1.60

1.701.5961.554Control FCR

FLOCKMAN FCR

Weeks of Age

Ra

tio

Fe

ed

/LW

FLOCKMAN trial - European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF)

Control (H 13, 12, 10, 4, 5, 8): FLOCKMAN (H 14, 7, 11, 3, 6, 9)

1 2 3 4 5200

250

300

350

400

450

370

389

Control EPEF

FLOCKMAN EPEF

Weeks of Age

FLOCKMAN trial – Margin (Bird value minus Feed costs) (per bird)

Control (H 13, 12, 10, 4, 5, 8): FLOCKMAN (H 14, 7, 11, 3, 6, 9)

1 2 3 4 5-$0.01

$0.00

$0.01

$0.02

$0.03

$0.04

$0.05

$0.06

$0.07

$0.08FLOCKMAN TargetFLOCKMAN minus Control

Weeks of Age

Ext

ra M

arg

in $

/bir

d

9 FLOCKMAN field trials (minimum 8 houses per trial) Statistical analysis of benefit in Feed Conversion Ratio

AverageTrial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Trial 6 Trial 7 Trial 8 Trial 9 p value =

0.00001

0.00

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

0.12

0.062

0.090

0.069

0.0330.041

0.100

0.056 0.054 0.0530.062

FLOCKMAN Benefit

FC

R

AverageTrial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Trial 6 Trial 7 Trial 8 Trial 9 p value =

0.0002

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

9.7

21.6

3.7

15.413.3

35.0

18.7 20.2 20.517.6

FLOCKMAN Benefit

EP

EF

9 FLOCKMAN field trials (minimum 8 houses per trial) Statistical analysis of benefit in EPEF

9 FLOCKMAN field trials (minimum 8 houses per trial) Statistical analysis of benefit in margin over feed cost per bird

AverageTrial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Trial 6 Trial 7 Trial 8 Trial 9 p value =

0.00002-2.00

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

6.62

13.67

4.41

8.49

6.87 6.96

5.04

7.566.44

7.34

FLOCKMAN Benefit

US

ce

nts

pe

r b

ird

9 International trials 2.2 million birdsResults 36-46 day old A/H flocks

ITEM Average BENEFIT

Minimum BENEFIT

Mortality 1.01% 0.28%

Liveweight (g) 40 10

FCR 0.062 0.046

EPEF 17.6 11.0

Margin/bird UK pence 4.32 3.14

Margin/house £ £1,463 £1,053

Margin/house/year6.5 crop cycles/year

£9,510(35K birds/house)

£6,845(35K birds/house)

Latest UK Results: Harry ShepherdDec 2014

Age (days) Final Liveweight Ross Target % Target

33 (Females) 2.000kg (4.41lb) 1.838kg 108.8%

41 (Females) 2.668kg (5.88lb) 2.512kg 106.2%

47 (Males) 3.874kg (8.52lb) 3.546kg 109.2%

Average 42.46 3.134kg (6.91lb) 2.856kg 108.3%

Days Weight Dead FCR EPEF

42.46 3.134 kg 3.81% 1.651 430

FLOCKMAN Benefits

Better results, profits and sustainability Better chicken lifestyle, health and welfare Return on investment in under 6 months Helps feed the world; Low carbon footprint

Welcome to: Governments, integrators, investors Do visit us on stand D262 for business talks and to meet

Harry Shepherd, successful UK FLOCKMAN user and FLOCKMAN client consultant