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How to benefit most from Van Gent Community nests Part 2 – The management
BIRD AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Have the slat height adjustable at 35 cm (1.15’) at the start of production and increase its height around 40 weeks of age when droppings are getting close to the slats. The increase of the slat height will then go to 45 cm (1.5’). This concept is only possible with a Van Gent (Vencomatic) community nest with rigid wooden slats setup.
Droppings should never touch the slats, whether wooden or plastic. Droppings coming through the slats will dirty the hens’ footpath, contaminate the nest pads, and hatching eggs, negatively affecting the broiler chicks.
Place a maximum of 2 cm (<1”) of litter height on the concrete floor and have this litter only placed against the wall. This facilitates the forklifts to move over the concrete floor. The birds will distribute the litter over the whole scratch (floor) area the next day.
Always keep the litter as low as possible, even after peak production. The best place for the hens to lay their eggs must be in the community nests. At move, birds are dropped in the scratch area but should soon go up on the slats (jumping mobility created in the rearing period).
If some females or males do not go on the slats after 1 day, help them go up.
Feed distribution is done in the dark before the lights come on in the early morning. The dark-out period depends on the minutes it takes for the feed to go around. Once the feed is around, the chain stops, and the lights come on. More towards peak production, if needed, the chain is activated again after 10 minutes and runs till all the feed is gone.
Whatever the width of the house, 12 m (40’) or 14 m (46’), feeder loops or lines should have a winch system for tractors and forklifts to drive inside during delivery of birds and at cleanout. Besides this, one can have legs for the feeding system in the scratch area and place the feeder lines directly on the slats in a bracket. The winched system is used until peak production for the feeder lines in the scratch area but on the slats the feeding system stays in the brackets.
If floor and slat feeder lines are winched up as standard procedure during the whole production period, they must have a highprofile grill system, so birds cannot perch adding extra weight to the pulley system. Having the feeding system directly on ...
