AgSpeak Blog

How Proper Humidity Control Helps You Raise Healthy Poultry

How Proper Humidity Control Helps You Raise Healthy Poultry Raising and looking after poultry is a strenuous process that demands patience and dedication, regardless of whether you’re bringing up broilers or not. However, with the help of incubators, we can at least get embryos and hatchlings off to a good start. They have precise environmental […]

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Why Humidity is Relative to Flock Management

Why Humidity is “Relative” to flock management Temperature and air quality go hand in hand with humidity, and all three directly result in a healthy flock, egg production and egg quality. However, humidity gets the least attention in the industry. Most, if not all growers, farmers, managers, and helpers directly related or responsible for a […]

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Caged VS Cage Free Egg Laying Systems

Caged vs Cage Free Egg Laying Systems The two common types housing used in the egg laying industry are Caged and Cage Free. Up until recently, the most common style in the United States has been the caged system. This system was efficient and a proven method to produced table eggs, but because of public […]

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Chain Tension, Feed Depth for Breeder Hens

Chain Tension and Feed Depth for Broiler Breeder Hens Chain feeding has been in use for decades. Typically, they require little maintenance, but can be a problem if the tension of the chain in the loop or the feed volume is not right for the birds and equipment. Chain Tension There is a certain tightness […]

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Tips for Organic Bird Operations

Tips for Organic Bird Operations Organic chicken has gained popularity over the last few years for consumers. The grain that the feed is made from comes from certified organic farmland which follows strict guidelines on growing grain, such as how and what can be put on the fields for fertilizer and weed prevention.  These fields […]

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Fan Maintenance for Efficient Ventilation

Fan maintenance for efficient ventilation Now that the warmer weather is upon us and temperatures are dictating the ramping up of our ventilation stages, it is a great time to check a few easy wear points of our barn fans to make sure they are still working at the efficiency we expect and count on. […]

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The “Duck” Stops Here

The “Duck” stops here…. When you think of the word “duck”, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For some of you, it probably sends you into “hunting mode” and you are making a beeline for the gun safe…sorry, that season is still several months away. But “Hey Jack”, we will have a […]

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Installing the Sentry Disinfectant Delivery System

Installing the Sentry Disinfecting System The Sentry Disinfecting System is a vehicle disinfectant delivery system that improves on-farm biosecurity. When setting up a new Sentry System, it is ideal to plan out where the trough for the undercarriage sprayer line needs to be, as well as the magnetic sensors before pouring the concrete. If the […]

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broiler feeding

Tips for Chicks

Tips for Chicks As many of you know, preparing for your next flock of chicks is crucial to the flock’s performance.  Many growers will state that the time spent during this time out is where the “hard work” of growing birds is at.  Below are tips to get your chicks off to a great start. […]

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Spring into Action

Time to Spring into Action… I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it’s already spring and we are nearly a quarter of the way through 2020. With parts of the South already having temps in the 80’s, it will be summer before we know it and this winter will be a distant memory. […]

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Male Management for Best Performance

Male management for best performance Male management starts at placement of chicks. Floor temps need to be in the area of 98 degrees with chicks having access to heat, food, and plenty of fresh water. The caretaker must continually refresh food supply and water supply and maintain heat and ventilation, so birds are comfortable. House […]

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Is your farm on “ALERT STATUS”?

IS YOUR FARM ON “ALERT STATUS”? The current high-alert status within our country right now makes me think about how farms often go without being on “Alert” for signaling troubles before it’s too late.  Alarm systems are essential for keeping your poultry houses safe and are yet another step in preventing major losses. I’ve seen […]

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Without Water, Everything Withers

Chicken Basics…It Pays to go Green Without Water, everything withers… The watering system in a poultry house is one of, if not the, most important pieces needed to ensure you have a good, healthy flock. With the recent pandemic event, a lot of us have flocked (pun intended) to various stores to purchase good, clean […]

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Maintenance & Care – Pan Feeding

Having clean, healthy, and abundant feed available to your chickens is crucial to their success. It’s imperative that the pan feeding system is in good working order to ensure that feed is evenly and adequately distributed throughout the flock. Follow this maintenance guide to help you keep your feed lines working well and your birds […]

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Stray Voltage – An Invisible Concern

We don’t often think much about how electricity on the farm might affect the livestock. Stray voltage, however, can challenge performance. Stray voltage is small voltage, typically less than 10 volts, measure between two points that can contacted simultaneously by an animal. The voltage itself indicates a problem, but the current flowing through the animal […]

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Equipment Maintenance – Flat Chain Feeders

Preventative maintenance helps ensure the longevity of equipment in a poultry house. There’re a few things to keep in mind when servicing equipment. Always disconnect electricity before servicing equipment. Check chain tension regularly, especially when the system is new and being broken in, and adjust the tension accordingly. After about the first three weeks, check […]

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“SILENCE OF THE CHICKENS” – PREVENTING PECKING AND CANNIBALISM

Cannibalism is the consuming of all or parts of the same species.  This is a common occurrence in poultry barns of all different types including cage systems, aviaries, floor pens, outdoor, and free-range flocks.  Paying close attention to your flock’s health and behavior is vital to stopping what could be a widespread dilemma throughout your […]

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Caring for Water Lines During NAE Production

Over the past few years producers, integrators, and manufacturers have worked hard to develop an antibiotic-free poultry production system that works. The system uses a series of supplements such as probiotics, prebiotics, essential oils or additional electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals to encourage healthy intestinal flora and build resistance to disease. However, with time, we’ve started […]

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Getting NAE Chicks Off to the Best Start

With consumers and welfare groups pushing for antibiotic free production of poultry products, farmers are faced with many obstacles. How can farmers reduce antibiotic dependence and still remain profitable? It’s a challenge, for sure, but there has been a flood of research to solve the problem. Scientists and nutrition experts have found that the birds’ gut […]

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Practices of Agricultural Biosecurity

Practices of Agricultural Biosecurity Biosecurity is the prevention of spreading pests and diseases among livestock.   Not only is it the farm’s responsibility, but the responsibility of everyone who works in the industry, from the grower to employees, visitors, and service personnel.  Infectious disease can be spread from farm to farm though pathogens carried on objects, […]

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