Of all of the health problems found in poultry, one of the most common is coccidiosis. It’s a parasitic disease cause by protozoa found in feces. Consumption of contaminated food or other particles continues the cycle. Coccidiosis is a manifestation of Eimeria, a genus of apicomplexan parasites. Various strains of the disease present more severely […]
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Infographic: Poultry Watering 101
Want to learn more about poultry watering? Check out the Ultimate Poultry Watering Guide. Subscribe to our blog!
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Winter Blues: Diseases to look out for
We’re coming into winter, and humans are not the only animals spreading germs and catching colds. Your birds are doing it, too. Unfortunately, there is no escaping a sick neighbor in the poultry house. We help our feathered friends out by practicing good biosecurity, but disease can still find its way into a flock. To […]
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Brooder cleaning is one of the most important tasks done on the farm. Brooders rapidly lose heating efficiency when they are dirty. Routine maintenance ensures you get the most out of your heating equipment and prevents fire hazards. Brooders should be cleaned and inspected before every flock. Regardless of what they look like on the […]
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3 Secrets to Winter Ventilation
Air quality is heavily dependent on humidity Humidity is the culprit for many of the respiratory issues found in poultry flocks. It amplifies the presences of ammonia and carbon dioxide and makes it difficult for birds to regulate their own body temperatures. Air quality is important especially during the colder winter months, when minimum ventilation […]
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18 Egg Facts for Egg Day 2018 1. Eggs are good for your eyes. They contain lutein which prevents cataracts and muscle degeneration. 2. An egg shell can have as many as 17,000 pores. 3. Egg shell and yolk color can vary but have no effect on taste […]
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Poultry Watering: Understanding Iron
Iron can be found in wells and municipal water all around the world. Sometimes it is obvious – the water runs red in the sink, often having a distinctive taste and smell. Sometimes it is less obvious – but still leaves its mark in the form of reddish-brown discoloration on appliances. While mostly harmless, it […]
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Poultry Watering: Understanding pH
You’re probably aware of the importance of pH, especially when talking about watering systems and treatments. But how well do you really understand it? pH is the abbreviation of “power of hydrogen” (the ‘H’ is capitalized because it represents the element symbol of hydrogen, and it is standard to capitalize those). pH measures the hydrogen […]
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How-To: Clean & Maintain A Water Line
So many factors can affect the quality of poultry flock, but water is the most important. It’s easy to take for granted, especially in areas where water quality isn’t a daily concern. Drinkable quality and high quality are not the same, though. Paying close attention to the quality of the water will always result in […]
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Poly belt care for cleaner eggs
Recently, there have been many food recalls due to contamination such as e.coli and Salmonella. Controlling the spread of these diseases – to consumers and to other flocks – requires a careful cleaning and disinfecting program through every step of the rearing process. Every farm has its own checklist of chores to complete in between […]
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Litter Management to Improve Flock Health
The reduction in antibiotic use in poultry farming requires a reduction in bacteria and pathogens that birds are exposed to. One way to do this is to tighten biosecurity. Another method is to improve litter management. Modern poultry farming often uses bedding for repetitive flocks. Chickens shed bacteria in their excrement, exposing subsequent flocks to […]
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Bryan is the Owner/Operator of 8 broiler barns in northwest Arkansas. His farm has been in operation for just about two years and has just finished its 10th flock. Every single flock has finished in the top 3, and he attributes his success to the VAL-CO system. Each of his 46×520 houses are equipped with […]
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Feeding Frenzy: Developing Healthy Appetites
Four important factors play into a successful brooding period. Temperature, air quality, water, and feed are all necessary to give baby birds the best jump start in life. It’s easy to focus too much on temperature, after all, day old chicks lack the ability to maintain their body temperature on their own. But the modern-day […]
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Avoid Heat Stressed Pigs by Avoiding These Ventilation Problems
There are four factors that make a pig productive: feed, water, environment, and stockmanship. They all require careful management to result in the best performance, but they can be ranked based on necessity. Stockmanship: It’s important to use mindful stockmanship to have great performance, but pigs will live with or without it. Stockmanship can alter […]
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Seasonal Challenges – Summer Heat Slideshow
Summer heat can be stressful. Learn how to handle it here. Subscribe to our blog!
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Caring for Air Conditioning – Keeping cool cells… cool
Summer time heat. Everyone’s least favorite seasonal challenge. If only cooling the poultry farm was as easy as cooling our homes. Alas, there are very few barns where you can close up the windows and blast the A/C, but most barns can garner a few degrees of relief thanks to evaporative cooling systems. Pad cooling systems are […]
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Mitigating Heat Stress in Livestock
We’ve all seen it before – it’s the middle of the day and your broilers are hunkered down on the floor, wings slightly spread, and panting fast. Your birds are too hot, and are spending their energy trying to cool themselves rather than eating, drinking, and growing. In swine we see similar actions – pigs […]
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