Articles

2 Hole Rollaway nest

Roll away nest boxes help keep your eggs cleaner

Roll away nests have proved to be a hit in Australia It is interesting to see how many sheds for small home flocks of just a few layers or a few bantams have a tray sitting on the perches for a nest. Roll away nest boxes help keep your eggs cleaner and safer. The normal rule of thumb for chicken nest boxes is one chook nest for 5 birds. Many backyard poultry keepers will need only one nest box. We [...]

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Poultry Faring Well

Poultry Faring Well?

Some things work in reverse. An idea to improve outcomes, like poultry welfare, can lead to just the opposite. One of the issues I have noticed is the push for better poultry welfare by large shops, or more accurately, the perception of better poultry welfare. Better welfare is a noble aim and one we should all aim for, but when there are blunt rules, the unfortunate and real possibilities are that such rules can badly affect poultry welfare. Added into this are activist [...]

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chicken diseases

Tests for poultry diseases in Australia

Chicken disease pops up with a sick hen or a mystery illness going through the chicken flock. There are many chicken diseases that have similar symptoms and treatment can be like a guessing game. It helps to examine chicken disease using differential diagnosis. This is because mostly these diseases have a lot of common symptoms. The trick is to see the differences which distinguish each disease. Many times this will inadequate because the disease will actually be several diseases at [...]

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quality chicks

The quality of the chick is only as good as the quality of the egg!

Incubation and eggs for hatching We are talking about incubation, where the quality of the chick is only as good as the quality of the egg from which it is hatched. A common fallacy is that all eggs have the same nutritional value. Not all eggs have the same ability to produce healthy strong chicks. This is especially true of fowls fed commercial “least cost formulations” and are designed to give sufficient protein, energy, vitamins and minerals to produce maximum [...]

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National Poultry Newspaper

National Poultry Newspaper There is a new National Poultry Newspaper available now! See the entire paper here first by selecting the picture link above. This free National Poultry Newspaper (NPN) is a monthly publication and distributed Australia-wide to poultry producers and industry members. An electronic flipbook version of NPN will also be emailed to over 1200 subscribers each month and the publication will be available to view on the website www.poultrynews.com.au. The current headlines include information regarding Poultry Information Exchange (PIX) on the Gold Coast in early June, [...]

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Free range has a new National Standard

Free range Free range National Standard Free range National Standard Free range egg labeling will have a new National Information Standard (‘the Standard’) from 26 April 2018. It will be enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Importantly, the new Standard is in addition to any existing laws in your state or territory regarding free range. The ACCC has produced a tiny three page guide on Free range chicken egg claims for free range egg producers. [...]

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Poultry Information Exchange (PIX) & Australian Milling Conference (AMC) 2018

Poultry farmers of Australia, the 2018 Poultry Information Exchange (PIX) and Australasian Milling Conference (AMC), PIX/AMC will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from Sunday, 3 to Tuesday, 5 June 2018. This 3 day event is based in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast Qld and ‘Supply Chain Opportunities – Farmers to Consumers’ is the theme of this year’s conference. Topics of workshops and lectures range from chicken meat, egg production, free range and organic farming, flour [...]

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Consistent, reliable information for poultry farmers

You’re tired of searching for information on websites or forums that offer random opinions about poultry challenges you are facing. You would like to make informed business and husbandry choices rather than bamboozled by the myriad of opinions that abound. Information from social media, activists, forums and even the opinion of other poultry farmers is not ensured by any accountability or a commitment to researched outcomes. With changes afoot in the poultry industry regarding the poultry welfare code and [...]

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Have your say

If you are a poultry farmer, or have an interest in poultry, then this is of particular importance, given the recent release of the proposed Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines. The public consultation papers include a draft standard which marks a significant step in Australia, moving from the existing voluntary system to national regulation. The ABC news is reporting that the RSPCA is encouraging its supporters to oppose the proposal. Good animal husbandry and practice is based on facts [...]

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Poultry Drinkers and Water Pressure

The other day I whilst setting up a trial for one of the many drinker systems we try out before selling, some make it some do not! Having set up the system, (it’s a nipple system with its own pressure regulator) hung it up and connected it all up….I turned on the tap. Water spurted out of the breathers…”this ain’t meant to happen”. So I think the manufacturer has sold us a lemon. Before saying such to the manufacturer, “Perhaps [...]

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