Broilers

Feed, water, light and climate are the most important factors that determine the production potential of your flock. Also, it is the combination of all these factors that create the best circumstances for optimal health and performance. Fortunately, at De Heus we have both nutrition and management specialists who can help you with this. From a nutritional point of view it is all about the right nutrients, provided in the right amount and at the right time. Based on own research results and in collaboration with others, we continuously refine our feeding recommendations to make sure you can achieve the optimal results from our end. Because there are so many factors involved in optimizing the performance of your broilers, please contact a specialist to discuss your options and to receive an advice based on your specific situation.

At De Heus we are continuously looking into ways to further optimize feed costs. On one hand we do this by smart sourcing of ingredients and optimizing our production processes. On the other hand we continue to further improve and optimize the feed composition, resulting in improved nutrient utilization and performance of your broiler chickens. Optimization can be done by e.g. better understanding the nutrient requirements of the broiler at different ages (precision feeding), but also by studying individual (novel) ingredients with respect to digestibility and nutrient availability to the bird. Lastly, also latest feed production technologies can help to improve feed quality and nutrient availability.

A unifoform flock is something we all like to achieve. However, in practice this can be more difficult than many of think. The reason? There are a lot of different factors that influence uniformity and you need to think of everything. It already starts when the day old chicks arrive in your house: how is their body weight? And chick quality? Variation at this point in time can already influence uniformity on the long term. But, once the chicks are placed then the real work starts. Management has a big impact on uniformity: temperature differences inside different areas of the house, but also ventilation and something ‘simple’ as feeder access are only a few of the things you need to keep an eye on. Daily looking at the birds and how they behave, according to the see-think-act principle, can help you to improve uniformity. Of course also feed plays a role: consistent quality in nutrients, but also physical quality, will make sure that broilers in the front of the house receive the same nutrients and amounts as those broiler in the back. At De Heus we have both nutrition and management specialists who can help you to improve the uniformity of your flock.

Feed efficiency is an important production variable for many poultry farmers around the world. When feed efficiency is dropping or suboptimal, the first thing to do is a farm analysis with your feed advisor and / or veterinarian. But, we can also support you if you want to further improve the feed efficiency of a flock that is already performing well. Our extensive knowledge on management and feeding practices, can help you to finetune feeding phases in relation to the production goal you have in mind. Related to this, an important item to keep in mind here is the genetic potential of your birds. Together with the health status of your broilers it will determine the potential of your flock when it comes to feed efficiency.

Intestinal health is key to optimizing the performance of your birds. Only a healthy birds is able to perform at its maximum potential. But, how do you maintain a proper intestinal health? At De Heus we have turned the research trials that we conducted on this topic into practical recommendations that can be used to maintain intestinal health. It is a fundamental part of our feed formulas to make sure that your birds can benefit from it. These recommendations can be applied as part of a holistic approach, where also management and additives can have a supportive role. Contact your specialist for suggestions on how to further improve the intestinal health of your broilers.

A good start of your flock will increase its chances for good performance at later age. Besides creating the right environment such as temperature of the house and access to feed plus water, also the feed will have an impact on performance during the first days after arrival. Provision of a feed that consists of ingredients that are relatively easy to digestible, as well as the nutrient levels needed for growth and development during this stage, will help to ensure a good start. Lastly, also physical quality of the feed will help to ensure a good feed intake that will drive further growth.