— Lancaster' Fa'rhlihg, Saturday, February 3, 1973
6
Plastic
Housing broiler breeder flocks
on a new plastic mesh flooring,
combined with use of other
modern automated equipment,
could bring a two million dollar
broiler hatching egg business into
Pennsylvania, predicts Dr. Glenn
0 Dressier, professor of poultry
science at Penn State. With the,
new plastic floor, twice as many
breeder pullets can be housed on
the same floor area compared
with conventional housing.
Using wire mesh in sloping
floor systems for breeder flocks,
Dr. Dressier and associates found
that the heavier cockerels
developed sore feet and hock
problems The result was poor
mating and a sharp drop in egg
fertility
The new plastic mesh floor
could enable Pennsylvania)
poultrymen to compete in
producing hatching eggs now
coming from other states, Dr.
Dressier claims. Presently, most
hatching eggs are shipped into
the Commonwealth from com
peting areas, adding tran
sportation costs of 4 to 5 cents per
dozen Pennsylvania poultrymen
rank about 11th in broiler]
production raising about 60
million broilers annually.
In addition to the plastic mesh
flooring, equipment includes
automatic feeding and watering
and either hand or mechanical
egg gathering from plastic roll
away nests, also developed by
Dr Dressier. He believes the
total system brings the industry
an opportunity to enter a new era
of broiler breeder management.
Experimental broiler breeding
flocks raised on the plastic mesh
floor equal or excel flocks grown
on the typical two-third slat, one
third litter floor system. Flocks
on plastic mesh have been
superior in egg production,
livability, feed conversion,
number of settable eggs, and
hatch of fertile eggs per pullet.
Dreeding flocks on the plastic
Floors Seen Boon to Hatcheries
mesh floor were given only one
square foot of floor space per
bird, compared with 2 square feet
of floor space per bird under the
conventional one-third slat, two
third litter floor system.
“The significance of using
plastic flooring,” he says, “is
that doubling the number of
breeding hens also doubles the'
number of hatching eggs
produced. The only disadvantage
is a loss of about 3 percent in egg
fertility resulting from about 5
fewer chicks hatched per pullet
'housed. Nonetheless, the cost for
producing a dozen eggs is almost
cut in half,” he affirms
Labor for raising breeder
flocks on the sloping floor system
in minimal, he says. This is vital
for poultrymen in Pennsylvania
where wage rates are higher than
Poultry Imports Banned,
Eggs Restricted
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) banned the
importation of all fresh poultry
meat into the U.S., and placed
restrictions on the importation of
table eggs. The action was taken
by USDA’s An ; mal and Plant
Health Inspection Service
(APHIS), because of recent
shipments and planned ship
ments from countries infected
with exotic Newcastle disease. It
is designed to further protect the
nation’s supply of poultry and
eggs against the introduction of
exotic Newcastle disease which
affects poultry and other birds.
APHIS officials said the
prohibition on imports covers all
fresh, chilled, and frozen poultry
carcasses and parts. The only
exception is Canadian poultry
meat shipped directly to the U.S.
since Canadian officials are also
following an eradication program
against the disease.
The new restriction on table
eggs requires that all imported
eggs be washed, sanitized, and
packed in new cartons, flats
dividers, and crates. Further,
these eggs must be certified by a
veterinary official of the ex
porting nation as having come
from flocks proven to be free of
Newcastle disease through the
use of sentinel birds.
Certification will not be
required if the eggs are sent
under seal directly from the port
of entry to an approved egg
processing plant for breaking and
pasteurization under Federal egg
inspection supervision. The same
exceptions for poultry meat from
Canada will cover eggs imported
from Canada.
APHIS officials explained
that—while this disease does not
affect persons who eat poultry
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in most competing areas. Cutting
labor costs by more than half
compensates for the higher wage
rates and eliminates the ad
vantage competing areas have in
labor costs.
The plastic sloping floor
system has further advantages.
Costs for handling litter on floors
and in nests is eliminated. Dac
terial and fungal contamination
are reduced substantially over
litter floor and nest systems. Dy
using a two-stage manure drying
system developed at Penn State,
manure handling problems are
nearly eliminated and odors are
controlled.
Dried poultry manure has
potential sales value which
eventaually may more than off
set purchase price and operating
costs for the drying equipment.
and egg products—the action was
taken as a precautionary
measure to prevent the exotic
Newcastle disease visur from
again being spread to U.S.
poultry flocks, where losses could
greatly reduce the supply of
poultry and eggs available to
American consumers.
Since March 1972, Federal and
State animalhealth officials have
been cooperating in a massive
effort to eradicate exotic
Newcastle disease from southern
California—where more than 9.5
million birds have had to be
destroyed to halt the spread of
the disease.
USDA noted the original in
troudction of the disease into
southern California is believed to
have resulted from the im
portation of infected exotic pet
birds.
The new regulations became
effective immediately, and are
scheduled for publication in the
Federal Register on Jan. 11. They
cover all poultry and eggs
shipments to the U.S., special
conditions are provided for table
eggs consigned to U.S. buyers on
or before the effective date of the
regulation. -
Special exceptions for in
dividual importations can be
made by APHIS officials for
education, scientific, and
research institutions with the
facilities and equipment to safely
receive and handle potential '
disease-bearing materials.
Migratory game bird carcasses
being imported by hunters are
exempt from the regulation.
USDA said.
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