FLOCKMAN Advanced Poultry Technology

FLOCKMAN
Advanced Poultry Technology

How does FLOCKMAN Work?

5. How the Feed / Light panel works: -

For a full description of the Feed / Light Panel Click Here

The FLOCKMAN system synchronises the operation of feeding the birds with the lighting system

Feeding - Various choices of options are available to the grower :-

a) Ad-lib feeding - Feeders are enabled all the time.

b) Meal-time feeding - Feeders are alternately enabled and disabled according to a timetable set up by the grower. This could be once, twice, three times or multiple times a day as decided by the grower.

c) Controlled feeding - This enables birds to fill their crops several times a day with welfare and economic benefits. The feeders automatically turn off when all the birds have a full crop. The signal for this is dependant on the birds themselves. This system is unique to FLOCKMAN and is a recent feature leading to success. (See Results 1 UK1)

Records - These show how much feed is weighed each day as follows: -

a) The total quantity fed. This is compared to the target for that day.

b) How the feed has been distributed throughout the day.

i) With Meal-time and Controlled feeding, the percentage of the target daily feed is recorded and displayed for each of the feeding periods in the day, as well as the whole day. This is valuable information which helps better management decisions.

ii) For all systems, the amount of feed fed every 6 minutes is recorded over 24 hours. So 10 records/hour and 240 records/day are available. This 6 minute data also records the water consumed every 6 minutes, whether the lights are on or off and whether the feeders are enabled or disabled.

The data are available as numbers and as graphs. Large integrators with scientific staff have analysed these data, which has led them to develop better, more welfare friendly and cost effective feeding strategies.

The system can be switched off for those not needing the data.

Day to day changes

The system can be preset so that different feeding strategies can be applied at different ages of the birds. For example, the grower may want to start with ad-lib feeding, then later feed just once a day and later still go on to feeding 2 and subsequently 3 or more times a day.

If during the crop the grower wants to change his mind for good management reasons, this can be done. A full record of what he has done is kept for future reference.

Lighting - As with Feeding there are various options

Within a single day

a) Lights on all the time

b) One period of darkness during the day. This can start at any time and be for any length. A Dawn and Dusk period is set at the start and end of each light period to simulate natural conditions, to avoid startling the birds by lights being suddenly switched on or off.

c) Multiple dark periods during the day. Some growers have found advantages from having a rest period during the day in addition to a longer dark period at night. This is particularly so with meal-time and controlled feeding where feed pans have been totally emptied between feeds. You can (if you wish) set up as many dark periods during the day as you have feed periods.

Between days

Some breed companies recommend different lengths of dark periods at different stages of the crop. This can be pre-set at the start of the crop and synchronised with the Feeding Time table.

As before, if the grower wants to change his mind during the crop, the schedule can be changed. The final Feed / Light strategy will be recorded for future reference.

Advantages of the Feed / Light Panel

1) Enables all conceivable lighting and feeding strategies to be implemented.

2)Full details of what actually happened including how much feed and water was fed and exactly when, is recorded together with performance data.

3) Retrospective analysis of these records can lead to development of better, more cost effective strategies.