Five good reasons why keeping layer farm records are necessary in Seychelles |11 March 2011
The main aim of this article is to encourage all layer farms to keep records. If all the advantages are known, then maybe all will keep records.
Why the emphasis on layer farm records?
The emphasis is on layer farm records because at present the livestock section is using only estimates to know the quantity of eggs produced in the country. This uses an estimate of the mortality of layers, estimate of laying percentage and the number of chicks sold to farmers from the hatchery each month.
This is not good enough for the Statistics Unit in the Ministry of Finance, and the government decision-
The other livestock records are also essential, but we get data from the abattoir and the hatchery. We are given the number of broiler chicks sold to each farmer and we get the weight and number of broilers harvested by each farmer.
For pigs we make routine visits to pig-breeding farms and we get the number and weight of all pigs slaughtered in Seychelles each month from the abattoir. We also get a record of all livestock products imported into the country from the veterinary section.
What are the benefits to the farmer of keeping layer records?
1. Layer records as a management tool
A sudden drop in the production of eggs tells the manager that something has gone wrong on that day. It will make you check whether there is any stress factor that affected the layers. It is a known fact that after aggressive or noisy dogs pass near the layer pen, egg production can drop. Lack of an adequate water supply also reduces egg production. The onset of a disease also makes it drop suddenly. Things like that will help you look around and correct any anomalies. In a normal setting, the graph of egg production increases to reach the peak and then decreases gradually after that.
2. Records help you decide the best layer breed
If you have a record of two batches of layers of different breeds, you can use it to decide which breed is the best. To decide on the breed you need to know not only the egg production but the economic returns of each breed.
3. Knowing the farm’s profit or loss
You need to know whether you are making a profit or a loss at any point in time to help you decide the culling date. You need to know the laying percentage and you cannot know the laying percentage without knowing the number of birds left in the cage and the number of eggs produced that day.
4. Detecting theft
Many layer farmers employ workers and they are not there some of the time. There was the case of a farmer who complained that his egg production was low and he did not know why. When the layers were counted, it was found that their number was not as the owner thought, and actually the laying percentage was not bad based on the number of birds and eggs laid. This is because mortality records were not kept from day one. Mortality (death of birds) records need to be keep daily, which is easy as you just subtract any dead birds from yesterday’s balance. I don’t think it makes good business sense if the owner does not know exactly how many birds are there every day.
5. Benefits of keeping layer records for the country
When a layer farmer keeps records correctly and gives records to the livestock section for onward transmission to the National Bureau of Statistics, he is being patriotic and helping his country. This is because these figures are used by the decision makers in the Ministry of Finance and cabinet of ministers to make proper decisions. Giving wrong figures will be misleading.
The common types of records kept on layer farms
The common types of records kept on layer farms are 1. Egg production records. 2. Mortality records. 3. Laying percentage. 4. Feed consumption record. 5. Feed conversion ratio of feed to eggs.
1) Egg production records have to be kept on a daily basis from point of lay, and from them good managers plot a graph. Any sudden drop in egg production means something is wrong and needs
2) Mortality records are also kept from day one when the chicks arrive up to the day they are culled/sold. When dead birds are subtracted, it will give the balance of birds on the farm that day.
3) Laying percentage can only be calculated if we know both the number of eggs laid that day and the number of birds still alive. This is a very important tool in decision-making because when the laying percentage becomes too low you know the birds have to be culled and sold.
4) Feed consumption records have to be kept on a daily basis. If the birds eat less that day, there might be a problem to be solved.
5) Feed conversion efficiency to eggs. Using both the feed consumption and the number of eggs laid, the ratio of feed conversion to eggs can be calculated. For example, if the feed conversion ratio is 2.3 to 1, it means 2.3 kilograms of feed was consumed to produce a kilogram of eggs, which is 14 to 16 eggs depending on whether an egg weighs 60 grams or 70 grams that day.
An appeal to all layer farms
Please help us to help the country by keeping some records. Thanks in advance for your anticipated cooperation.
Contributed by Lewi Molta, senior livestock officer, and Raul Montes de Oca, livestock specialist