ISSUE FOCUS 50 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2024 feed a day? Keeping the installation clean improves hygiene and prevents feed obstructing the pipes. Remember to inspect the silo too. Moisture that enters the silo through holes and gaps, for example, will cause caking and promotes mould growth and spoilage of the feed. Take a walk through the house when the feed lines are operating and look at the eating behaviour of your animals. An easily accessible feeder or pan prevents feed being spilled onto the floor. See whether all the feed is being eaten, or are just the larger pellets picked out, for example. It is often the smaller feed pellets that contain the important nutrients. Another aspect to check is whether any demixing occurs so you can be sure of uniform and homogenous feed quality from the start of the feed line up to the furthest feeders in the house. Adapt the amount of feed if necessary. CREATE A GOOD HOUSE CLIMATE Achieving optimal animal performance with minimal feed consumption is the challenge faced by every farmer on a daily basis. Progress in genetics and improved feed management strategies have impacted positively on feed conversion in recent years. Feed conversion is the efficiency with which an animal converts feed into production or weight. The influence of the house climate on the feed conversion rate is also significant. An important task of the climate control system is to maintain a constant house temperature in the animals’ thermo neutral zone and to prevent cold airdrop onto the animals. The thermal neutral zone is the temperature range within which pigs or poultry can maintain their body temperature without regulating their heat production. When the house temperature is too high, the animals will need to release heat and produce less heat. Eating less can reduce heat production, but their growth will also suffer. When the house temperature is too low, energy is required to maintain the body temperature. The energy from the feed will be diverted from growth to maintaining the body temperature instead. Researchers at Wageningen University have demonstrated that the average energy demand increases by 1.8% when the temperature drops by 1°C. This means that when the ambient temperature drops by 10°C, the maintenance requirement increases by an average of 18%. A correctly controlled climate with optimally synchronized interaction between the air inlets and outlets, exhaust system, heating and cooling ensures the best thermal comfort for the animals, whatever the outdoor conditions. Temperature fluctuations - or even worse - draughts must be avoided at all times in the house. Extra sensors measure the relative humidity, CO² of ammonia concentration and monitor the air quality to prevent respiratory infections. A poor house climate also increases the risk of disease. Animals that are ill often lag behind in growth and need extra feed to recover and catch up on the lost weight. This negatively impacts on feed conversion and the feed costs. Monitoring the air quality
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