FI74193B - FOERFARANDE FOER UPPFOEDNING AV FJAEDERNA ELLER ANDRA DJUR. - Google Patents

Description

1 74193

Method for rearing poultry or other animals

The invention relates in particular to a method for raising poultry, such as chickens for fattening, young chickens and turkeys, the method also being suitable for the treatment of other animals.

The substrate commonly used for poultry and other small animals can be used in a variety of forms, making wood chips a popular and inexpensive material. Such known substrates have a number of practical disadvantages, the most serious of which is that an infection may be transmitted through such material. animals. Thus, residues of plant protection products or bacteria that remain active in the straw can have a toxic effect on animals that are fed on straw. Wood chips, in turn, may contain pesticides or fungicides used to spray felled or standing timber, and this can cause problems such as dield poisoning of poultry that is nested with such material.

Applicants have further developed a substrate for poultry and other animals made from torn pieces of paper of various sizes, which is described in the Applicant's GB Patent Publication No. A-2063043. The invention of the present application provides a method for nesting poultry and other small animals using a paper substrate that is substantially non-toxic and generally does not support bacterial growth.

In the traditional method of intensive rearing, chicken chips use wood chips, sawdust, crushed straw and mixtures of these as ingredients. As a result, the air in the hens, especially in the chicken hens, becomes thick under the influence of dust particles and ammonia gas. In order to prevent the formation of dangerous dust and ammonia concentrations, it is necessary to open air openings on the side of the duct and on the top of the 2 74193 through which clean air is absorbed as a result of forced suction of the polluted air.

The use of a traditional forced ventilation system in chickens has proven to be very expensive during the winter 5 months or wet seasons and in addition increases the risk of disease in poultry. The high cost is due to the fact that warm, polluted air is sucked from the henhouse and replaced with clean, cold air, which must be heated, so that a continuous supply of energy is necessary to maintain the desired uniform temperature of the henhouse. In addition, if the cold air expressed in the chicken is moist, as a result of the mixing of the moist air and the warm air in the chicken, the water droplets condense and settle on the litter, i.e. the substrate. As a result, additional heating is required to dry the substrate. An additional problem is that the wet substrate increases the risk of disease in poultry because it exposes the birds to the risk of severe sternal scarring and scarring.

The method according to the invention for raising poultry or other animals is characterized by the features mentioned in the characterizing part of claim 1.

The present invention provides a method for nesting poultry or other animals, wherein the young animals are housed in a shelter with closable vents on a substrate comprising a layer of discrete, small pieces of absorbent non-toxic paper having a defined size distribution and allowing the animals to stain. , the size distribution of the pieces of paper being such that the pieces solidify and form a crust or clump in the early use phase and then disintegrate into a friable material at least during the initial growing season, with the vents closed and opened after the initial growing season.

35 Newsprint is ideally suited as a substrate sheet because it is printed primarily with 3 74193 non-toxic carbon inks and because it is also particularly absorbent.

When the animals are laid to sleep according to the method of the present invention, a layer of substrate is typically evenly distributed on the shelter floor to a density of 0.4-1 kg / m 2.

The exact frequency of application used depends on the quality of the animals to be fed, their number in the shelter and the climatic conditions both inside and outside the shelter. The substrate may be shredded paper, shredded pa-10 or a mixture thereof.

The systematic use of a comminuted, absorbent paper substrate according to the method of the present invention offers several practical advantages, including: a) good thermal insulation properties, b) high absorbency, c) non-toxicity, d) the substrate does not survive bacterial growth, e) relative economy in use compared to conventional substrates, ) relative dust-free in use compared to peers, and g) ease of handling.

The ease of handling the substrate is due to e.g. due to the fact that it is very absorbent and light to handle. The fact that the soiled substrate crumbles after use facilitates its removal as either a piece of flour or a lump and its replacement with new substrate as needed. The crumbling pieces of paper of the soiled vessel decompose easily and there is no need to compost the resulting substrate impregnated with livestock manure. Thus, the soiled substrate can be applied directly to the soil as a fertilizer or added to other composted materials to take advantage of its advantageous properties.

35 Significantly reduced consumption of paper substrate can be achieved by feeding the animals on an existing substrate consisting of loose, non-toxic, absorbent material such as pieces of paper, chips, straw or sawdust. In this case, the existing substrate is covered with a "surface cover" after staining, which consists of particles of absorbent, non-toxic paper sheet or discrete small pieces. Newsprint is ideally suited for this purpose, as stated above.

By using a topcoat layer in accordance with the present invention 10, the life of the animal substrate can be significantly extended and the cost per clean substrate used is low because the "surface coating" of the substrate is normally applied much thinner than the original substrate.

For example, when chickens are reared in chickens, the pure substrate from the initial 15 would normally last the entire "growth" cycle of the birds, starting with day-old chicks (typically 49-56 days). At the end of the "harvest" period, the substrate can be removed and the hen cleaned and sterilized before a new "harvest" is introduced into the fresh vessel-20 stall. Although complete refilling of the substrate after the completion of each "crop" is the recommended practice, it may sometimes be desirable to produce more than one "crop" without complete renewal of the substrate. It has been found that this can be satisfactorily achieved if 25 "topcoats" are clean, absorbent. pieces of paper are applied to the used substrate after the poultry "crop" is completed and before a new "crop" is introduced.The preferred material for the "surface cover" is torn, absorbent paper, which is further divided into small pieces at randomly distributed lengths.

The pieces of paper that form the substrate used in this invention preferably comprise strips of paper having different, randomly distributed lengths. The width of the strips should be in the order of 5-40 35 mm and the length between 5-120 mm.

h 5 74193

The size distribution of the pieces of paper should ideally 2 be in the range of 3-16 cm (0.5-2.5 square inches). For best results, the pieces of paper should comprise strips with a width of between 5 and 40 mm and a size distribution such that at least 5% of the strips have lengths within each of the following three areas: a) 0.1-20 mm, b) 20 -60 mm and c) 60 mm and more.

The smallest particles, in the size range a), help in the early deterioration and disintegration of the original shell or clumped material that forms on the surface of the substrate. The particles in the intermediate size b) aid in the spreading and coverage of the substrate material, promoting the formation of air pockets which form a thermal insulation and provide flexibility and resilience to the substrate layer.

15 The largest parts of the whole material c) guarantee the durability of the substrate in use. These strip-shaped particles have a binding effect, withstand unexpected movement of the substrate and further improve the thermal insulation provided by the material.

20 The above size distribution of the pieces of paper forming the backing layer is well suited for the rearing of most poultry species. For some poultry and other intensive breeding animals, a small deviation from a given size distribution may be desirable. For example, the base substrate pa-25 may comprise mostly strips with a length in the range a) of between 0.1 and 20 mm, while for other uses a length range in the range of 20-120 mm may be predominant. The use of pieces of paper having the above-mentioned size distributions has been found to be satisfactory, especially in the channels, because the particles retain their entire operating cycle through their absorbency while having the performance characteristics shown.

When using shredded paper as an animal substrate, the usual distribution density of the material on the floor of the animal shelter 35 is normally between 0.4 and 1.0 kg / m 2. When applied as a "surface coating", the same material is applied to a density of 2 6 74193 0 / 2-0.6 kg / m, whereby the actual depth of the "surface coating" used depends on the local climatic conditions.

Applying an "overlay" of absorbent paper particles can extend the effectiveness and service life of an existing animal substrate and cardboard 5, whether of conventional quality (e.g., straw or wood chips) or synthetic quality, such as artificial straw or pulp. Significant advantages of using paper particles as a substrate include the relative dust-free and odorless nature of the material and its inherent sterility, the material has been found to be effective even when used as a thin "surface coating" as described.

The use of non-toxic, absorbent pieces of paper as a substrate in accordance with this invention in poultry shelters reduces the severity of the above problems.

The paper substrate, especially the size distribution described herein, has a very low dust content and its high absorbency results in a substantially reduced release of ammonia gas when the substrate becomes soiled in use. As a result, the air of the paper substrate duct of the present invention has much lower levels of activity of dust and ammonia gas, and ventilation and air suction are not as critical as when using conventional substrates.

It has been found that, in practice, broiler chickens sleeping on the paper substrate of the present invention in a hen with a floor area of 10,000 square feet can be adequately ventilated by two or three suction fans evenly spaced in the hen without having to open air vents at all, at least critically. during the initial period during the rearing season of broiler chickens. This has immediate advantages in terms of energy consumption in the hen, especially during the winter months, as well as in terms of moisture condensation in the hen. It has been found that already with three operating suction fans 35, fresh air can enter the duct sufficiently through the natural slots and doors around the air openings to replace the exhaust air, and the whole duct does not need to be ventilated.

In a particular application of the poultry rearing method, the chickens are sleeped on a paper tray with the il-5 ma openings closed during the initial four-week growing season.

This season is crucial to ensure disease-free rearing of quality birds and it has been found that much better weight gains and feed conversion rates have been achieved. After the initial growing season, the ventilation of the shield is normally 10 gradually increased.

The following description relates to the use of absorbent pieces of paper, ideally newsprint, as a substrate for the treatment of various animals, whether or not the "surface coating" method 15 is used.

When using torn or cut newsprint as a substrate for poultry, especially broilers or chickens suitable for roasting, the substrate is first spread evenly on the floor of the colony area, using heating to maintain a temperature of about 27-33 ° C (80-92 ° F). and then day-old chicks are brought in. After about 3-5, sometimes up to 7, days, peeling or clumping occurs on the surface of the substrate. This initial hatching or agglomeration is not, in fact, detrimental, as it has been shown that the final soft conditions and judging figures for the birds obtained have significantly improved compared to the value figures for birds reared with conventional substrates.

After about 18-28 days, depending on the temperature passed through the hen, the shell or agglomerated material initially formed on the substrate begins to decompose, with the development of heat. This bacterial activity, or "working", continues throughout the period in which the "harvest" of poultry-35 is under this protection, causing the efficient decomposition of the lumpy, more or less granular substrate impregnated with manure. At the end of the growth cycle of the poultry crop, the agglomerated, manure-saturated substrate has decomposed into a relatively dry, granular, crumbly material, which is very effective as a fertilizer and additive to compost heaps.

During the bacterial cycle, the aerobic activity of the bacteria maintains protection at a somewhat higher than normal temperature, typically 24 ° C (75 ° F), compared to the usual temperature of about 22 ° C (72 ° F). . This elevated temperature is not, in fact, an indication of increased use of energy to heat the shelter, as heat is generated by the action of bacteria in the substrate. On the contrary, the heat supply to the shield 15 can be reduced due to the internally generated heat resulting from the action of the bacteria.

The invention is further described by way of example with particular reference to chicken farming.

20 A substrate formed of torn or shredded newsprint or other non-toxic, absorbent sheet of paper is spread evenly on the floor of the hen in a dry, clean hen. The application rate depends on the population density of the hen and the climatic conditions, but would typically be about 0.8 kg / 2 m. In some cases as little as 0.4 2 2 kg / m 2 is sufficient, while in other cases the application of a substrate of 1.2 kg / m may be advantageous. The lump, which is formed from evenly mixed strips of absorbent paper of different lengths, should be shaken thoroughly and spread evenly on the floor of the cover. At a spreading density of 0.8 kg / m, the average depth of litter would typically be 4-5 cm (1.5-2 inches).

Once the litter is applied to the hen, "harvest" 35-day-old chicks are introduced into the colony area, as described in i, 74193 above. The "peeling" of the applied litter, which can occur within 3-7 days of the introduction of the chicks, promotes the biodegradation of the litter impregnated with animal manure, as previously described, which is continuously promoted by the chicken faeces until the lumpy, manure-saturated medium is effect as a relatively dry, granular, friable material.

10 In some cases, a new "harvest" is introduced into the chicken without removing the used litter from the previous "harvest".

In this case, a pin tape is applied from the new litter to the old lime using the procedure described above. The optimum amount of pulp is then 0.4-0.9 kg / 15 m2.

One reason for using shredded or torn newsprint or other absorbent paper as an animal substrate as described above is the improvement in thermal insulation of the hen. Another reason is the improvement in the growth environment of chickens in the form of reduced dust compared to the amounts normally produced by other substrates, which promotes good feed conversion. The use of non-toxic shredded or torn paper material avoids the introduction of toxic elements into the substrate, which substantially reduces the risk of death or contamination of chickens. In addition, due to the particle size and shape of the substrate, birds practically do not attempt to eat the substrate, as can occur when ordinary wood chips or sawdust are used as a substrate and as a result reduce the risk of birds eating such substrate rather than given feed.

Part of the method of the invention that can guarantee successful results by using shredded or shredded paper substrate to grow poultry is to maintain proper ventilation and a constant temperature. The optimum temperature is about 22-24 ° C (72-75 ° F) after 10,741,93 birds are three weeks old, as this promotes efficient bacterial degradation of the litter.

The recommended application density of the torn paper substrate is in practice important to obtain the right conditions for aerobic degradation of the material during use. If the litter is applied too tightly, the moisture contained in the litter and the moisture deposited on it will be absorbed too deep for the effect of effective air and the litter will not dry satisfactorily. In addition, bacterial activity does not start te-10 effectively if the litter is too moist. At the onset of bacterial activity, when the birds are approximately three weeks old, the enclosure temperature should be maintained between 22-24 ° C (72-75 ° F) to ensure effective bacterial function so that towards the end of the protection period of the chick "harvest" the litter has dried effectively without additional increase in external thermal energy.

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Claims (14)

A method for rearing poultry or other animals, characterized in that young animals are housed in a shelter with closable air vents, with a layer of small pieces of absorbent, non-toxic paper of different sizes which are allowed to be stained with faeces, the size distribution of the pieces of paper being such that the pieces solidify and form in the surface shell or clump early in use and subsequently decompose into a friable material, at least during the initial growing season, when the air vents are closed, and the openings are opened after the initial growing season. Method for rearing poultry according to Claim 1, characterized in that the chickens are laid on a paper tray with the air vents closed for an initial growing season of 3 to 5 weeks. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the substrate layer is evenly distributed on the floor of the cover at a density of 0.4 to 1.0 kg / m 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate is left in place for about 28 days before removal to allow peeling or agglomeration in the initial stage, followed by decomposition of the peeled or agglomerated material by the heat generated by the action of the bacteria. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the temperature in the shelter is maintained between 27-33 ° C after the introduction of the chickens and is then gradually reduced to 22-24 ° C in stages in accordance with maintaining sufficient drying of the litter in use. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least 35 of the pieces of paper are strips having a length substantially equal to their width. 12,741 93 Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pieces of paper comprise strips of different lengths randomly distributed. Method according to Claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the width of the paper strips is of the order of 5 to 40 mm and the lengths are between 5 and 120 mm. Method according to Claim 6 or 7, characterized in that substantially 1% of the cut paper strips have lengths between 100 and 120 mm. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the size distribution of the pieces of paper 2 is approximately 3 to 16 cm (0.59 to 2.5 square inches). Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pieces of paper are strips with a width of the order of 5-40 mm and at least 5% of the strips have lengths in each of the following ranges: 0.1-20 mm, 20-60 mm and 60 mm and above. 11 74193 Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the absorbent pieces of paper are mixed with a relatively non-absorbent, non-toxic dose of paper and / or paperboard. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a layer of absorbent pieces of paper is applied as a surface covering layer covering an existing, stained substrate consisting of a loose, non-toxic, absorbent material. Method according to Claim 13, characterized in that the surface coating layer is applied on an existing, stained substrate to a density of 0.2 to 0.6 kg / m 2. 13,741 93