Commercial broiler growers

Me one. I think there are a lot more but trying to get them to come out may be difficult!

Hi yes, I’m one always interested in sharing ideas!!

Looking from the outside, considering your investment, you do not feel able to interact with either one another or the market. Most investors investing many thousands of pounds would be more assertive in their market. Wise investment?

Been in the game since 1958, Farm was featured in the Famer and Stockbreeder 25th August 1959 as the first broiler house with underfloor heating . ( so those that thought they were first just a few years ago, eat your hats)
I am sure there was a time when I did know all there was to be known but as time goes by I realised it was only probably for "1" day.
Although the original 2 sheds were added 2 and we had about 60,000 birds by 1974. Farm was rebuilt starting in 1996 and now stocks 140,000 maximum of 20 birds per Sq Mtr at day old thinned at Max of 38Kg/Sqmtr about 30 days clearing at around 36-38 days, ( this is a moveable but the oldest we have done in the last 20 years is last batch 1 shed with 4,000 birds went to 42 days averaging 3Kg Ah.
We have over time supplied Nine different processors , The first processor went Bankrupt on us within 18 months and 2 others since so just be carefull and try not to expose yourself to feed and chick cost, ( this is what probably saved us on the last two failures).
In the early days up to the last 15 years who ever would want Broiler litter to put on there land for fertility not many in my Arable area, yet more recently farms are being built under the ideas of suppling "organic" manure to arable farms.
Memory of those first few years are that we would grow to 63 days and with any luck the birds would weigh 3.5 Lbs whats that about 1.5 Kg which we now acheive at about 28 days. Probably 95% of this improvement in growth rate is down to Nutrition and Genetics,
Bits and pieces were regularly administered to help health and mortality, Fowl pest hit us in December 1959, which in those days MAFF took control of all Slaughtered on site (by neck dislocation) and buried on site. Slaughter policy changed and State compensation halted around the outbreak in I think about 1971 when we were hit again Vaccination had be administer by phisical injection and we always wondered how 2 girls could do 6,000 birds as fast as they did.
My farm has had no antibiotic use for over 2 years, but a recent breed change is probably going to need us to use again on welfare grounds giving it another crop with some extra Vit d and see how it goes.
What would I change. I like the idea of "Traditional Norfolk Poultry" free range but on my heavy Clay all I see is a swamp in the winter. By choice I would still go with no windows but "Fad" dictates that in the future it will be 3% windows (who ever came up with this sort of idea took there pension and Psd off). I would like stocking to be financially viable at a stocking rate of Max 33kg/SqMtr and this to be "For any" Poultry Sold in the UK.
There are some fantastic new farms been/being built and a lot of them providing employment. Mine has always been Family run (except for an 84 day period) and I recon that 5000 SqMtrs would be the optimum size for a one man operation.
Just ramblings of an older operator been personally walking broiler houses since leaving School 52 years ago

Windows going in in stages , but next windows are postponed as a large customer stole the build slot from me, salesman very embarrassed but his boss overruled the job to keep a large customer happy.

Had one shed windowed for one crop. birds dont seem any happier, The money would have been better spent on concreting the yards round the sheds or some other improvement , but nobody from the 'farmers group' red tractor asked us our opinion.


Perches and platforms getting fitted , enrichment bales ordered.

Incinerator arrived recently getting that commissioned and ministry approved next week, Im getting a long term loan for the windows so it seem sensible to sneak an incinerator onto the same loan.

1% windows here, Perches fitted some years ago now they lift up and down with the electric winches that do the feeders or drinkers, I did attempt to have windows fited to 3% but like above fitting was cancelled as they had new sites to build.
Had an incinerator many years ago, upset the ministry when it was found to not comply with them and they were not going to let it go so went back to fridge container and collection as and when necessary, Incinerator I had was quite a big one and not at all economic.
Chickens and wheat how high a fence are you having to put round it, or are you just going to burn them in a biomass boiler!!!!! and have the incinerator licence to tick the box, Oh "my" then I had forgotten about the IPPC who will want a permit variation it goes On and On.
Have you seen that Red Tractor are looking for an Independant grower to sit on the Chicken board no doubt big bucks to be paid there!
I am not sure what an independant is these days but I was told I dont tick the Box too old no doubt and grow for an integrated, promps the Question "What is an independant that they would have sit on the Board. One of the more recent ones in that position had had 9 months growing experience from being a pure arable farmer with a brand new site and it was around that time when the 3% fiasco took root.

100% windows seems a bit over the Top. We have 1% of the floor area as windows in all our sheds so that could be that we have windows in 100% of our sheds its all down to the interpritation as the sheds ar very wide and quite low for new build Side extraction fans, heat recovery units on the side as well dosent leave a lot of space for the Abitary 3% of floor area as windows.
I am aware that in the past the question has been in the Red T audit is there 3% windows in Sheds, (not how many sheds have 3%) when the reply was yes it was interprited as that farm had all sheds @ 3% hence in there dilliberations it was thought to be an easy acheived result to get all the farms to 3% they were seeing over 70% of farms at the said 3%.

Fcr around 1.6 for average wt 2.3Kg. What would the change of feed programe have to do with the birds at the gable ends? feed cost about 44p/Kg of liveweight

10 feed periods a day of 1hr 24 minutes up to 6hrs of dark period so some feed times in th batch none is going in the sheds. Why not extend the feed lines? 1 pan per 85 birds and no bird should be more than 9 feet from a feed pan. My feed lines are 16 feet apart