In this section:
Poultry Facilities
Poultry research facilities at the Pig and Poultry Production Institute are available for contract research in areas such as poultry nutrition, physiology, welfare, housing, husbandry and behaviour. The facilities comprise of an AME bioassay facility, broiler grow-out facility, layer facility and a shelter suitable for free range layer studies.
AME bioassay facility
The apparent metabolisable energy (AME) bioassay facility includes five, purpose built, temperature controlled rooms for rearing chickens, AME determination and digestive physiology studies, and subsequent grow-out of broilers to market weight.
AME determination is conducted routinely as part of research projects and services to industry. The AME bioassay unit includes 96 single metabolism cages and 96 group cages with 4-6 birds per cage. Areas within the unit can be utilised for collecting digesta samples from various gut sections as part of digestive physiology studies.Large scale broiler grow out facility
A state of the art, fully environment controlled broiler shed is used to conduct large scale broiler grow out studies. The shed is divided into 48, 2.6 x 4.2 metre floor pens with a capacity for up to 100 birds per pen.
The specialised broiler growth research facility incorporates the following features
- Highly insulated roof and walls constructed from sandwich panels (75 mm thick in roof, 50 mm in walls)
- Whole of house heating by two gas-fired brooders (one at each end of the shed) supplied from a large capacity storage tank on site
- Cross flow ventilation with four 1200 mm fans and two 630 mm fans
- Internal air mixing with four 800 mm fans
- Evaporative cooling pads (36 metres in length, 1000 mm high, and 100 mm thick) positioned on the side opposite to the extraction fans
- Adjustable air inlet flaps for control of flow into the shed
- Incandescent dimmable lights
- Programmable logic controller for integration of heating, cooling, and ventilation, and for lighting programs able to be connected to a modem for remote computer access for data logging and for reprogramming of the logic controller in the event of equipment malfunction or failure
- Diesel-powered back-up generator
- Back-up supply of water for drinking and cooling
- Independent alarm system connected to automatic telephone dialler.
Layer facility
Layer research facilities available for experimental studies with laying hens include a controlled environment layer shed with capacity for 5,000 birds and two separate temperature controlled rooms for up to 300 hens in single cages.
The layer shed currently contains 96 Harrison "welfare" back-to-back, single-tier, double cages with 8 birds per double cage (total capacity 768 hens). Programmable controllers control the operation of lights and provide thermostatic control of the evaporative cooling system.
The two separate air conditioned rooms presently contain a total of 168 single cages for hens.
Back-up facilities include an independent diesel power generator, a back-up water supply and an "over temperature" alarm system connected to automatic telephone dialler.
Cameras, recorders, data logging and computer-based equipment are available for bird behaviour studies.
Free range layer shelter
The outdoor shelter suitable for free range layer studies is constructed of light steel framework and covered by high ultra violet protective shade cloth. The shelter is partitioned into four identical quadrants each having feeders, drinkers, nest boxes, perches and a mechanically operated curtain to enable manipulation of ventilation. Each quadrant provides access to a separate 0.5 hectare paddock for grazing. The shelter can house a total of 240 hens.
Developing a small-holder free-range meat chicken farm
Shedding does not need to be sophisticated and can be a conventional tin shed or ecoshelter. Recommended stocking density is 28 kg per square meter. In free-range production, biosecurity risks are high and need to be managed. Chickens are reared on litter mostly in open-sided sheds using gas or electric brooders and sheltered by curtains for the first few weeks. After 2 weeks when they are full feathered, the doors or pop holes are opened letting the chicks onto the range. There is little information available on free-range chicken meat farms. Before establishing the facility ensure that you have received approval from the local authorities and you follow the Code of Practice for keeping of domestic poultry.
Ancillary facilities
Cool room, freezer facilities and a registered abattoir enable on-site processing and storage of poultry and eggs.
For further information contact the following staff at the Pig and Poultry Production Institute (PPPI)
- Bob Hughes for nutrition and physiology studies
- Phil Glatz for free range, welfare, housing, husbandry and behaviour studies.
Feedmill - experimental, commercial and extrusion centre
Nutrition researchers at the PPPI have access to an experimental feedmill, a commercial feedmill and an experimental stockfeed extrusion centre all in the one facility.
Nutrition Research Laboratory
of use of feed ingredients. Key analyses conducted within this modern, spacious, well equipped laboratory are: Near infra-red spectrophotometry forms an integral part of PPPI nutrition feed ingredients.
