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Government of South Australia SARDI - South Australian Research and Development Institute

Belinda Rodda

Technical Officer, Pig & Poultry Production Institute

Rodda, BelindaPhone: +61 8 8313 7794
Fax: +61 8 8313 7977
Email: belinda.rodda@sa.gov.au
Postal:
Belinda Rodda
SARDI PPPI Nutrition Laboratory
Roseworthy Campus
ROSEWORTHY SA 5371

Roles & Expertise:

Pigs, poultry and ratites production, feeding and welfare systems. I am responsible for trial coordination and set-up, animal husbandry, sample collection, record keeping, data collection, data entry, data analysis, monitoring animal behaviour from video tape, preparing and maintaining chemical registers and emergency services manifests, implementing and coordinating a staff vaccination program and acting as a Deputy Fire Warden. Also in this role I am responsible for general office management, administration and financial reporting services. These duties involve developing, implementing and maintaining financial records for associated trial projects, financial budgeting, report preparation and editing, organizing conferences and meetings, coordinating and arranging travel, distributing mail outs and undertaking library searches for literature reviews.

Experience:

Worked with SARDI as a Technical & Agricultural Officer for 14 years. Outcomes from projects I have participated on include:

Poultry:

  • Establishing the best practice method for beak trimming for inclusion in the Australian Model Code of practice for Domestic Poultry (1995)Determined that beak trimming chicks soon after hatch results in the highest egg production compared to other ages
  • Establishing that chronic pain was minimised in birds beak trimmed early in life
  • Developing a training manual for vaccinators
  • Produced videos on best practice methods of beak trimming and vaccination
  • Established that mortality of layers can be increased by inclusion of claw abrasives in layer cages
  • Determined that abrasive paint was the most effective claw shortener for caged layers
  • Established that poor feather cover in hens was a perception issue rather than a welfare problem
  • Developed an innovative and sustainable free-range production system for poultry

Pigs:

  • Developed lighting strategies to increase post weaning feed intake in pigs
    Developed an innovative and sustainable free range production system for pigs

Ratites:

  • Developed and implemented a skin quality audit for the emu and ostrich industries

Current & Recent Projects:

  • Improving the Profitability of Village Broilers  in  PNG
  • Feeding Village Poultry in the Solomon Islands
  • Minimising Cannibalism with Innovative Beak Trimming Methods
  • Pig and Poultry Feed in Tonga
  • Hatchery Waste Products
  • Integrated Biosystems
  • Alternatives to Beak Trimming