Breeder claims egg farmers can help offset feed price rise by using its breed

One layer breeding company claims that egg farmers can offset the steep rise in feed costs caused by soaring wheat prices by switching to its breed.

With feed prices rising faster now than at any time in the past 30 years, it has never been more vital that egg producers select breeds based on their efficiency in converting feed to eggs, with increases meaning producers are facing extra feed costs of £40 to £50/t.

Breeder Hy-Line has highlighted a recent commercial trial that revealed that the Hy-Line Variety Brown consumed 7g a bird a day less than an alternative breed during the same laying period.

When projected across a typical flock of 100,000 birds, this amounts to a saving of £47,000 or 0.47p a bird over the course of a laying period. At £170/t, this leads to a saving of £0.47 a bird.

One producer using the breed, Richard Jones from Newtown, has a rolling site feed consumption averaging 117.9g a birds a day based on 315 eggs produced a bird to 74 weeks.

See the October issue of Poultry World for more on managing layers to overcome high feed prices.