BREEDING ▶▶▶
Improving male management with male restaurant feeding designs
Male restaurant feeding has been around for some time in breeder production houses that are 100% litter. This article describes two designs. In the first design on 100% litter, a male restaurant is placed in the middle or at the end of the house and is composed of a fixed pen with sufficient male feeder space.
BY WINFRIDUS BAKKER, COBB
A second male restaurant de- sign that runs lengthwise in community nest house configu- rations and uses a net to keep males separated from females during feeding.
I
n the designs described, males are transferred 5 to 7 days earlier than females to the production house to train them with a whistle to come to the restaurant pen for their daily feeding. When cued by the sound of the whistle the males congregate at the restaurant entrance. The entrance is then opened to let all the males inside and then closed after they are all in. Once the males have been sepa- rated from the flock, the females are fed. After the females have finished their feed, the door of the male restaurant is opened and the males stream outside and distribute over the house, mating with receptive females. This concept re- quires labour to train the males, get them inside the restau- rant and subsequently, set them free. However, the method
provides good outcomes for male flock uniformity, high fertility rates and excellent average hatchability. What are the potential advantages of this system with its focus on male management? •
It is easier to control male bodyweight gain after mixing with females.
• Males are unable to consume female feed. • Females will have no competition from males stealing feed in the period from 21 to 28 weeks of age. This provides more feeder space for each female and exact female feed availability.
• Male feed can be distributed over the entire feeder track or pans and checked every day before males have feed access. This will promote uniformity of male bodyweight which is crucial to obtaining high and persistent fertility of over 97% for a 20-week period (32 to 52 weeks flock age).
• Males can be weighed more easily and the sampling is more representative.
• Fleshing of the males can be done more efficiently. Fleshing data is used to determine feed allocations to establish or maintain optimum conditioning.
• Males can be observed more easily at feeding time. Restau- rant feeding facilitates the selection of non-mating, as well as over and underweight males based on Cobb manage- ment criteria, and maintaining male-to-female ratios.
• Male livability improves considerably and there is potential- ly less need for spiking, reducing the cost of additional management and male transfer.
• Males can be fed either a female or male diet while still maintaining bodyweight control.
• Treatments can be delivered through the water line if a sep- arate water line system is installed in the restaurant area. Males consume feed more quickly than females and require a water source when female feed clean-up time is extended through peak production.
• Males reared with pan feeders may not be accustomed to finding drinkers over the slats and therefore may be reluc- tant to jump onto the slats to drink. Placing a male drinker line in the restaurant area will promote male water intake to support uniformity and fertility.
18 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 8, 2020
ILLUSTRATION: COBB
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