Principles of Performance - what underpins the highest possible egg output?
Some things we are told in our professions struggle to stand up to the unflinching litmus test of reality, and occasionally we are given a piece of knowledgeable that is repeatedly validated the longer you spend studying a subject. Over the next series of short articles I would like to try and express the greatest keys to peak laying output and profitability from your laying flock;
David Hodson Snr. Explained to me when I entered poultry, that a laying flock that is correctly vaccinated, with the right vaccines, at the right point, administered successfully, was worth an extra £1 a bird in the laying house. This was from the 80’s and 90’s market. From my work carrying out vaccination training across the country we have seen an increase of 5 eggs per bird in the free range market from simply getting on top of administering Infectious Bronchitis vaccines (the most delicate live vaccine), which, when considering that IB is the avian coronavirus, makes perfect sense.
The vaccines however make up one part of the of the support structure for an optimal flock, the overriding principle behind hitting the highest levels of performance in any realm comes down to one overriding principle – That of Finite Energy. Any life form, be it an Olympic sprinter or a laying hen, has a limited supply of useable energy throughout the lifespan. The expression of genetic potential is only possible by the systematic removal of stress, be it disease, parasitic, husbandry, water quality or nutritional. Our sole endeavour is to allow the hen to be in peak health, at which point it is will be able to hit the high levels of performance that the modern market demands for a successful business.
I was very fortunate to be coached in a strength sport by a gentleman who had been Geoff Capes main student, and he made me realise just how extreme the level of health and focus is to achieve true genetic potential. If we took Usain Bolt, and gave him a bad case of worms, food poisoning from E.coli, a bad case of Coronavirus, then filled his room with a biting parasite such as 10,000 mosquito’s, and compared his performance on the track compared to when he is peak health, we know what would happen. Freedom of disease, a fixed routine, optimal nutrition, high quality water and freedom from parasites are how we succeed.