SUMMER chickens "on herbs"

In the organic RDD project ’SUMMER’, an experiment with organic broilers with access to a large range area with herbs has been performed. The effect of chicken genotypes with different growth rates and different feeding strategies on the animals’ feed intake, growth, welfare, health and meat quality was investigated. The results so far indicate that it is necessary to use chicken genotypes with lower growth rates for a better welfare, and the focus should be on the individual genotype and its actual nutrient requirements and utilisation of feed from the range area

Quality of foraging material and effect on hens feed intake, egg production and -quality

The study shows that different kinds of foraging material can influence both egg-production and quality in organic egg production. The composition of nutrients in the silages and carrots used in the present study was very different in content of protein, Met, starch and fibre. The particular batch of alfalfa silage used had a high content of protein and Met, which could contribute with essential amino acids. Diets based entirely on 100% organic feed ingredients could limit the supply of especially Met. Unfortunately, the alfalfa silage was also high in fibre content. The results imply the importance of using foraging material of a high quality and further studies on the quality of other types of silages or vegetables are relevant in order to obtain an optimal organic eggproduction with a high egg quality

Challenges in organic egg-production related to the nutritional quality of foraging material and introduction of 100% organic feeding

Organc hens have daily access to foraging material and the quality are important for egg-production due to varying contents of amino acids (aa) and dietary fibres (Hammershøj and Steenfeldt, 2005; Steenfeldt et al., 2007). Supplying organic hens with appropriate amounts of protein and aa can become problematic with the introduction of 100% organic feed from 2012. The interest in growing protein sources nationally has increased in Denmark in consideration of the environment. Growing soybeans nationally would reduce import. Present hen genotypes used in organic egg-production have high nutrient-requirement, so using genotypes with lower protein-requirements could have some interesting perspectives

Improved texture of breast meat after a short finishing feeding period of broilers in an organic free-range system

In order to develop an organic broiler product with high ethical value, high meat quality and based on locally produced feed, we tested if a long period without high quality protein feed followed by a finishing period with a high quality protein ration would affect the meat quality. Two genotypes were included in the experiment (The Hubbard breed ‘JA757’ and the Sasso breed ‘T851’), and only female broilers were included. The chickens were raised in groups in a free range system with more than 10 square meters per chicken covered with grass and herbs. The chickens were offered free access to either an optimized organic concentrate ration (HP) or an organic ration based on locally produced ingredients (peas, rapeseed, lupine, wheat and oat) (LP). The broilers were slaughtered at 90 days (HP) or 118 days (LP). At 90 days the LP broilers were allocated to the high quality protein ration (HP) for either four weeks (LP4) or two weeks (LP2) before slaughter. At slaughter the JA757 HP broilers were the heaviest (2827 g), and the JA757 LP broilers were not able to catch up after either 2 or 4 weeks finishing feeding with the HP ration (2248 g and 2292 g, respectively). This was different for the T851 genotype where there was no difference in slaughter weight between the T851 HP and LP2 and LP4 (average 1592 g). A sensory panel evaluated the sensory quality of the breast meat and found less firmness and fibrousness, lower chewing time and more tenderness in both genotypes offered high quality protein feed in the finishing feeding for 2 weeks in comparison with the 4 weeks finishing feeding, with the HP in between. This pattern is reflected in the daily gains the last two weeks before slaughter and suggests a positive linkage between daily gain before slaughter and tenderness post mortem

Silage feeding for laying hens (OK-Net Ecofeed Practice Abstract)

High-quality silage can provide nutrients for the hen and encourage natural foraging behaviour, thus reducing the risk for feather pecking. Growing protein-rich silage helps increase self-sufficiency and improve the crop rotation of the organic poultry farms. Practical recommendation • Choose the silage type(s) that provides the best yield and quality, depending on soil type and weather conditions. • The silage has to be finely chopped. • Silage generally has to be preserved under proper conditions to optimize the fermentation process. • Analyse the protein content of the silage and other nutrients if possible. • Avoid silage with anti-nutritional factors. • Investing in an automatic feeding system (robot) is recommended for larger flocks to distribute the silage evenly and encourage the hens to eat it. • Including the chemical content of the silage in the feed formulation could be an advantage, when feeding higher amounts per hen per day (>20 g per day)

Karotenoider i økologiske æg

Ved at vælge grovfoder i den økologiske ægproduktion, som har et højt indhold af karotenoider eller indhold af de rødlige karotenoider, f.eks. violette gulerødder eller grønkål, kan æggeblommens farve påvirkes i en positiv retning. Desuden kan grovfoderet bidrage til et øget indhold af sundhedsgavnligt lutein i æg. På sigt vil øget viden om karotenoidindholdet i forskellige foderråvarer og grovfodertyper kunne bidrage til, at en ønsket blommefarve kan nås og bibeholdes på et stabilt niveau

Anvendelse af forskelligt grovfoder, sojabønner, urter og kål i økologisk ægproduktion

I projektet med økologiske æglæggende høner under FØJO III blev effekten af forskellige grovfodertyper, samt urter og grønkål undersøgt på parametre som ægproduktion, foderforbrug og ægkvalitet

Proteinforsyning i økologisk ægproduktion

I den økologiske fjerkræ- og svineproduktion er forsyning med tilstrækkeligt af de essentielle aminosyrer i foder et stigende problem, da foderet ifølge lovkravene skal indeholde en meget stor andel økologisk dyrkede råvarer. Der må ikke tilsættes syntetiske aminosyrer til økologisk foder, der fra 2012 skal være baseret på 100% økologiske råvarer. Selvom både den økologiske og den kommercielle husdyrproduktion er selvforsynende med nogle råvarer, er det stadig nødvendigt at importere en stor andel proteinråvarer for at tilgodese dyrenes behov for protein- og især aminosyrer. For lavt methionin-indhold i æglæggerfoder kan påvirke både ægproduktion og -kvalitet. En ubalance i foderets næringsstoffer kan være årsag til, at hønerne kommer i en mangelsituation, hvilket påvirker foderoptagelse, ægproduktion og fjerpilningsadfærd (Ambrosen and Petterson, 1997; McKeegan et al., 2001). Risikoen for stress øges hos dyrene, hvilket kan medføre nedsat modstandsdygtighed overfor infektionssygdomme. Det er altid sårbart at være afhængig af en stor import af protein-råvarer, og især harmonerer dette ikke med de økologiske principper. Lokalt produceret foder forbedrer mulighederne for kvalitetskontrol, samt minimerer miljøbelastning i forhold til en global transport. I forskellige forsøg med økologiske æglæggende høner har råvarer som sojabønner, lupin og quinoa været undersøgt som protein- og methinonin kilder i æglæggerfoder, der er baseret på 100% økologiske råvarer

Slagtekyllinger på friland

100% økologisk foder til økologiske slagtekyllinger ved hjælp af fouragering i udearealet og danske råvarer

Forskere: Øko-kyllingen står ved en skillevej

KRONIK: Når der bliver langet 100 kyllinger over disken i de danske supermarkeder, så er kun én af dem økologisk. Hvis øko-kyllingen skal finde sin rette hylde i fremtidens supermarked, så kræver det, at både producenter og supermarkeder sætter fart på udviklingen, skriver Martin H. Thorsøe og Sanna Steenfeldt