New brooding method results in heavier broilers, more eggs

A Berlin-trained microbiologist has found a new method of taking care of young chicks or brooding, resulting in heavier broilers and increased eggs of layers, as well as in minimizing the obnoxious odor of chicken manure, converting it into an effective bio-organic fertilizer.

Dr. Rene Sumaoang of Novatech Agri-Food Industries said brooding can be greatly improved with the use of Biosec applied on carbonized rice hull (CRH), which is used as litter for day-old chicks until they are 14 days old. Formulated by Dr. Sumaoang, Biosec is composed of immobilized beneficial microbes and potent digestive enzymes that digest and degrade fresh chicken manure.

Dr. Sumaoang said that by applying Biosec on the CRH or on the manure on the ground , billions of beneficial microbes are being introduced into the chicken manure. The beneficial microbes multiply rapidly and subsequently produce microbial products that inhibit the growth and proliferation of deadly microbes like Escherichia coli, salmonella and the like.

The enzymes in Biosec break down the food nutrients in the chicken manure into simpler forms that can be absorbed by the roots of plants.

For brooding, 0.5 kilogram (kg) of Biosec is applied on 7 to 10 bags of CRH, which is used as litter for 1,000 birds for 14 days, Dr. Sumaoang said. The waste of the birds is mixed with the litter. Thereafter, the litter is collected and can be used later as bio-organic fertilizer. However, the use of Biosec must still be continued.

After brooding until the broilers are harvested, Biosec (15 kg per 5,000 birds) is applied on the manure that falls on the ground. In a tunnel vent system, like those used by Magnolia, 2 kg of Biosec is spread on the litter of every 1,000 birds. In egg production, 20 kg of Biosec is applied on the manure of every 5,000 birds every three months.

The new method differs from the old method which uses raw rice hull as chicken litter without any treatment. This material, however, is a poor absorbent material, as its silica content is bound inside the hull. Without Biosec, the chicken manure emits dangerous sulfide and ammonia gases, which produce foul odor and trigger respiratory diseases in the birds.

Moreover, the litter becomes the host of deadly microbes and poses a continuing problem on its disposal, as it can not be used as organic fertilizer.

With Biosec on the litter, Dr. Sumaoang said, the emission of ammonia and sulfide gases as well as foul odor is minimized, thereby reducing mortality rate. Likewise, flies are no longer attracted to the decomposing chicken manure.

Biosec treatment of CRH results in better ability of the birds to produce meat or eggs, ensures total biosecurity, and makes CRH an effective bio-organic fertilizer. The feathers of the birds also do not become discolored. Death of birds is greatly reduced by 30 to 40 percent. Consequently, medication cost is also greatly reduced.

In layer production, reduced death rate is translated into higher income as more birds are laying in any given period.

Dr. Sumaoang said that in Bantayan Island, Cebu, which is the egg basket of the Visayas, Biosec treatment of CRH has resulted in a one-percent to five-percent improvement in egg laying performance. With an increase of two percent, for instance, 5,000 birds would produce an additional 25,550 eggs a year. If an egg is P3 each, the increase in production would be worth P76,650.

On the other hand, if the increase in production is five percent, an additional 63,875 eggs worth P191,625 would be produced by 5,000 birds in one year.

Given 100,000 layers, the poultry owner would have an additional net income of P1.133 million or P3.4325 million with two percent and five percent increase in egg production in one year, respectively. The annual cost of Biosec treatment is only P20,000 for 5,000 layers or P400,000 for 100,000 birds.

In broilers, a two-percent increase in production from 26,000 birds would result in an additional 780 kg of meat worth P42,000. The cost of 200 kg of Biosec is only P6,000, resulting in an additional net gain of P36,000. – Sosimo Ma. Pablico