Water treatment leads to efficiency increases on Israeli poultry farm

SITUATION

OF OZ is a large poultry company with several across sites in Israel. In this country known for agricultural efficiency, farm managers had tried several methods over the years to overcome their biofilm issues. They suspected these blockages were the reason their productivity and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) had plateaued. Finally in 2011 they turned to Switzerland’s AQUA4D to see if water treatment could help overcome these issues.

METHOD

The AQUA4D® system was installed on the hens’ drinking water lines. In order to analyze the efficacy of this scientific treatment, 6 production batches were closely followed.

Two identical poultry houses on the same site were chosen to perform the trial – one as a reference and a second equipped with an AQUA4D® treatment system.

The results were then comparted across 6 production cycles.

RESULTS

The results after 6 cycles came out unequivocally in favor of the house equipped with AQUA4D®. Among other results were the following:

• 8% increase in European index measurements.
• 1% drop in the nutrition index
• Notable decrease in Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) from 2.16 to 2.05

The results clearly show the positive impact of eliminating limescale and biofilm on the health of the animals. What’s more, with a significant FCR decrease the farm managers could also realize feed savings, thus reconfirming the positive effect of AQUA4D® on agricultural and financial performance.

Calculation formula

Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) = Feed bought / Weight sold

European index = (Mean weight per chicks x 10) / (FCR x Average age of sold birds)

House efficiency index = (Meat produced per m2) / (F CR x Average age of sold birds)