Free Range and Organic Eggs

The health, welfare and viability of poultry on the range is extremely important. Quill Productions is a company that specialise in producing unique products to use inside and outside of poultry units. These products are proven to give free range producers better returns from their flocks.

The Quill Drinker can give your free range flock:

·       Reduced feed bills

·       Better feed conversion rates

·       Increased egg sizes

·       Increased profits  - data has shown a profit of 50 pence per bird is easily achievable

·       Reduced boredom and feather pecking

·       A product approved by ‘Freedom Foods’

·       Savings in time, labour and resources

Success

The success of the patented Quill Drinker lies in the 10 high flow rate nipples fitted to each drinker. The flow rate through the nipples is controlled by changing the level of water within the drinker and can, if required reach over 100 millilitres per minute. This is achieved using the reliable and proven Rainbow Valve which is easy to adjust and has a safety shut off feature. Using the valve to control water flow is simple, the higher the water level is in the drinker, the higher the flow rate through the nipples, the lower the water level, the lower the flow rate and so on. This allows the producer complete control over the flow of water going to his or her birds. The nipples used inside the Quill Drinker are 180º, as opposed to the more common 360º nipple. We feel this is of key importance in minimising wet bedding and increasing the supply of water to the bird.

The drinker’s slim, triangular design prevents birds perching on it and allows unhindered flow of birds throughout the unit.

Rats can be a problem for poultry producers, especially on extensive free range and organic systems, but use of the Quill Drinker can help play a part in reducing the problem. Producers who use a liquid rodenticide find that rats have to use this as their main water source as they are unable to drink from the Quill Drinker.

For those producers wishing to change from bell drinkers to nipples, the Quill Drinker is the number one system to use. Unlike nipple lines where the change must be 'all or nothing', Quill Drinkers can replace bell drinkers at a pace to suit the proprietors own requirements. This means houses can be changed over gradually, even while flocks are housed.

On the range

The Quill Drinker can fill an extremely important niche in poultry management. It is the only nipple drinker available, designed specifically as a range enhancement tool to provide flocks with supplies of clean, fresh water at all times. With UK assurance schemes demanding regular testing of birds and eggs for salmonella and other bacteria, open drinkers are susceptible to contamination through droppings and interference from wild birds and mammals, so disease problems can quickly arise.

This has left producers unable to provide a hygienic water supply on the range resulting in the birds going for long periods without drinking. This can be clearly seen on warm days, especially during the summer when birds are unlikely to return to the house simply to drink. In egg producing flocks this can dramatically increase the time it takes for the birds to produce and maintain eggs that reach large and extra large grades.

There are no specific requirements relating to the number of birds an outside drinker can water at any one time but as long as the birds still have access to water inside, our trials have shown that as a maximum, one Quill Drinker to five hundred birds should be used.

Installation

The drinker is extremely easy to install outside, requiring minimal plumbing. For use on the range, the drinkers can be supplied with a strong galvanised tripod system, which enables the drinker to be moved regularly. This is important, as over time, the ground underneath the drinker can become soiled due to the heavy use that it will sustain. Frost will not damage the nipples or drinker, so it can therefore be left outside during the winter months. The adjustable legs on the tripod allow the drinker to be used on any gradient or type of land.

The benefits shown on free range egg production units have been confirmed by an independent trial carried out on two sister flocks on a well known free range egg unit in the South West. One flock had access to the Quill Drinker whilst on the range, the other did not. The benefits observed were as follows:

Egg Size

Once the birds were ranging and using the Quill Drinkers, water consumption increased by around 5%. Egg sizes were therefore achieving extra large and large grades considerably quicker than in the flock where water was unavailable. This is clearly demonstrated in the graphs below.

Graph to show the percentage of extra large eggs produced on a ranging unit where one flock (blue) had access to the Quill Drinker outside and its  sister flock (the control, red) had not

Graph to show the percentage of large eggs produced on a ranging unit where one flock (blue) had access to the Quill Drinker outside and its sister flock (the control, red) had not

Egg weight

With an increase in egg size, egg weights increase accordingly. Almost as soon as the birds start using the range effectively at around 25 weeks of age (8-9 weeks after being housed) the extra increase in egg weight is clearly visible, with egg weights often being a gram heavier than the control flock.

Graph to show the average egg weight in grams produced on a ranging unit where one flock (blue) had access to the Quill Drinker outside and its  sister flock (the control, red) had not

The figures, relayed in graph form, prove the benefits of using the Quill Drinker on the range. The owner of the laying flock on which the trials were carried out has equated that through egg sales alone, each bird will make the business around 50 pence per bird per year better off. On the trial unit of 8,000 birds this equates to £4,000. For the small initial investment, this is a huge return - can you afford not to use it?

Feed Conversion

As feed is one of the highest ongoing expenditures on any flock of birds, the Quill Drinkers ability to lower feed consumption rates and therefore feed bills is good news for any farmer. The graph below demonstrates that where birds had access to water outside, their daily feed consumption was on average 9-10 grams less than where water was absent.  By equating this out over the life of a flock, the money saved on feed alone would pay for the drinkers to be installed and help increase the financial bottom line.

Graph to show the average feed consumption per bird in grams produced on a ranging unit where one flock (blue) had access to the Quill Drinker outside and its sister flock (the control, red) had not

Other Benefits

The Quill Drinker also proves very effective as a means of encouraging birds down the range and away from the heavily soiled are directly around the houses. Producers who have used them already say birds will travel hundreds of metres to reach the drinker on the range. By ranging further and for longer periods the birds are kept more occupied, helping once again to reduce boredom and feather pecking.

Puddle Problems

Hens will always drink from puddles. Unfortunately, these puddles are often a reservoir for pathogenic bacteria. As well as saprophytic bacteria from the soil, puddles can also harbour more harmful agents such as Pseudomonas, Escheriaia.coli and potentially food pathogens such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. Stopping hens drinking from puddles is almost impossible but it can be reduced by having Quill Drinkers on the range. As the birds constantly use the Quill Drinker for quenching their thirst, they are less likely to use the puddles available to them for drinking.

Yolk Colour

Yolk colour has also appeared to improve thanks to the Quill Drinker, as the extra time spent ranging further from the unit, seems to encourage the birds to eat more grass and vegetative material. This has increased the colour of the yolk further up the Kemin scale. The value of ranging has also been backed up by recent research in America. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that birds on the range produced about three times more Omega-3 fat in their eggs than caged birds fed on a commercial diet, resulting in better eggs. The research was led by Heather Kristen, Assistant Professor of Crop Production and Ecology in the University's College of Agricultural Sciences. Within the report, published on the University's website Kristen said "the longer the birds were on pasture, the more vitamins they produced". 

Placing the Quill Drinker on the range in strategic locations has proven that birds range further and for longer periods, increasing the amount of  grass and vegetative material the birds eat. This research backs up the need for birds to spend time on the range and a cost effective way of increasing this time is by installing the Quill Drinker.

Inside Free Range and Organic Egg Laying Units

Although bell type drinkers are most commonly seen within egg laying poultry units, the Quill Drinker is becoming more popular as a replacement, or an addition to, the standard bell shaped drinker. This is due to the drinker’s ability to reduce boredom and feather pecking. On top of this, the Quill Drinker offers a much cleaner system of providing water to birds  - the need for daily cleaning of bell drinkers will be a thing of the past.

Those producers, who intend to purchase new drinking equipment before the 2010 ban prohibiting de-beaking, will certainly be at an advantage for their forward thinking if they invest in Quill Drinkers.

Where intensive systems are concerned many producers begin by adding a few Quill Drinkers to their existing bell drinkers. Both the birds and the producers appreciate the unique benefits a Quill Drinker can bring and soon add more to their units as the associated advantages of the Quill Drinker over bell drinkers soon become apparent.

The Quill Drinker also offers the advantage over a fixed nipple line of being able to be positioned throughout the house, preventing on some units, a wall of birds forming in front of the nest boxes. It also results in the poultry farmer being able to walk more freely among his flock.

Where bell type drinkers are present, the Quill Drinker is a direct replacement, so each Quill Drinker can supply water to 100 birds.

Feather Pecking

Fact: Boredom plays a major part in feather pecking.

Static drinkers, whether bell shaped or nipple lines, offer the bird no variation in their daily routine – they simply have a drink and move on to feed, or perhaps peck their nearest neighbour. This is where the Quill Drinker is fundamentally different.  Whilst operating inside units of any kind, the drinker oscillates throughout use, making the birds constantly follow and look for the nipples. This increases the amount of time each bird is occupied throughout the day and has been shown to reduce boredom and feather pecking between flocks where Quill Drinkers are present, either as the primary drinking system or as an invaluable addition to nipple lines.

For another fantastic 'Range Enhancement Feature' click the picture below!