Free Range and Organic Meat

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 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 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.

From day old

Used inside, the Quill Drinker can take birds from day olds to adults in one simple process and offers a much more hygienic way of getting water to birds than the conventional bell shaped drinker.

The advantages of using the Quill Drinker over an open water system for whatever age of birds, are clear – the benefit of cleaner water therefore a reduction in disease, drier bedding and reduced time and labour (the drinkers do not need to be cleaned out on a daily basis, only between flocks) are all benefits that poultry farmers will observe, as soon as the drinkers are installed.

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.

On some organic and free range table flocks, producers can find it hard to get their birds to reach target weights when required, simply because with a lack of water on the range, good feed conversion rates are not maintained – these target weights are now being seen to increase, simply by adding the Quill Drinker.

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

Installation

Inside

The drinkers themselves are extremely easy to set up and maintain and operate off the same internal plumbing as units currently operating on bell drinkers. For producers wishing to change over to the unique Quill Drinking system there is therefore very little change needed to integrate the drinkers within their units. The picture to the right shows how the Quill Drinker can be used in any poultry situation and on any slope or type of ground. As you can see from the angle of the 'A' frame, the house pictured is on quite a steep slope but because the Quill Drinkers are individual units, they hang level for the birds to use.

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

Outside

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.

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 a trial carried out on a large egg laying flock of free range birds in the South West. It 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 meters 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.

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 or bell drinkers.

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