Photo: Collected
The global poultry industry has seen substantial growth over the past 50 years, driven primarily by rising consumer demand for poultry meat — due to its affordability, nutritional profile, and versatility.
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2023 forecasted that poultry would comprise 40% of global meat production that year, with a predicted increase from 142 million tonnes produced in 2023 to 153 million tonnes by 2030. Although welcome growth to the sector, it brings added pressure on producers and integrators to optimise efficiencies and boost productivity — while maintaining high standards of animal welfare throughout the production chain.
Modern poultry operations benefit from today’s advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, which can be utilised across various stages of production. Wherever they’re introduced, there can be transformative knock-on effects felt throughout the entire poultry value chain.
The modern hatchery
Although its adoption varies globally, chick sexing is a crucial step that can significantly boost the bottom line for producers, farmers, processors, and integrators.
In more developed countries with advanced poultry industries, the practice is widely implemented, with producers looking for new automated methods that can enhance efficiency throughout the production process.
Separating males and females early on brings a whole host of benefits, including the ability to implement sex-specific management and feeding practices that can reduce FCR, enhance the predictability of days to achieve target weight, and improve weight uniformity at the plant.
In developing countries, the value of chick sexing is widely understood, and many poultry producers have implemented this practice. However, the primary challenge remains to find qualified labour to perform manual sexing, as automated technology has only recently become accessible. See details.
Source: Online/GFMM
Comment Now