Shropshire-based poultry professional Dr Sylwia Sobolewska NSch 2023 has published her Nuffield Farming report 'Feed Efficiency and Targeted Genetic Selection as the Key for Sustainable Performance and Profitability in Laying Hens', sponsored by the BEMB Research and Education Trust.

The full report is now available on the Nuffield Farming report library and her report video is available on the Nuffield Farming YouTube channel. Sylwia will present the findings of her research at the 2024 Nuffield Farming Conference in Belfast.

During her Scholarship, Sylwia travelled to UK, USA, Canada, Poland, Spain, Zambia, Kenya, Hungary, Czech Republic, Israel, Netherlands. She aimed to understand the options for improving sustainable performance and profitability in laying hens.

In her report, Sylwia says: "To assure the number of eggs to satisfy the rising food demand without compromising economic losses, the feed efficiency of laying hens needs to be improved. More efficient feed systems will not only give economic benefits to farmers but will also have a positive impact on the environment."

During her study Sylwia explored feed additive options, including probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, enzymes, organic acids, medium-chain fatty acids and phytobiotics. "Feed additives should be used more often in laying hens' diets as they can improve the feed conversion ratio (FCR), egg production, health and consequently profitability of the birds.

"The average improvement of FCR for layers is around 0.005 kg feed/dozen eggs/year. White laying hens are more profitable and sustainable compared to brown layers. The production traits like FCR, egg production and liveability are better for white layers. Moreover, white laying hens can be kept for more than 100 weeks, and the carbon footprint is lower compared to brown layers."

While sustainability is important, currently there is no space for products which only improve sustainability in layers says Sylwia. "Egg producers prioritise production output and feed intake over feed efficiency metrics. This is why it's more difficult to get egg producers to change diets solely for improving feed efficiency.

"However, there are numerous feed additives which improve the quality of feed and, at the same time, improve nutrient utilisation efficiency, egg production and the health status of birds which in turn leads to less ammonia emissions and reduces the carbon footprint," concludes Sylwia.

Study objectives

• What are the tools to assess layer profitability?
• To evaluate market opinion on feed additives for layers.
• To understand if genetics and artificial intelligence can help with improving feed efficiency.
• What is best practice to achieve the most profitable feed efficiency?

Messages

1. There is no index for layers to easily assess their profitability.
2. Feed efficiency can be improved significantly when more feed additives are used in laying hens' diets.
3. White layers are more sustainable and more profitable compared to brown birds.
4. Low cost and high functionality are still a challenge with the technology supporting feed efficiency.