Economic analysis of a management tool to improve the health of laying hens on organic farms
Project Leader: Dr. Keppler, Christiane; Prof. Dr. Knierim, Ute; Prof. Dr. Möller, Detlev
Project description:
The management tool developed and optimized in the project comprises
a recording and evaluation scheme
for animal health and laying performance as well as
a structured feedback including benchmarking and advisory support.
It was tested on 11 laying farms and 6 upstream rearing farms
in two laying runs by trained advisors. The costs of its
application and the implementation of advisory recommendations were analyzed by
comparing actual and planned cost performance calculations.
On the laying farms, mainly
sternum changes (10 farms), plumage damage and in some cases
injuries due to feather pecking and cannibalism (4 farms) as well as too
low an animal weight or too little uniformity of the flock were identified
(11 farms). Weaknesses on the farms were primarily found in
process-related, rehousing and feeding management.
Accordingly, an improvement of the process-accompanying
management, increased inspection rounds, the offer of climbing aids in the rehousing phase and
feed analyses with advice were suggested.
The unit costs per egg (excluding marketing) on the
project farms amounted to 15.30 to 24.23 cents, with a strong
cost degression with increasing farm size. Routine use
of the management tool would result in average costs of 1.35 cents/egg (2.81 - 0.59
cents/egg for farms with 1300 or 8000 to 9000 hens). In the case of animal health problems
, costs of 0.00
to 3.50 cents/egg would be added for the modeled improvement measures, taking into account possible increases in performance. A
complete recovery of costs (break-even point) would be achieved on average at 20.45 cents/egg
(26.7 - 18.5 cents/egg).
Farmers and advisors predominantly rated the management tool
as practicable and helpful. With its comprehensive approach
and scientific basis, it offers a new way of transferring the current state of knowledge
in the field of animal health management into practical application.
It appears to be suitable for integration into the QS scheme with regard to animal health
. However, the higher costs per egg that may arise must be compensated
. This is particularly true for small farms.
Publications: