• Livestock

Reduced FCR (Feed Conversion Rate)

The BroilerNet project involves a bottom-up approach to identify challenges and innovation needs for broiler farmers in Europe, and to collect promising and already successfully implemented Good Practices to meet the challenges in questions. The top Good Practices selected by experts within the three thematic areas (animal health management, animal welfare and sustainability) have been summarized in factsheets. THis good practice consists of modulating the feed formulation so that the use of raw materials and the costs of feed can be reduced. FCE indicates the amount of feed required to grow a chicken from one day old chicken to a certain slaughter weight. A lower FCR means that animals require less food to grow, thus reducing the overall amount of natural resources needed for farming. The good practice includes less grain harvesting, less water consumption for irrigating fields, and less space for growing feed. Improved growth performance can be achieved through the selection of high quality raw materials and optimal feed formulation. FCR can be reduced by almost 0.1 points (e.g. from 1.80 to 1.70) by adopting this practice.