LSU AgCenter’s Hill Farm Research Station Broiler Demonstration Houses Theresia Lavergne, Ph.D., P.A.S. Associate Professor – Poultry
The LSU AgCenter’s Hill Farm Research Station Broiler Demonstration Houses are in production! On July 29th Raeford Farms of Louisiana placed the first flock in the broiler demonstration houses.
The purpose of the two broiler demonstration houses is to conduct management and equipment demonstrations to provide information for the benefit of Louisiana’s broiler industry. There is a “steering committee” that identifies and prioritizes the management and equipment issues to be demonstrated within these houses. Then, LSU AgCenter personnel will carry out the demonstrations, summarize the information generated, and disseminate that information to the broiler industry.
The members of the steering committee include: the LSU AgCenter, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, and any poultry companies engaged in live broiler production in Louisiana. This steering committee meets on an annual basis, and additional meetings are called as needed.
The first equipment demonstration: A demonstration on the use of radiant tube heaters vs. radiant brooders for brooding chicks will be the first activity in the broiler demonstration houses. One house is equipped with radiant tube heaters and the second house is equipped with radiant brooders. Bird performance and energy usage will be monitored for each house. This demonstration is expected to continue for one to two years.
Information on the broiler demonstration houses and the demonstrations conducted in them will be available at www.lsuagcenter.com