Outside drinkers boost egg weight
Developed originally for pheasants the Quill drinker is now finding its way onto free range farms in increasing numbers.
"We are now getting as much interest from poultry farmers as from the game bird rearing sector," says the man behind the idea of the portable nipple drinker, ex-dairy farmer Graham Crocker.
As a keen shooting man Graham has long been involved with rearing pheasants and came up with the idea of the Quill drinker to provide an alternative to the unhygienic open troughs normally used in the rearing pen. And with game farmers no longer having access to the drug Emtryl, it is an industry where hygiene standards have had to improve dramatically. But outside of the woods the drinker is proving popular with free rangers who are using it to provide a supply of clean, fresh water to their birds while out on the range.
"We've trialled it on commercial free range farms and we have seen an increase of up to one gram in egg weight," Graham told the Ranger. "There has also been a noticeable improvement in feed efficiency."
Graham believes this is because birds now have access to water throughout the day whereas before they would have been unlikely to return to the house simply to drink. "It was just the same with dairy cows," he said, "you never wanted them too far away from a trough."
The Quill drinker is also proving effective as a means of encouraging birds to range further and producers who have used them say the birds will travel hundreds of metres to reach the drinkers. And for some flocks, with producers now using them instead of bell drinkers, when they do return to the house the same drinker is on offer.
"As well as being cleaner than an open bowl type drinker, we are finding the Quill drinker is keeping the birds occupied for longer and as a result it may have a part to play in reducing feather pecking," says Graham. "It also offers the advantage over a fixed nipple line of being able to be positioned anywhere in the house, including the scratch area."
And Graham's switch from dairy farmer to drinker manufacturer has certainly been a successful one for last month, along with his wife Trish, he was presented with the Farm Diversification award by the Countess of Wessex at the Royal Bath and West Show.
The award, sponsored by Farmers Guardian and NatWest, was looking for examples of innovation, job creation and a continued involvement in agriculture, criteria the judges felt Graham had met.
"It has been a great success," said Graham. "We've worked extremely hard to build the business up and it isn't until you win a competition like this that you begin to realise what you've achieved."
Graham has now taken on a full-time sales manager to help him cope with the growing interest in the Quill drinker.
