Our Experience in Anti-biotic Free Broiler Farming

Our Experience in Anti-biotic Free Broiler Farming

Syntropy Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Our first application of EM Technology was at the broiler farm in Kota Tinggi, Johor. At the end of 2003 PPKJBS (South Johor Farmers Organization) agreed with us to test EM Technology at one of their 6 huts at Smangar, Kota Tinggi.

The result of our first harvest was as follows:

Period of our trial = 6 March 2003 ~ 15 April 2003
Number of broilers = 4,950
Mortality = 2.83%
FCR = 1.71
Feed = Factory feed without anti-biotic
Average weight = 2.24kg
Other remarks = Bokashi was mixed with wood chips as bed and EMAS was applied everyday. EMAS was mixed with water at a ratio 1:100 and sprayed to the entire hut everyday until harvest. EM feed additive was mixed with the feed at 3 % and EM1 was mixed with drinking water at 1: 2,000~5,000. We observed that foul odor and flies reduced substantially.

 

Without EM
With EM

Location: Kota Tinggi, Johor

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EM APPLICATION

Upon harvest we went to a slaughterhouse which was operated by PPKJBS and the above photos were taken. What we observed were:
  1. Once the chicken body is open we usually feel a foul odour but we did not feel so with EM chicken.
  2. The fat of EM chicken was half compared with ordinary chicken.
  3. When EM chicken was cooked we tasted as if it was a rural chicken.
  4. When the soup was made with EM chicken, it was very sweet without using sugar.
  5. We analysed the cholesterol of EM chicken as well to find that cholesterol in EM the chicken was only 1/3 compared with ordinary chickens.
Based on the good result PPKJBS agreed to use EM at all the huts at Smangar after our first trial. We also sent the followings to Japan to check the level of subtle energy (Hado)by LFA (Life Field Analyzer). This technology can detect subtle energy and classify the level between – 20 ~ + 20.
  • feather of ordinary chicken + 6
  • feather of EM chicken + 19
  • feed with anti-biotic + 7
  • feed without anti-biotic + 9
  • Bokashi feed + 20
The level of our healthy body is around +15 and if it shows only +2~+3, it means we may die anytime. The ordinary chicken with a level of only + 6 must be very sick. Our EM fermented Bokashi feed achieved a full mark of + 20. EM chicken just missed 1 point from the full mark and therefore this kind of food should have a medicinal value. On the other hand, if we keep eating any food with a low level of subtle energy, we will definitely fall sick. As long as we eat only safe food without any chemicals we will not be sick anymore. Food will work as medicine!  
(Remark) Among the above categories “Remove” means “Removal of some chickens which stopped growing”. Some of the chickens we receive from the supplier showed very slow growth. Since they still keep eating the feed usually farm owners will remove those chickens from the huts. Therefore real “Mortality” should be only those who died. We gave bokashi feed to the chickens as a feed additive and also mixed it with wood chips for fermentation of the bed. Therefore, in order for us to calculate real FCR, we should add only bokashi as a feed additive.

EFFECTS & RESULTS

Below are other interesting observations of EM chicken farming:
  • Usually, the mortality rate is 8~10 % and FCR is 1.9~2.0. This means EM chickens will eat less feed by about 15 %. Since feed occupies 70 % of the total cost we can save at least 10 % of the total operational cost.
  • After the wood chips are fermented chickens always feel warm and therefore baby chicks do not need to gather together. They will spread everywhere inside the huts.
  • We did not use any anti-biotic at all during our involvement and yet the results were better than conventional methods. We also believe that no vaccination is required but we did not insist on it to them at that time.
  • This farm is an “open house” system but what we could achieve was comparable to a “close system” or even better than that.
  • In the case of the conventional chicken farming method usually, more numbers of chickens die at the 2nd half stage. This is because chickens can not tolerate hot temperature and after the 2nd half stage they have more feathers and feel too hot. However, we found that in the case of the EM method, while total mortality reduced significantly, more chickens died at the 1st half stage compared with the 2nd half. Once chickens have grown big they should be much stronger and therefore they should not die so easily. Problems are the stress due to overcrowded condition and bad environment such as foul odour coupled with chemicals/drugs given with the feed. EM can improve their health condition much better and therefore they do not die so much even at the 2nd half of the stage.
  • After harvest, these chickens are to be brought to a slaughterhouse by a lorry and the journey takes 1.5 hours. According to the manager of the farm always 0.5 % of chickens died before on the way there. Interestingly, after EM was applied NO chicken died. This could be another big cost down. This is another evidence that EM chickens are really very tough.
  • At the slaughterhouse, after the work is over they washed the facility with water mixed with EM. A few months later they found no foul odour, less number of flies/mosquitoes/cockroaches and the stench from the sewage plant reduced significantly with much less sludge.
  • The potential of large cost down was explained already but we believe much more profit can be enjoyed if we know how to sell EM chicken at a higher price. Since we do not need to use any chemicals/drugs/anti-biotic and the taste becomes much better we should be able to sell them as a high-value healthy product. We assume that people will be happy to pay even 30 % higher for such safe and healthy food.
  • The production cost of agricultural products in Malaysia is much higher than in neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Thailand and China and therefore we should not fight against them in terms of price. We should fight in terms of safety and quality. Once we can produce such good quality of food we are able to make Malaysia a big food exporter in the world.
  • The shelf life of organic food produced by EM can last much longer than before thanks to antioxidants produced by EM as shown in the photo below. This can help shop owners and exporter a lot. Moreover, eating healthy food will improve the health of consumers. The government can reduce a lot of budget of medical expenses for Malaysian citizens.
Double Deck System  

GALLERY