Page 2 - National Poultry Newspaper

Reach out if you’re under stress
Poultry Industry Calendar of Events
2022
JAN 18-20 – VICTAM and Animal Health and Nutrition 2022, Thailand, www.victamasia.com
JAN 25-27 – International Production & Processing Expo, Atlanta US, www. ippexpo.org
MAR 30 - APR 1 – 7th International Conference on Poultry Intestinal Health, Columbia, www.ihsig.com
MAY 10-11 – British Pig & Poultry Fair, Stoneleigh UK, pigandpoultry.org.uk
MAY 15-17 – Poultry Information Exchange and Australasian Milling Conference (PIX/AMC), www.pixamc. com.au
MAY 31 - JUN 2 – VIV Europe 2022, Netherlands, viveurope.nl
NOV 8-10 – European Symposium on Poultry Genetics, Hannover Germany, www.espg2022.org
How to supply event details: Send all details to National Poultry Newspaper, PO Box 162, Wynnum Qld 4178, call 07 3286 1833 or email: design@collins.media
poultrynews.com.au
07 3286 1833
THE past two years have been extremely tough years for many egg farming families.
talk about their feelings. Beyond Blue stated, “Isolation and difficulty accessing services are some of the challenges faced by men living in rural and remote commu-
country-based men – areyouboggedmate.com. au/what-we-do
As we enter another year, I am concerned that stress and mental health issues may be getting some of our egg farmers down.
nities.”
“For those making a liv-
If you find yourself bogged by stress or you know a person who is in need of some help, then ‘Are you bogged mate?’ could be a good start.
Egg farmers have been under a large amount of stress for a prolonged pe- riod of time.
ing from the land, there is some evidence to suggest that the farm environment is hazardous to mental health, with farmers ex- periencing high rates of stress and depression.”
You may also chat to your GP as a starting point.
by MELINDA HASHIMOTO CEO
There are a whole range of issues on their plate, including an oversupply of eggs – causing very low egg prices – and rising farm production costs.
of magnifying isolation. Quarantine and border restrictions over the past year restricted face-to- face contact with other
farm, I understand exactly how isolating it can be.
There are other ways to take that first step to talk about stress on the farm.
Some farms are facing severe financial repercus- sions.
dustry, egg farmers were unable to catch up and meet at forums and events which would have been held throughout the year normally.
We can also feel too busy or embarrassed to pick up the phone to call a friend to talk over our stress.
This is a link to the Beyond Blue website – beyondblue.org.au/ who-does-it-affect/men/ what-causes-anxiety-and- depression-in-men/men- in-rural-and-remote-areas
• MensLine Australia 1300 789 978
COVID-19 has also had a big impact – not only disrupting transport, egg distribution and on-farm staffing but also in terms
• Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
people.
In the case of our in-
• Lifeline Australia 131 114
Having grown up on a
If this is you, I encour- age you to take some steps to talk about your stress.
Many farmers don’t have a hobby because they focus on the farm.
It can also be difficult to offload your stress by talking about it to other family members.
• Farmer Assistance Hotline 132 316
Beyond Blue is an or- ganisation that specifi- cally helps with stress, anxiety and depression among men.
These include:
Egg Farmers of Australia chief executive officer Melinda Hashimoto.
It offers a helpful insight into the topic of stress and depression among
In an article on this top- ic, Beyond Blue encour- ages men in particular to
• Suicide Call Back Ser- vice 1300 659 467.
Likewise, if you’re OK but know of another egg farmer who is facing high degrees of stress, call them to see how they’re going.
Or, if they do a have a hobby, it’s not uncom- mon to find the golf clubs, fishing rods or books cov- ered in cobwebs.
Ask them – are you OK?
This is largely because – due to farming pressures – it’s been so long since they spent some time on themselves.
When we get bogged on a country road, other drivers often stop to lend a hand.
Please reach out if you or someone in your fam- ily or team needs help or a good chat about current things that worry them.
It’s the country way.
This is the premise for an organisation called ‘Are you bogged mate?’
Meanwhile, we look forward to a prosperous 2022, with better egg prices and a reduction in poultry industry disease issues.
Post-hatch performance using in ovo CrM
* from P1
males had more fibres
a very important finding for the industry.
try rears mixed flocks, it reinforces the impor- tance of considering both sexes when trying to im- prove the growth, health and welfare of the birds.
to push through when things became stressful.” “It will help with bills, as the intense require- ments of this honours project and wanting to give it my full commit- ment left me little time
future studies.
I hope you are all safe
per square micrometre. Treatment did not affect the number of abnormal breast muscle fibres, but more males were more likely to have a higher number of abnormal fibres compared to fe-
Further research would need to be conducted to determine the true ef- fect, but as leg problems are known to occur in chicken meat birds, it would be fantastic if in ovo CrM could help with this issue.
This is especially true when it comes to consid- ering flock uniformity.
for paid work.
“It will also allow me
and well and encourage you to reach out – we are always looking for ways to support industry and farmers and would welcome any suggestions ofhowwecanbeofas- sistance.
males.
Despite not being sta-
The finding of a differ- ence in growth and body- weight between the sexes is not new, but as the Australian poultry indus-
Ms Firman said, “Knowing that Poul- try Hub Australia was interested enough in my research to provide me with a scholarship gave me extra incentive
to invest in more up-to- date technology, which will hopefully help in my future in research.”
If you have an idea or would like to chat all things poultry, don’t hesitate to contact our office poultryhub@une. edu.au
tistically significant, the major finding of this study was the improved hatch rate.
We wish Corey-Ann all the best with her
An improved hatch rate was not seen in previ- ous studies, so power cal- culations only took into consideration post hatch growth when calculating sample size.
Future research would need to increase the sam- ple size for the results to be fully applicable to the Australian poultry industry.
That being said, the hatch rate was increased by 5.5 percent compared to the expected rate.
While no post-hatch improvements were seen, an improved hatch rate would result in farmers having more birds in their flock.
More birds would still be an increased income for farmers.
The possibility of in ovo creatine monohy- drate potentially pre- venting leg issues in fast growing birds could be
The scholarship will allow Corey-Ann Firman to invest in more up-to-date technology, which will help in her future in research.
NATIONAL
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HAVE YOUR SAY!
All producers are encouraged
to send in letters to be published in NPN, outlining any concerns
or issues they may have with the industry.
This is an open forum where you can cover any topic, whether for or against an issue.
Please send your letters to: editorial@collins.media or PO Box 162, Wynnum Qld 4178
Page 2 – National Poultry Newspaper, January 2022
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