Alternatives to formulate laying hen diets beyond the traditional least-cost model

Abstract

Summary: Owing to the high cost of feed for poultry, there is continuous pressure to formulate ‘least-cost’ diets that meet nutritional requirements. However, the main aim of any commercial enterprise is usually to maximize profits with the resources or inputs available, and the conventional or historic tool of least-cost ration formulation has limitations in a more demanding economic environment. The layer industry may experience particularly volatile changes in egg price, principally owing to changes in supply rather than demand, and in the past, it has been reported to possess less production and financial data reporting than other industries. Thus, increased flexibility during these uncertain times may give the layer industry greater opportunity and capacity to cope with market fluctuations. A practical example of how a laying hen operation may benefit from these approaches demonstrates that the maximum-profit solution does not always match the least-cost solution and that stochastic feed formulation may be used to accurately assign safety margins and define the level of certainty this safety margin will provide. Finally, as producers better understand how their hens respond to different dietary specifications, the opportunity arises to choose the set of specifications that result in maximum profits for their unique situations, rather than relying on least-cost diets formulated to nutrient requirements alone.

Keywords

• diet
• formulation
• least-cost
• maximum-profit
• stochastic
• laying hen