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Astronomers hunting for another Earth have found the closest match yet, a potentially rocky planet circling its star at the same distance as the Earth orbits the Sun, NASA has said.

Named Kepler 452b, the planet is about 60 percent larger than Earth. It could have active volcanoes, oceans and sunshine like ours, twice as much gravity and a year that lasts 385 days, scientists said on Thursday.
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“Today we are announcing the discovery of an exoplanet that, as far we can tell, is a pretty good close cousin to the Earth and our Sun,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

“This is about the closest so far, and I really emphasize the ‘so-far,'” he added, describing Kepler 452b as “the closest twin,” or “Earth 2.0.”

The planet was detected by the US space agency’s Kepler Space Telescope, which has been hunting for other worlds like ours since 2009.

This planet sits squarely in the Goldilocks zone – where life could exist because it is neither too hot nor too cold to support liquid water, the US space agency said.

“Today the Earth is a little less lonely,” said Jon Jenkins, Kepler data analysis lead scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

Kepler 452b’s star is 1.5 billion years older, four percent more massive and 10 percent brighter than our sun

davies427. What is the situation with your birds now? adebamtech. Congrats on the positive turn of events. It's a matter of time; you will soon be making good profit. Success.

jamp. The question I was about asking was what segun1976 asked. How do the the birds get their protein needs met with this formula? M/w, at #64/kg of maize, this formula gives a bag at #2200. That is still much ok.

segun1976. You are right. At the given price, cost per kg of layers feed is #85.96. Selling off of spent sometimes impact the prices of eggs but, not significantly. Most farmers now almost always have replacement stock before selling off the old layers. jamp, how much is Top layers concentrate & what is the mixing ratio, pls?

segun1976. Akure - #3490. Owo - #3560.

German poultry industry agrees to beak trimming ban
0458BROILERS
Beak trimming in the German poultry industry is going to become a thing of the past following the signing of a voluntary agreement which will ban the practice as of 1 January 2017.
German poultry industry agrees to beak trimming ban
The move is a key component of an animal welfare initiative "A question of attitude". Signatories of the pioneering agreement are the Central Association of German Poultry Industry Association, the German Egg Association and the Association of German Turkey Producers and the country's Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt.

In signing the agreement, the poultry industry has committed to stop beak trimming of layers from 1 August 2016, and to stop stocking pullets with trimmed beaks from 1 January 2017.

"Timely as well as ambitious"

"We are in Germany on the right track to become the EU trendsetter in animal welfare," Schmidt commented on the signing. "The agreement is timely as well as ambitious in comparison to other known initiatives. This is not only a success on the road to more animal welfare, but it also shows that we can achieve a lot with the principle of voluntary commitment."

"Animal welfare is key for guiding of our daily work" said Leo Graf von Drechsel, president of the Central Association of the German poultry industry. "We see ourselves as a constructive partner, we hear very clearly what society thinks and we are proud to have implemented this agreement on a voluntary basis".

Calls for EU-wide harmonisation

Graf Drechsel also made it clear that the waiver of beak trimming needs an enormous effort from the industry, also in financial terms. In order that this 'tour de force' doesn't start a competitive disadvantage for the German egg producers, the industry and government need to support the policy: "We have to promote this topic at European level", said Graf Drechsel calling for EU-wide harmonisation."
by ROSIE BURGIN Jul 17, 2015

Dutch experiment: Feeding live insects to chickens
12746NUTRITION
Dutch feed producer ForFarmers and the Department of Entomology at Wageningen UR, the Netherlands have together launched a trial in which broiler chickens are being fed live insects.
Dutch experiment: Feeding live insects to chickens
Insects are rich in protein. With this trial, both parties want to investigate whether the broiler chicks grow healthy and at the right pace when they receive live insects as an addition to the feed.

The trial is being carried out at the ForFarmers pilot plant in Nijkerk, the Netherlands with 1,000 chicks. The animals are divided in to 4 different groups, allocated 4 different diets.

The parties involved hope to make a positive step forward regarding sustainability by encouraging chickens in their natural behaviour. The first results are expected at the end of September. Even if the results are positive, it will take some time before this feeding regime will be implemented in practice, because its application is fairly costly.

Abiola1016. I thought my response was explicit enough for you to glean all the answers you needed. As to whether it's cheaper to make your own feeds; yes, it should be depending own where & in what quantity you source the components/ingredients. However, your overriding concern should be quality at the most cost effective price rather than cheap prices.

Abiola1016. Prices of feeds vary based on brands & location. Growers go for between #1850 & #2300; Layers between #2200 & #2500. IMO, there is no "best" brand. The stage of growth/life of the birds determine the brand I feed them with. You may wish to consider these in no particular order; Livestock, Vital, Amo Bygn, Top & Animal Care. You can reduce the cost per bag by between #200 & #500 depending on the method you adopt. For example, you can save about #200/bag by mixing concentrates with grounded maize & wheat offal from Golden Penny. You can save up to #500/bag by substituting wheat offal with rice bran. NOTE: the figures are based on 25kg bags of feeds. Finally, the quantity of feeds to be consumed by 1200 birds will be determined by their age. 18 weeks + birds will consume six 25kg bags of feeds daily or a little less. Success.

obstead200. I don't believe we do selective response to enquiries here. In your case, the answers you seek can be found in previous pages. So you're advised to go through them. Meanwhile, in summary, answers to your questions are; unless your pen is in a flood prone area, then 2 coaches of block is just enough. davidzfarm18 birds suffered from a rare disease which limited their productivity to just about 50% so he had to sell them off to cut his losses.

milkydaddy. I'm in Owo. I intend getting from Zartech between first & third week (Monday) in August. However, I've not officially made the booking; I've only informed them of my intentions. If my proposed time frame is ok by you, we may work something out (though I don't "book" for people). Success.

I feel you davidzfarm18. It would have been a very painful experience indeed. Yes, I agree with you that farmers should come together to protect their interests vis-a-vis the quality of DOC, POL, feeds & medications in the market.

afosoft. Proceeds from 2,800 laying birds cannot singlehandedly feed 6,000 pullet DOCs to the point the latter will cover their own expenses. Unless you have plans to bring in another #2Million to make up the likely shortfall. sukkotfarm. IMO, you have a purely biz decision to make here; "is the savings on cost of feeds more than loss on income from eggs?" Meanwhile, you may wish to see if photo stimulation will make any difference to size of the eggs. davidzfarm18. Kindly accept my sincere concern about the state of things with your birds. As advised by sukkotfarm, I'll suggest you sell off the birds ASAP.

segun1976. I just noticed something. You said the last Lasota was given to them at 16 weeks & they are now 27 weeks. That's 11 weeks back. Besides, you weren't the one who administered the vaccine, so you can't vouch for what was done. Leaving the Sensitivity/serological test aside, common sense/experience dictates that your birds are due for another round of Lasota. Please, do the needful.

omotititi. Thanks. Much appreciated. segun1976. What time of the day do you record the mortality?Have the birds been debeaked? What has been happening to the dead birds? (Is it not possible that your staff intentionally kill them to fill their pots?). Sorry about your loss. Meanwhile, I don't agree that you must lose some birds when they are just coming into lay.

omotititi. Have you ever gotten brown DOC pullets from Zartech Benin? If yes, what has been the experience in terms of liveability & production? I called Zartech Ibadan which is my usual source, but they seem fully booked for the next several weeks so I'm thinking of doing biz with Benin. Thanks. jamp. How far with the birds you were planning to buy? I believe they should be with you by now.

enilowo. Were you not given rearing & vaccination schedule where you got your pullets? Is this the first time you would be raising pullets? What vaccines have you administered & when? M/w., given the age of your pullets, you could not have completed the vaccinations required.

tunezvic. Please, don't try debeaking birds just coming into lay ever again. They are going through unusual stress trying to produce eggs for the first time; debeaking them would have exponentially increased the stress leading to their death. Besides, debeaking temporarily affects feeds intake, which is another stress on its own. As advised by davidzfarm18, give them stress-combating supplement & ensure they feed well. Success

adebamtech. Definitely, no. Keep giving them growers mash till you have at least 9 eggs a day. Switching too soon to feeding layers will be counterproductive in the long run as the birds may develop excessive fat & suffer prolapse, even though they commence laying relatively earlier.

adebamtech. Feed your birds well. The only problem you have is lack of uniformity in growth. Your birds will lay when they attain the right weight.

judithume. That is a great piece of news. You must understand that laying birds are extremely "selfish" creatures; they need to be well satisfied before they give you the eggs you desire from them. Therefore, I'll suggest you continue to feed them well, give them vitamin & photostimulate. The eggs will not only increase, but also get bigger. Success. Happy New Month All.

judithume. I believe your birds have Infectious Coryza. I'll suggest you treat them with Neoceryl. Then inject them with Oxy L.A. (1 ml each) about 3 times leaving an interval of a week in-between. Don't forget to give them vitamin. The Coryza will clear-off in a while. Start the treatment early. Otherwise, the medications won't be effective. Success.

So where is the reference to Awolowo?

Annabechick. 20feet? Isn't that too small? Are you thinking of having just 1 row of cages? I thought the minimum standard is between 24 & 26 feet. Experts in pen construction; what is your take? M/w, I think the pen is too close to the entrance gate. The birds may be prone to infectious diseases carried by people coming in and out of the premises. Put an off-limit sign somewhere between the gate & the pen, pls

jamp, sir. I think you are on the right path. I'm also using Animal Care Layers mash & the result has been excellent. Presently, I'm thinking of switching to floor-mixing. All the materials will be gotten from Animal Care Depot here. That will save me about #200 on each bag.

Annabechick. Massive one. Congrats. From here, the width of the pen seems below minimum standard. What is the width here, pls? jamp, sir. How far with your cost-cutting measures vis-à-vis self milling? Have you considered buying grounded maize/wheat offal & do floor mixing with concentrates?

Thanks jamp. You are wonderful. How are the birds which came into lay recently?

House, I need clarifications on which of the following sentences is correct & the principles behind such; 1. A sum of money has been sent by your father to you through me. 2. A sum of money has been sent to you by your father through me. 3. A sum of money has been sent to you through me by your father. Which of the 3 is appropriate & why? If none is, what should be the right sentence? Give reasons, please.

House, please, what is the breed of the black pullets/layers we have in Nigeria? I know we have the Isa Brown, as well as the Shaka Brown. So what breed is the black pullets/layers, please?

Judithume. Big congrats. If the money is there, kindly do as advised by davidzfarm18. Success.