Poultry Physiology Broiler Report

It has now been a few weeks since we concluded our class broiler grow-out project and I have had time to think back and really process what all we achieved throughout the six week span. I personally learned more than I expected to learn. I took for granted the fact that I had been working under Dr. Macklin out on the research farm and thought I knew everything there was to know about a basic broiler flock grow-out. I gained a lot of experience with many important assets such as how to interpret data collection, how to use Microsoft Excel proficiently, and how to operate poultry house and general farm equipment properly.

Interpreting the data we collected throughout the project was the most important aspect to me. If you could not interpret the data you could not correctly enter it into the excel spreadsheet, and without the correct information in the excel spreadsheet the actual written report would not be analyzed and summarized correctly. There was a tremendous amount of information ranging from chick weights, amount feed placed, amount feed left, mortality, fully grown bird body weights, and carcass weights. You had to interpret all of these points correctly to calculate other topics such as uniformity and FCR. Correctly transferring the raw data from the countless data sheets onto the excel spreadsheet took me quite longer than I first thought it would. Correctly interpreting the data may have been the most important, but learning how to use Microsoft Excel was a completely different challenge.

Before we began this project I probably used Microsoft Excel a total of one time in my life. I am almost 100% certain that one time was to just open the spreadsheet and see how far down I could scroll and see if the spreadsheet ever stopped counting columns. So I basically came into this project with zero knowledge of excel and how it worked. No knowledge of formulas, charts, tables, or shortcuts. The shortcuts were my favorite part. I thought I would have to type each individual number one at a time until I filled all the boxes I needed until someone showed me that you could type about three or four numbers and then drag the slider down to the last box you needed and the spreadsheet would autofill the rest of the boxes for you. Learning all the tips and tricks to excel was an eye opener, and I know I just barely scratched the surface of all the actual formulas we could use. Keeping up with everything in an organized manner was tricky at first but then as I kept working with excel it came easier to me. Using the formulas was the most difficult part of excel. I would click the wrong boxes and come up with outrageous numbers that I had no clue how to fix. I am still not sure if I know the formulas by heart but I know if I keep using excel I will get better and better every time. Also many poultry companies want their employees to be proficient in using excel so I hope to get better to help my chances of getting hired after graduation.

As I stated earlier I worked with Dr. Macklin out on the research farm so using the different equipment did not seem as a challenge to me before we began the grow-out. I had used the different scales, adjusted water lines, and weighed feed before so I felt like I would not have any problems working with the equipment we were using. As I thought I had little to no problem working with the equipment in the actual poultry house/rooms, but on day forty-two when we went into the processing plant it was like I stepped into a whole new world. I only helped with processing once before and all I did then was shovel ice onto the carcasses. I had seen the processing line run but never up close and learn what each station did so having that opportunity really opened my eyes.

From start to finish I believe I gained a substantial amount of knowledge that can help me throughout the rest of my time in college and after graduation. Everything seemed like a blur when we first finished the grow-out and I did not think I found as much useful knowledge as I could have, but after rethinking about my experience I can say without a doubt this project was one of the most enjoyable and educational projects I have completed since I enrolled in college.