Award winning technology to dry out chicken litter with Pruex bacteria

On the 19th August a group of poultry farmers gathered at Wern Farm, near Welshpool to discuss ammonia and admire extremely dry chicken litter stored in the farm’s muck shed!

Muck Shed

Kindly hosted by Osian Williams and family, with the support of Farming Connect, Pruex have been working with the farm to autonomize the application of non-infective bacteria within Osians layer sheds.
The use of smoke bombs allows us to visualise air flow within the two 16,000 bird multi- tiered sheds and best place sprayer units. Pruex bacteria is sprayed throughout the shed, adding nature back into industrialized agriculture to provide a healthier environment for the hens and the staff.

Pruex bacteria dry up the chicken litter and testing has revealed that moisture content in the muck on the belts has reduced by over 50% since Pruex bacteria has been applied. This has resulted in the frequency of mucking out of the manure belts being slashed from every three days to once a fortnight, reducing labour requirements by more than 75%.
Alongside drying up litter, ammonia levels have been reduced inside the building and the stored muck; a huge potential for tackling NVZ policies. Air quality is improved within the sheds for birds and staff, alongside the health benefits of reduced risk of disease bacteria dominating. At Wern, mortality has reduced by over 1% and there has been no requirement for antibiotics in the flock. Egg production has been optimised, saving £12,000 per flock, and feed requirements have reduced without losing production, leading to further cost savings.

Pruex’s automated spraying systems are increasing in popularity amongst farmers across the UK and have recently led them to being awarded Agri-Epi’s prestigious Agri-Tech Excellence award 2021.

 Agri Epi Award

To get started with a new farm, Pruex undertake an initial swabbing to identify the disease challenge on individual farms. If you are interested in getting started with Pruex and finding out the benefits of a Pruex system in your shed, please call 01558 509025.