The Hy-Line Variety Brown has long been recognised as the most efficient bird available; no other bird lives longer, produces more first quality eggs, has a better egg weight profile, retains its feathers, has a better temperament and most significantly, consumes less feed.

A recent commercial trial revealed that the Hy-Line Variety Brown consumed 7 grammes less per bird per day than an alternative breed during the same laying period. When projected across a typical flock of 100,000 birds, this amounts to a saving of £47,000 or 0.47 p per bird over the course of a laying period i.e. laying period of 16-72 weeks i.e. 392 days \ 392 days x 7 grammes feed = .0027 tonnes. At £170 per tonne this leads to a saving of £0.47 per bird.

One customer well aware of the benefits of the Hy-Line Variety Brown is Richard Jones from Newtown, Mid Wales. With a family poultry production business dating back 40 years, Richard switched from broiler breeding to broiler production in the early 1990s. 2004 saw a change to pullet rearing and two years later Richard converted one of his poultry houses to a free range unit housing 8000 Hy-Line Variety Brown birds. Richard has relied exclusively on the Hy-Line Variety Brown with the result that rolling site feed consumption has averaged 117.9 grams per bird per day based on 315 eggs produced per bird to 74 weeks.

"I am impressed with the efficiency of the Hy-Line Variety Brown bird and its excellent temperament to suit the modern free range environment. Hy-Line is also an easy bird to manage and we have received excellent support from the technical team at Hy-Line UK," commented Richard.