Claxton Poultry Wins Top US Complex for Cobb500
US - The 20th anniversary award for the top Cobb500 egg production in the United States has been won by Claxton Poultry of Glennville, Georgia – their first time success for this award.
3 March 2015
3 minute read
By: More than 20 years ago, the Cobb technical services team began collecting breeder flock data to compile an annual performance ranking.
Since then, the Cobb500 Breeder Sold Flock Survey has steadily increased in size with the 2014 US survey summarizing the performance of more than 2,400 Cobb500 flocks representing 44.5 million pullets capitalised at 25 weeks of age.
Founded on the premise ‘you can’t manage what you can’t measure’, the survey includes data on key performance indicators – hatching and total egg production, hen livability, feed consumed, hatchability and chicks per hen housed.
As the top performer in 2014, Claxton Poultry averaged 176.23 total eggs per hen housed to 65 weeks of age. Claxton breeder manager, Jeff Odom, attributes this success to ‘being able to be consistent in all phases of the operation which is vital to the success of the Cobb500 hen’.
Cobb southeast technical service manager, Jeff Steed, added: “Claxton has been a dedicated and loyal customer for 15 years and their efforts to excel with the Cobb500 show their commitment to achieving outstanding performance.”
In addition to being the top ranking company, Claxton Poultry had the best performing individual Cobb500 flock – housed at the Edenfield Poultry Farm in Tombs County just outside Lyons, where this flock produced an average of 193.68 total eggs per hen housed to 65 weeks with a hatchability of 85.57 per cent and produced 162.35 chicks per hen housed.
“This is an incredible accomplishment and approximately 27 eggs better than the average Cobb500 flock in 2014,” added Jeff Steed.
Edenfield was the farm where Claxton Poultry placed their first Cobb stock 15 years ago. The Edenfield family built their first two houses in 1997 and have added another two houses, increasing capacity to 44,000 hens. The farm is managed by Rodney and his son, Daniel.
In addition to recognising the overall top performing US complex, Cobb presented awards for the top six regional performers.
These include:
- Foster Farms, Delta, Colorado, for the Mid-South Region
- Tyson Foods, Noel, Missouri, for the Southwest
- Tyson Foods, Cumming, Georgia, for the Southeast
- Golden Rod Poultry, Cullman, Alabama, for the South
- Tyson Foods, Wilkesboro, North Carolina, for the Mid-Atlantic, and
- co-winners Georges Inc, Springdale, Arkansas, and Tyson Foods, Sedalia, Missouri, for the Midwest region.
