In this lesson, you will learn to
- ✓Identify the seven breakdowns that threaten a flock and their plan B
- ✓Prepare the back-up equipment and stocks before you need them
- ✓Organise the team to react without waiting for the entrepreneur
The seven breakdowns and their plan Bs
| Breakdown | What happens | Plan B |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | Electric heating cut off, lights out, pump stopped | Gas heating with a spare cylinder; battery lamps; generator or solar panel for the pump; one hour of darkness a day from brooding onwards so that the birds do not panic |
| Water | Pump broken down, borehole dry, mains cut off | Two-day reserve; back-up or hand pump; number of a water tanker; drinkers filled by hand as a last resort |
| Feed | Late delivery, road cut off, supplier out of stock | One week’s safety stock; two known suppliers; in an emergency, cracked maize + the remaining feed for a few days, never during brooding, and a gradual return |
| Transport | Chicks or chickens stuck | Stay reachable; alternative collection point on the route; back-up cages and vehicle; buyer informed |
| Labour | Technician absent, ill, gone | A replacement trained in the instructions (the day off is used to train him); instructions displayed; you yourself able to hold on for 48 hours |
| Health | Disease breaking out | Veterinarian identified, isolation, pit ready, disinfectant in stock, level 3 rules |
| Fire, theft, bad weather | Charcoal and litter, night-time thieves, storm | Fire extinguisher or sand and water within reach; charcoal never near the litter; watchman, dog, fence, lighting; spare curtains and ropes; roof checked |
The emergency kit
A list displayed on the wall, checked every month: full spare gas cylinder, charged battery lamps, fuel for the generator, back-up pump, one week's stock of feed, dry litter, disinfectant, lime, curtains and ropes, fire extinguisher or bucket of sand, transport cages, useful numbers (veterinarian, NEXTEKCI 05 44 83 27 79, carrier, water tanker, suppliers, electrician). The kit is checked before each flock's brooding, when the chicks are most fragile.
The rules that save the night
- Heat first: during brooding, a heating breakdown is dealt with within 30 minutes; the watchman knows how to light the gas.
- Water next: even without a pump, the drinkers are filled by hand from the reserve.
- Feed can wait a few hours; heat and water cannot.
- Call: the technician has the numbers and the right to act (lesson 5); the entrepreneur is informed, but the decision to save the flock does not wait for him.
Practising
A plan B that has never been tried does not exist. Once a quarter, a drill: “the power is off, show me”; you light the gas, connect the generator, fill a drinker by hand, find the numbers. Ten minutes, and the real breakdown becomes routine.
For the entrepreneur
- ›Buy the emergency kit before the next brooding: it costs less than one night of breakdown.
- ›Run the quarterly drill yourself: “show me”. What the team can do under your eyes, it will do without you.
- ›Two known feed suppliers and one week's stock: the most frequent breakdown is the late delivery.
For the technician
- ›Kit checked every month and before each brooding; spare gas always full.
- ›Heating breakdown dealt with within 30 minutes; water by hand from the reserve; numbers within reach.
- ›Replacement trained in the instructions on the day off.
The 3 questions to ask your technician this week
- If the power goes off tonight on day 3, what happens within 30 minutes, and who does it?
- How many days of feed and water do we have in reserve today?
- When did we last run a breakdown drill, and what did we correct?
Key points
- •Seven breakdowns, seven written plan Bs: electricity, water, feed, transport, labour, health, fire/theft/bad weather.
- •Emergency kit displayed and checked every month: spare gas, lamps, generator, pump, one week’s stock, litter, disinfectant, lime, curtains, fire extinguisher, numbers.
- •At night: heat within 30 minutes, then water, then feed; the technician has the right to act.
- •One drill per quarter: “show me”.