Aviagen recently released two online tools to help producers of parent stock (PS) through every step of the grading process.

Grading is a key management task in PS production. Done well, it aids flock uniformity, and a uniform flock is easier to manage and will have better overall performance.

The Grading Tool is an Excel-based spreadsheet designed to help farm managers split their flocks into appropriately graded populations.

The farmer inputs information on the size of the house, average flock weight and flock variations (CV% or uniformity). The tool will then determine the number of graded populations required, and will advise how the flock should be split between those populations.

The Grading Tool covers houses with adjustable and fixed penning, provides information on stocking density, and sets out feeder and drinker requirements for the graded populations.

The second online tool, called the Grading Interactive PDF, is a Pdf-based problem-solving tool in question-and-answer format.