Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
9
INAVI: A Practical Tool to Study the
Influence of Nutritional and Environmental
Factors on Broiler Performance
B. Méda,
1
* M. Quentin,
2
P. Lescoat,
3
M. Picard
1
and I. Bouvarel
4
1
INRA, Nouzilly, France;
2
Maïsadour, Mont-de-Marsan, France;
3
AgroParisTech, Paris, France;
4
Institut Technique de l'Aviculture,
Nouzilly, France
Abstract
The technical and economic results of a broiler flock depend on complex interactions between the
animal and nutritional and environmental factors. It is possible to approach this complexity by
considering the animal as a component of a mechanistic model, which can represent the diversity of
genotypes and farming practices. INAVI simulates broiler growth as a function of nutritional and en-
vironmental parameters. The animal is represented by a simplified diagram of its energy balance with
few parameters including physical activity expenditures. INAVI is first calibrated with user data (ref-
erence curves for feed intake and growth) associated with 'optimal' nutritional and environmental
conditions. At each time step (
1
h), the actual feed intake is estimated from the comparison (thermo-
stat) between calculated and reference heat production. Inputs change the energy flows inside the
simulation submodel using accessible response laws. A user is therefore able to adapt the model to
their own data by changing these laws. Simulations illustrating the potential use of INAVI by different
stakeholders of the poultry supply chain are presented in this chapter. In that sense, INAVI could be
helpful to design new and more sustainable poultry production systems. However, this will require fur-
ther improvements to the model, and thus stresses the never-ending process of modelling.
Introduction
Combining the three sustainability pillars
(environment, economic, social) and the com-
plex environment surrounding farming sys-
tems leads to strong challenges regarding
poultry production. These three pillars call
into question broiler management and high-
light the key role of understanding broiler
growth in the poultry chain. Growth is a key
phenomenon since it results from the com-
bination of numerous nutritional, environmen-
tal and animal factors. Therefore, improving
Dealing with poultry production is a com-
bination of coordinated actions (from bird
selection to final product transformation)
needed to obtain the relevant final animal
product in a given context to answer consumer
and citizen demands. Sustainability issues
(such as environmental impacts, farmer in-
come or animal welfare) should therefore be
taken into account all along the supply chain.
