Cuxhaven, 13^th to 17^th November 2023: Dynamic Learning became one of our favorite ways long before sharing knowledge and acquiring more of it! And we can’t get enough of it. Also, our November Academy was rich in interaction, collaboration and exchange. 

Together with our valued friends and customers from Algeria, Angola, Brazil, Morocco, Nepal, Spain, Uganda and the USA, we went through some high-energy days:

Starting with a lavish welcoming dinner at a new venue, the Hotel Strandperle with its unique Belle Époque Art Deco crossover-inspired interior design, the group spent Tuesday discussing future developments and putting the focus on correct lighting programs. Small breakout groups maximized the collaboration. Bowling, a tradition we have come to love over the years, kept up the dynamic momentum before we rounded off the first day with dinner.

On Wednesday, we shifted the focus towards the
“Dos and don’ts in rearing”, production and nutrition—and our external speaker, nutritionist Rick Kleyn from Spesfeed Animal Nutritional Consultants in South Africa, cast some new and old light on the specifics of layer nutrition. Xabier Arbe, Managing Director of H&N International and a nutritionist himself, introduced Rick as
“one of the superstars of Poultry Nutrition”. 

He surely and truly is, because he put a few things straight that otherwise may get lost in the subject: 

Especially Rick’s explanations of the difference between protein and energy, which may sound totally obvious, but for far too many of us it’s not! – 

proved to be an interesting, enlightening look behind and inside the “system” of nutrition. 

There were some basic truths, like how to get to one calorie, which have almost been obliterated by human food marketing itself! 

Believe it or not, human food marketing has to a great extent been transferred to or rubbed off on animal nutrition, creating a boatload of misconceptions! Nutrition is a science, and Rick recovered—or rather re-excavated—some simple facts that are basic to anyone’s nutrition:  

Feed is made up of four major components, and it is not just about protein. Human beings and animals convert food into dietary components and use these to maintain body functions and create tissue, be it meat or eggs.
So, what’s the difference? Humans eat precisely the same things as chickens—just cooked. Grain and protein. But low and behold, humans don’t lay eggs!

Our body doesn’t know what it’s eating. It just keeps breaking down and metabolizing substances, and these are used to maintain the system or create tissue, depending on the type of animal or bird consuming the feed. Sounds simple, but many people (not nutritionists) let themselves get fooled by a protein story that originates from adverts about human food, such as the products sold for body-building! Small group workshops intensified the subject.

Our special edition of the world-famous board game Trivial Pursuit, H&N’s own “Trivial Poultry”, combined facts with fun as we wrapped up the second day. Well, wrapped up? Not yet—the Karaoke Night after dinner did that. Rumor has it that the last singers—and really just about everybody sang!—left the stage well past midnight!

AAfter Wednesday, which could well have been headlined as “stomach-related things”, Thursday again shifted the focus towards Avian Influenza and respiratory diseases, not without a lecture for “Troubleshooting Feed” issues, to keep up the momentum from Wednesday. There was plenty of room for asking questions and getting good answers thanks to more breakout groups and an “Ask the H&N Team” round.

Rick Kleyn, who has seen a great many meetings during his world-spanning career, said: 

This was the most interactive meeting, I’ve ever been to!”

Well, let’s have more of this! If you would like a recap of the Academy, please find more information on our Campus.

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