Make my 'dissy' into a video - Tom Woolman

Posted 29 June 2011

Watch the video on our YouTube channel.

A final year agriculture student at Harper Adams University College has been investigating the drinking motivation of adult broiler breeder birds.

Thomas Woolman, from Salisbury, researched the drinking habits at different times of the day – feeding, afternoon and during the dark period, as part of his dissertation.

The 23-year-old, who is currently waiting for the results of his BSc (Hons) degree in Agriculture and Land and Farm Management, chose to research the subject following his placement year working with poultry at PD Hook Hatcheries Ltd.

He said: “I had a very exciting placement year with lots of opportunities and moved around the country a lot working on different farms.

“PD Hook then approached me and said that they would like me to look at drinking motivation for my dissertation as it is quite a controversial area of welfare research.

“They wanted research that they could apply to their farms and to help inform decisions.”

Although the results of Tom’s research are so far inconclusive, they have been compared with those of another Harper Adams student doing a similar study.

Together they show that the broilers (chickens raised for meat production), drink significantly less during the dark period.

Tom, who was also awarded a scholarship with PD Hook, added: “The scholarship gave me huge financial support as well as experience and a career to take me forward.

“I have since been offered a graduate job with the company and look to return to work on the breeder and rearing farms.

“The research work that I’ve completed as part of my dissertation at Harper Adams will be very applicable to my future career.”