poultry-production | Farm projects from the poultry equipment supplier | Big Dutchman

Emmanuel Merceron of Moutiers-sous-Chantemerle, located approx. 100 km south-west of Nantes in France, has added a new income driver to his agricultural business. In addition to calf-fattening, together with his father-in-law Régis Ferret, whose farm Emmanuel Merceron is running in the second generation, he now also produces free-range eggs. In the selection of the housing system for the 30,000 laying hens, the farmer has departed from previously trodden paths and decided in favour of the Big Dutchman NaturaNova Twin aviary. In a country in which alternative laying hen housing is dominated by one-level nest systems, this decision has naturally attracted great attention in farming circles. The impressive number of visitors who attended the open day, on the occasion in which the first Big Dutchman aviary on French ground was inaugurated, provided convincing evidence of this interest: There was a steady stream of visitors throughout the whole day and by the time the gates finally closed an impressive 800 visitors had visited the location.

Big Dutchman aviaries for keeping free-range laying hens

The Frenchman had left nothing to chance in the planning of this project. After conducting initial exploratory talks at Space – France’s leading agricultural exhibition – in autumn 2008, Merceron visited a number of large farms which produce eggs from free-range hens. In this context the technically interested farmer also travelled to Germany and to the Netherlands, leading European countries in the area of alternative layer management. The result: the complete housing equipment, from the aviaries via the pre-drying of manure to the packaging, comes from Big Dutchman. The company Matavicol of Le Theil de Bretagne (35), proved to be a competent partner for installation and electrical work and accompanied the project from the planning phase until finally going into operation. Indeed Matavicol has continued to support Emmanuel Merceron as a service partner taking over the after sales service.

Moreover, Emmanuel Merceron also ensured that the matter of marketing the eggs was clarified in good time. The eggs produced are supplied to his contractual partner, Norea, from whom he also acquires the laying hens as well as their feed. Norea is part of the Terrena Group, one of the largest businesses in the French agricultural trade.

Poultry-friendly housing system, economic egg production

With NaturaNova Twin Merceron is optimally equipped for keeping free-range hens: Comfortable laying nests, perches arranged on several different levels, sufficient space to scratch as well as a free range of outdoor space during the day enable the hens to live according to their natural instincts. Furthermore, the system is structured in such a way that all areas of the aviary can be used at the same time. Orientated according to the natural requirements of laying hens, easily accessible supply units with feed and water are arranged in the aviary as well as raised, stress-reducing rest zones. A generous housing surface with wide outer runs are distinguishing features of the housing structure. Optimum stock densities in combination with a well-designed housing concept and sound system engineering ensure economic egg production. Furthermore, the system is arranged in such a way that Merceron can always have easy access to his system and can control his stock of laying hens effectively whilst only needing to invest minimal time in doing so.

Further details on the subject are available in French in the online agricultural magazine “Agri79 Information".

Régis Ferret and son-in-law Emmanuel Merceron present their new aviary to the public.

A short breather. Approxímately 800 visitors came to visit the new poultry house and aviary during the course of the day.

The correct arrangement of feeding and watering lines as well as nests means that all areas of the aviary are equally well used; the level of nest acceptance is increased.

Useable surfaces on several levels as well as the 100 percent use of the surface are of the housing ensure high stocking densities.

The portal beneath the aviary leaves the laying hens plenty of room to scratch around.

Careful egg transport from the aviary ...

to the packing station.

Within the scope of an in-company open day, the German company Rothkötter Kraftfutterwerk GmbH recently inaugurated its new pullet rearing farm. The impressive system provides space for 84,000 animals which, following the period of raising, are used for producing hatching eggs for broiler breeder production. The Meppen-based company contracted Big Dutchman to provide the turn-key building as well as the equipment for the five different houses.

A combination of successfully tried and tested Big Dutchman classic solutions and modern computer technologies ensure optimum rearing conditions. The oldest feature is the CHAMPION feed chain, which is 70 years old and as such Big Dutchman’s “most senior” best-selling product world-wide. It distributes the feed evenly, quickly and reliably throughout the entire house. As the chain brings the feed to the animals, feed separation is prevented, thus resulting in standard animal weight. The automatic chain feeding system is erected on firm stainless steel posts and can be raised as required – e.g. in the case of vaccination programmes. Furthermore, all cables - such as traction and suspension cables – which are used in the houses are made of stainless steel; guaranteeing a long service life.

Some decades younger, but nevertheless equally efficient, is the Amacs management and control system: specially developed software based on modern internet technology makes it possible for the farm manager to control all essential functional areas by mouse click – and, if necessary, this can be done from any location in the world.

Amacs belongs to a new generation of computer-controlled farm management systems. The Big Dutchman innovation works on the basis of network techniques and modern communication technologies. This enables permanent data collection, monitoring and control of the houses in real time – even by Smartphone (I-Phone). It is possible for all the houses of one enterprise at one single location or even at several different ones to be controlled at the same time either locally on the spot, or by remote control. The technology as well as the graphic visualisation are user-friendly – and thus guarantee effective house management in respect of feeding, water supply, house climate etc. with the correspondingly positive effects on labour time and effort of the farm employees. Further advantages of the system: Amacs is suitable for small as well as large houses, it can be adapted to suit specific local circumstances and can be expanded at any time. Furthermore, the system makes it possible to keep a constant overview of stock; the acquired data are stored centrally and are thus available for purposes of comparison, which makes it possible to optimise animal performance. Alarm messages via e-mail to a mobile phone represent a further performance feature of Amacs.

Photos of the Housing System:

Optimum feed supply to the animals is guaranteed: automatic chain feed erected on posts, nipple troughs suspended on stainless steel cables

The firm posts of the automatic chain feed system are made of stainless steel and have a long service life.

The feed container and chain drive guarantee a reliable supply of feed.

Jumping is not innate - it has to be learned: once the animals have reached the right age, the jumping tables (formerly pulled up to the ceiling of the housing – see ceiling centre) are lowered for practice purposes.

With Amacs the farm manager can control all the important functional areas of the houses by means of a mouse click – from the local office as on the photo, if necessary however, also from any location whatsoever in the world.

An internal open day in Eggermühlen, Germany, recently caused great interest among the 300 guests invited by Christiane and Theo Gärke, who built two remarkable new houses for a total number of 84,000 pullets which could be visited. Both houses have been equipped with a Big Dutchman Natura rearing aviary which allows the birds to get to know their environment for their later transfer to a laying aviary. Special interest among the experts was caused by the additional bottom wire that the Gärke family had installed on the third level. This additional feature allows even more freedom of movement and resting area for the birds.

The process of „training“ within the rearing aviary follows a certain pattern that has already proved itself: The day-old chicks area housed preferably on the central level for approx. 21 days. After about 10 days, half of the chicks move to the lower level. Around the 4^th week of life, the chicks’ tiers are opened up. Now, the pullets can move around freely on all levels and learn how to jump and fly. Since the birds go to the top level for the night, but have to move to the two lower levels for feed and water supply, they constantly move between the different levels.

At the end of this „training phase“ there are healthy birds with a very uniform behaviour. By the time the pullets are transferred to the laying aviary from week 16 onwards, they are well trained and are immediately comfortable using the different areas (feeding, scratching and resting). The training time is thus very short which in turn significantly facilitates the flock management of layers in floor and free range management.

Christian and Bernard Apeler (at the very left and right, both Big Dutchman) hand over a present to Christiane and Theo Gärke on the occasion of the inauguration of their new rearing houses.

„Good luck“: Upon the inauguration, they received a wreath with good wishes for the future.

Looking on a professional rearing aviary: Perches that can be automatically folded up or down allow the pullets to easily reach the different levels during the day. During the night, the perches are folded down so that the pullets rest inside the installation right from the beginning.

Hung Farm, a partner of CP Vietnam, recently celebrated the opening of its latest broiler production facility. CP Vietnam is a subsidiary of the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP group), Thailand’s biggest agribusiness conglomerate. The impressive state-of-the-art facility Hung farm with 18 broiler houses is located in Dong Xoai, Binh Duong Province north of the Vietnamese town of Ho Chi Minh City. The entire equipment covering modern management and environment control systems was supplied by Big Dutchman Asia (BD Asia).

Over 1000 invited guests took part in the grand opening. Also present were Mr. Vu Manh Hung, President of Hung Farm, Mr. Sooksan Jiumjaiswanglert, Executive Vice President of CP Vietnam as well as Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien and Mr. Nguyen Dang Vang, two representatives of the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture. Malaysia-based BD Asia, a subsidiary of the German Big Dutchman group, was represented by Mr. Brian McCawley, Vice President Sales & Marketing Asia.

"We would like to congratulate Mr.Vu Manh Hung on this auspicious occasion. We are honored that we have once again been selected by the CP Group as their trusted partner and we are glad that we had the chance to further strengthen our relationship in this major project. The successful completion of the project, totaling 18 broiler houses, is a true milestone for Vietnam, being the first modern farm of this scale” Mr. Brian McCawly commented on the new facility.

The official part of the event was completed with speeches from a list of speakers and dignitaries, followed by a signing ceremony between Hung Farm and Big Dutchman. Hung Farm which is projected to produce broiler, layer and pigs was then officially opened with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony after which the guests enjoyed self-guided tours of the premises and equipment demonstrations.

Mr. Vu Manh Hung, President of Hung Farm and Mr. Brian McCawley, BD Asia Vice President Sales & Marketing Asia

Formal ribbon-cutting ceremony

Gerben van Kampen from the Dutch town of Scherpenzeel invests in the future: the innovative poultry producer took over the layer farm from his parents and recently inaugurated a modern aviary house for 36,000 laying hens in free-range management. Together with the new barn, van Kampen now houses more than 53,000 laying hens on his farm. When selecting the animal-friendly equipment for the 80 x 32 m building, which is equipped with two 5 m wide “wintergardens” on both sides of the main building, van Kampen opted for the well proven Natura Colony 2000 system from Big Dutchman. During the planning phase for the new house, he was supported by his girlfriend Bertine van den Brandhof.

The decision for the Big Dutchman aviary system was mainly made because of the poultry nests. “The nest floors can be folded up to a nearly vertical position. We visited poultry producers who have had these nests for three years already and the nests are still perfectly clean” explains the 28-year-old poultry producer from the Dutch province of Gelderland. This is also beneficial for the egg quality.

The patented tilting floor from Big Dutchman is ideally suited both for laying hen production and for broiler breeder production. The eggs are laid directly in front of the egg belt, which is located at the rear of the nest. This makes for a short rolling distance of the eggs resulting in a low share of cracked and hair-cracked eggs. Another advantage: before the divided floor completely closes the nest for the night, the centre of the floor is slightly raised to ensure that remaining eggs can roll off slowly and safely to the egg belt. A pleasant result: the nest remains free of eggs. Afterwards, the nest floor is fully lifted and then closed for the night. This is to ensure that the hens can neither sleep nor brood inside the nest; the accrued dirt simply falls off the nest mat.


Source:
Pluimveehouderij 38e jaargang – augustus 2008.



Gerben van Kampen and Bertine van den Brandhof invested a lot of energy into their successful project.

Pictures of the barn:



















The article can be downloaded in Dutch language, courtesy of Pluimveehouderij:

Download: van_Kampen_Pluimveehouderij.pdf