News

Big Dutchman novelties for breeder management

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:13:00 +0200

Poultry managers should be excited: Big Dutchman has recently launched two novelties for breeder management and presents both at the VIV Russia 2013. The group laying nest “Relax”, which is particularly well suited for broiler breeders, will be on display for the first time in Russia. It is equipped with two separate, easy-to-lift nest roofs which significantly facilitates nest and egg belt inspection.

Another new feature is the egg belt with a three-point bearing design: thanks to the increased share of perforated surface and the triangular shape of the holes, contact surfaces between the eggs and the egg belt are minimised. Eggs that are rolling off are slowed down gently which reduces the number of hair-cracked and dirty eggs.

“Relax” is made of high-quality, durable materials, increasing nest acceptance and improving nest hygiene. The smooth surfaces facilitate cleaning and reduce the bacteria load as well as insect infestation during the grow-out. “Relax” has been designed as a nearly screw-less connector system and can therefore be installed easily and rapidly.

Breeder management with Univent cages for AI

The second Big Dutchman novelty for breeder management is a new generation of poultry cages developed specifically for the reproduction of layer and broiler breeders by means of artificial insemination (AI). With the Univent UV-S550 (PS) for breeder rearing and UV-P500-AI for hen management during egg production, two members of this family of innovative breeder cages are on display at the VIV Russia. These new developments make Big Dutchman one of the first suppliers of poultry equipment responding to the trend of using AI in hatching egg production to reach a better fertility and to make greater use of the genetic potential of the birds.

The development was inspired by a classic Big Dutchman product: For decades now, egg producers from all over the world swear by the Univent layer cages. The system is especially popular because of its long service life and high functionality as well as the ideal conditions it provides for both humans and layers. All these successful features have also been applied to the Univent breeder cages for AI. Some of these are the flexible flooring designed for optimum egg quality and the zinc-aluminium coating of all wire parts: This special alloy resists corrosion and rust more effectively than regular cage material, thus ensuring a longer service life. Naturally, the systems can also be equipped with manure belt ventilation.

Broiler cage AviMax transit

One more Big Dutchman recipe for success is presented at VIV Russia: the broiler cage AviMax transit. This system combines the advantages of a broiler cage with the benefits of a manure belt system that doubles as a highly efficient way of transporting the broilers out of the house. Unsurpassed features are the patented, easy-to-operate pivoting floors for a quick and cost-effective moving-out process of the birds. In addition, this innovative technology is gentle to the birds and permits a low system height.

Two different system types of AviMax transit broiler cages are available: AviMax transit 655 is perfectly suited for buildings with low ceilings. Thanks to the pivoting floors, complete rows of birds are quickly moved out so that the birds can be transported outside automatically. The pivoting floors and means of bird transport are also found in the second system type, AviMax transit 775. This system also allows for a quick moving-out procedure of either complete rows or only part of the rows.

Other advantages of AviMax transit include litter-free broiler finishing and thus very hygienic growing conditions. This results in healthy, uniform flocks, increased growth rates and improved feed conversion so that an additional batch can be produced per year. The flooring of the cages is made of flexible, soft plastic which prevents breast blisters and minimizes the risk of skin and feet injuries.

Hall 8, stand 34E1/35F1

Broiler cage AviMax: for further reading please click here!

Comprehensive information on our product line for breeder management can be found here.

CAHE 2013: Big Dutchman equipment for successful breeding management

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:42:00 +0200

At this year’s China Animal Husbandry Expo (CAHE), Wuhan, Big Dutchman introduces an innvoative automatic single laying nest which is especially well suited for broiler breeders. NXB features different numbers of nest holes (20, 18 and 16 holes per section), thus covering the requirements of different breeding lines. The eggs gently roll into a central egg channel and are automatically transported from the barn by means of an egg belt.

The nest bottom is covered with a perforated nest insert which is easy to install, or taken out for easy cleaning. The partitions between the individual nest holdes are made of plastic and can be opened at any time. The nest roof is made of sheet metal and allows the producer easy access of the egg belt for inspection. A tube can be centrally activated to close all nest holes for the night, keeping nests clean and preventing hens sleeping inside of the nest.

Another advantage is that nest floor and substrucutre below the egg belt consist of corrosion-proof zinc-aluminium coated wire grate for extended service life. The NXB nests have already been successfully tested in several poultry houses in Asia and the US.

Another highlight for breeder management on display is Big Dutchman’s ventilated EUROVENT-Parents manure belt battery for layer breeders. The poultry cages are characterised by the production of clean hatching eggs, a low salmonella risk, an optimum bird number in the poultry house and low labour and control requirements. The cage width and therefore the flock size can be specified by the customer.

Hall A1, Booth number A03

Dates and opening hours
Saturday 18 May 2013, 9.00 – 17.00 hrs
Sunday 19 May 2013, 9.00 – 17.00 hrs.
Monday 20 May 2013, 10.00 – 16.00 hrs.

Location
Wuhan International Expo Center
No. 619 Yingwu Avenue, Hanyang district, Wuhan, Hubei province, 430052
China

For more information please contact:
bdcnsales@bigdutchman.com
www.bigdutchman.com

Saving money with the new LED technology for poultry houses

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:45:00 +0200

For the broilers on Dirk Bockhorst's farm, the morning starts leisurely. As if the sun were rising, the lights are slowly turned on in the houses located in Emstek, Lower Saxony, Germany. Happy clucking can be heard all around. Until warm light illuminates the houses half an hour later. This light does not come from standard 40 watt light bulbs but is provided by high-quality LED lamps. A special dimmer which ensures that the birds are not stressed and does not interfere with other technologies used in the poultry house is included.

Farmer Bockhorst replaced his light bulbs about a year ago. The old power-guzzling bulbs had to yield and make room for low-energy LED bulbs. One lamp costs more than 20 euros, but the new technology has a significantly longer service life and saves a lot of energy. Bockhorst has amortised his investment after one year already. He spent 4,000 euros on the new lamps – and saved nearly the exact same amount in energy costs up to today. After this first year, he will thus save 4,000 euros annually, increases in the price for electricity not included.

New LED technology for poultry houses

The change-over from old to new required less effort than Bockhorst had expected. “I replaced all light bulbs myself,” reports the 42-year-old farmer. Naturally, the high-quality LED bulbs fit the standard threads for electric lamps used in the poultry house. Big Dutchman supported Bockhorst during the installation of the centrepiece of the new system.

This centrepiece is the dimmer. Without this dimmer, the whole system would not work. Farmer Bockhorst would not save nearly as much money without it. The module is installed in the service room of each house and connected to the farm computer. The computer controls the dimmer and indicates when and with which intensity the lights should be on.

Big Dutchman only sells the LED technology with the dimmer developed in the company’s headquarters in Calveslage. Compared to simpler devices, the Big Dutchman dimmer does not create any flickering so that the animals stay very calm, explains product manager Nils Neugebauer. His team put a lot of effort into the development of the dimmer to ensure that the device does not blow fuses by error or cause PC crashes – a common problem with standard dimmers.

Growing poultry without stress

Another unique feature of the Big Dutchman dimmer: It can be controlled steplessly down to 0 percent. This characteristic ensures that additional cost-savings when the technology is used in poultry houses. Most other dimmers turn off at a percentage of 20 to 30, says Neugebauer. This can cause stress for the chickens.

Meanwhile, Dirk Bockhorst's broilers do not even know what stress is. His stock is doing as well as ever after the replacement of the lamps.

In addition to the new lighting system in the poultry house, all other equipment has also been purchased from Big Dutchman. This link will lead you to an overview of our systems for poultry growing.

Reducing heating costs and emissions in poultry houses

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:05:00 +0100

With Big Dutchman's heat exchanger Earny, poultry managers can save up to 60 percent of heating costs for their poultry house during the winter. However, there is even more to Earny: The heat exchanger also reduces dust, ammonia and odour emissions as determined by the measurements of the accredited laboratory LUFA Nordwest in Oldenburg, Germany. Emissions play an important role in many regions regarding permits, statutory requirements or even subsidies.

Exhaust air treatment with Earny

"Nearly all total dust and fine dust in the exhaust air is filtered out when the air flows through the Big Dutchman heat exchanger. Overall, this means a reduction of dust emissions of up to 30 percent per year for the total house exhaust air," explains product manager Axel Schulz. Due to the high filter and separation rates, exhaust air and emission source do not usually have to be recalculated.

The percentage of fine dust and bioaerosols can be lowered by up to 51 percent where Earny is used in combination with Big Dutchman's StuffNix dust filter. LUFA's further measurements illustrate the additional benefits the heat exchanger can provide for farmers: A poultry house equipped with Earny emitted 29 percent less ammonia compared to an identically constructed house without heat exchanger. Odour was also reduced. "These aspects are becoming ever more important for authorities regarding future permits," says Axel Schulz.

Flexible size – flexible colour: solutions for poultry houses

To date, Big Dutchman's heat exchanger Earny has been offered in three sizes for 20,000 to 46,000 birds. Now, the possibility to use Earny for two houses constructed next to each other has been added. Thanks to its compact structure, an additional building permit is not required for the Earny versions with an air capacity between 12,000 and 16,000m³/hour. Another supporting argument for permits: The new Earny versions are available in different colours and thus do not stand out from the landscape.

Our heat exchanger for your poultry house – find the leaflet here.

Take a look at our leaflets on exhaust air treatment systems – including StuffNix – here. Go ahead and browse around!

Poultry growing in new house equipped with Big Dutchman poultry systems

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:46:00 +0100

Ulrike and Norbert Martkfort from Westladbergen, Westphalia, Germany, are experts in the area of poultry growing: They built their first broiler house ten years ago. The couple has now expanded this production branch with a new house for 40,000 broilers – also in the light of knowing that their eldest son is planning to continue his parents’ family business. Approximately 300 visitors recently followed the invitation for an open house to see the new poultry house as well as the poultry systems provided by Big Dutchman.

The new, 20 x 90 meter large building is located right on the farm, guaranteeing short distances. In accordance with the effective requirements of the German Animal Welfare Act (Tierschutzgesetz), the window area amounts to three percent of the house floor area.

Poultry growing in Big Dutchman poultry systems

The Marktfort family employs a partial depletion system: About one third of the broilers is moved out after 32 days with a weight of approximately 1,600 grams. The remaining two thirds stay in the poultry house until the end of the growing period. The Marktforts always have reliable numbers on their broilers’ weight thanks to Big Dutchman’s bird weigher Swing 20. The scale has been accepted fully by the birds, resulting in plenty of weighings and thus precise weight data.

Feed is supplied via Augermatic, a classic Big Dutchman product for poultry growing. A total of four feed lines have been installed. Fresh drinking water is of course also supplied: The broilers can access fresh water at any time from a total of eight drinking lines. The Marktfort family took care to comply with animal welfare requirements in this regard as well: The drinking lines are equipped with the required 3,000 nipple drinkers.

Fresh air enters the house via the air inlets in the side walls. At one end of the poultry house, a 12-meter exhaust air tower with 14 chimneys was constructed. With this tower, the Martkfort family has met one more requirement for the construction of livestock houses which regulates an exit speed of 7 m/s.

You can find our housing systems for poultry growing here – have a look around!

Big Dutchman innovations for successful poultry production

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:20:00 +0100

At VIV Asia 2013 for the first time on display in Asia will be the innovative group laying nest “Relax” which is particularly well suited for broiler breeder management: a novelty are the two separate, easy-to-lift nest roofs which significantly facilitates nest and egg belt inspection. Another new feature is the egg belt with a three-point bearing design. This minimises contact surfaces between the eggs and the egg belt.

“Relax” is made of high-quality, durable materials which increases the nest acceptance and improves nest hygiene. The smooth surfaces facilitate cleaning and reduce the bacteria load as well as insect infestation during the grow-out. “Relax” has been designed as a nearly screw-less connector system and can therefore be installed easily and rapidly.

Broiler cage AviMax for efficient poultry production

Also featured is the broiler cage AviMax sliding with easy-to-operate sliding floors by means of which the broilers can be moved out, either row by row or section by section. Another asset is the fact that the broilers can be transported automatically or, if desired, semi-automatically.

For the moving out of the birds the sliding floor is pulled out of the system and the broilers gently slide onto the clean belt from which the manure has been removed. Once all animals have left the broiler cage the floor is pushed back. The flooring is made of flexible, soft plastic which prevents breast blisters and minimizes the risk of skin and feet injuries. Moreover, it allows for an optimum manure penetration and a hygienic bird area.

Hall 101/104, booth number J002

Dates and opening hours
Wednesday 13 March 2013        10.00 – 18.00 hrs.
Thursday 14 March 2013              10.00 – 18.00 hrs.
Friday 15 March 2013                    10.00 – 16.00 hrs.

Location
BITEC, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre
88 Bangna-trad Road, Bangna Prakanong
Bangkok 10260
Thailand

USA: Big Dutchman celebrates 75th anniversary at IPE in Atlanta

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:46:00 +0100

At the 2013 International Poultry Expo (IPE) in Atlanta, USA, Big Dutchman, one of the most well-known and recognized leaders in the poultry business, presented some exceptional attractions to celebrate 75 years of successful business. Besides the newest innovations, it was the unsurpassed 3D movie experience of a poultry house and the legendary Al Unser with his famous race car, which attracted hundreds of visitors to the booth.

Highlight of the celebrations was Big Dutchman’s grand booth reception, opened with a speech from Bernd Meerpohl (Chairman of the board) who proudly looked back onto Big Dutchman’s 75 year old history and achievements. He then took greatest pleasure in cutting the official anniversary cake together with Clovis Rayzel (President of Big Dutchman USA and Latin America).

Innovative poultry systems on display

During the 3 day long IPE, many visitors attended the Big Dutchman booth to learn about the new poultry systems being released, such as:

• AVECH III: Newly designed Enrichable / Enriched colony system to house more birds at less cost
• C2+ XL: Layer breeder nest that is deeper than the previous design
• NATURA Primus: New aviary rearing system
• NXB Breeder Nest: For the next generation of breeder hens
• GLADIATOR turkey feeding pan: Designed to last, and to improve feed conversion
• ViperTouch: The power to control your poultry house at your finger tips

3 D movie experience

A special treat for guests visiting the Big Dutchman booth was the unique 3D movie experience. Three separate videos were presented including one video on Big Dutchman’s popular AVECH colony system and the ideal space it provides for hens, a turkey video about the durable GLADIATOR feed pan, and a broiler video featuring the FLUXX feed pan and straight line auger system.

“The 3D experience was designed to give the viewer a better perspective of what goes on inside a poultry house,” said Clovis Rayzel. “The viewer is able to see how much room the hens have in the AVECH colony system, and this helps to understand in better detail, how the products work and how the animals use the poultry systems.”

Al Unser and his famous race car

To top things off, Big Dutchman had legendary race car driver Al Unser on hand to greet visitors and to sign autographs. Al brought along his race car “Johnny Lighting”, which he used to win two of his four Indianapolis 500 races. “Having Al and his car at the booth was a great experience for visitors,” says Terry Pollard, Vice President of North American sales for Big Dutchman.

Modern egg production with enriched colony systems

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:49:00 +0100

Rubén Martínez García, innovative egg producer from the Spanish municipality of San Lorenzo de la Parilla, owns two poultry farms 150 kilometres south west of Madrid. On one of these farm, Martínez García keeps 300,000 laying hens in enriched colony systems. The housing equipment: the Eurovent 2240-EU, a new generation of enriched colony systems developed by the German poultry equipment supplier Big Dutchman. The second farm is still in the construction phase and will have places for 75,000 layers upon completion – free-range egg production in this case. Martínez García has decided to install Big Dutchman equipment in this house as well.

Outstanding feature of the Eurovent 2240-EU: The feed trough is now situated inside the system so that the hens can feed from both sides of the trough. With this improvement, the poultry equipment supplier satisfies its customers’ request for wider systems: Group sizes of up to 54 hens per compartment significantly lower the costs for effective egg production.

The state-of-the-art poultry house project for enriched colony systems is an eye-catcher – and not only from the outside, as could be witnessed on Spanish television recently: The TV channel Castilla La Mancha Televisión (CMTV) visited the installation and broadcast an informative television feature. You can watch it here!

Rubén Martínez García created a website with detailed information on his company and modern egg production – please click here to visit it!

Meet Big Dutchman at IPPE in Atlanta, Georgia

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:05:00 +0100

Big Dutchman likes to welcome you to the Atlanta, Georgia 2013 International Production & Processing Expo – IPPE, opening to visitors on Tuesday, January 29.

Meet us at Booth 6227, Hall B and find out more on the world’s leading poultry equipment supplier.

On top of an impressive list of products, several of which are new launchings (AVECH III, NAtura Primus, RainMaker with plastic pads, NXB nests, Colony 2+ XL nests, BigFarmNet), this year we added an extra dimension and astonishing speed to our show floor:

Enjoy a 3D experience in our customized theater. You’ll be part of the action as you watch our products perform from a truly unique perspective. Meet Al Unser who is a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 race. Also see “Johnny Lighting”, the car Al drove to his first Indy win.

Our Big Dutchman team looks forward to spending time with you and hope you will enjoy our special, commemorative attractions, while having a great 2013 IPPE show.

The show hours are:

Tuesday Jan. 29, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 30, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 31, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Please visit www.bigdutchmanusa.com to learn more about Big Dutchman in North America.

Belgium: Visit a modern enriched colony system

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:13:00 +0100

The Vanbelle family from Ardooie in Belgium constructed a new poultry house for 65,000 laying hens and invites anyone interested to an Open House on Friday, 25 January 2013. The visitor will see an enriched colony system solution that is not too common: The farmers decided to keep the birds in a Big Dutchman small aviary system, equipped with Eurovent-EU fittings, which is the poultry equipment supplier’s enriched colony system for the EU market. The small aviary differs from Eurovent-EU for example in that the tiers are five centimetres higher.

The Belgian farmers also proved their innovative approach with the choice of house lighting. The energy efficient LED light tubes installed inside the house ensure optimal lighting for birds and humans: As only the inside of the system is lighted, the aisles are dark, thus calming the birds and in turn improving control conditions for the farmers.

The house is situated approximately 50 km west of Ghent. Address:

Brabantstraat 77
8850 Ardooie
West Flanders
Belgium

Uitnodiging Open Dag Famiele Vanbelle: Please find an invitation to the Open House in Dutch for download here.