Big Dutchman

Altogether 12,000 laying hens recently moved into the new poultry house built by Iduna and Bernd Sachtjen from Friedeburg in northern Germany. In the course of a modernisation of their farm, the couple changed from dairy farming to organic egg production. Before the hens were moved into their new home, the Sachtjen family invited the public to an open day of the new barn, which is equipped with Big Dutchman’s latest generation of the Natura-Nova Twin aviary. Approximately 400 persons took advantage of the opportunity to take a closer look at the new poultry shed. 

Organic egg production in the new poultry house

The core part of the new poultry house is the two-tiered Natura-Nova Twin 280 with portal. The further development of the Big Dutchman aviary for barn egg production and free range egg production, a bestseller among the so-called conventional aviaries, is characterized by several additional new features. Among others, these include the increased usable area as well as the widened connecting passage between nest and system which can be used by the farm staff for the daily inspection rounds. In addition, the two catwalks above the portal were further reinforced and thus provide additional walking safety and a more comfortable system inspection.

The hens are supplied with feed and water on two levels and have direct access to the nest. A low share of mislaid eggs and the overall good acceptance of the system are the positive result of the sophisticated construction, which is also designed for 100 % utilisation of the house surface area. The poultry house for aviary management is divided into four separate areas which means that the number of hens per group is limited to 3,000 hens per group.

Everything is ready for free range egg production

As free range area for their 12,000 laying hens the Sachtjens established a pasture of approximately 5 ha. The size of the area for free range egg production is defined by the EU Eco regulation, based on which each hen must have a surface area of at least 4 m². Also installed are the stipulated shelters which protect the hens against rain, sunshine or birds of prey.

The poultry shed has a size of 90 x 14 m. Along the sides, the building has roofed outdoor porches through which the hens can access the free range area.

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Big Dutchman is the world’s largest poultry equipment supplier for modern poultry production. A new field of business is residue treatment. The complete product portfolio of the German family enterprise from Vechta-Calveslage includes all kinds of poultry feeding systems and poultry housing systems. Be it barn, free range and organic egg production or egg production in enriched colony systems and poultry cages, be it systems for optimal poultry climate control or poultry growing, turkey production and breeder management: Big Dutchman offers the best poultry systems imaginable for every type of farm imaginable.

The Sachtjen family has entered the market of organic egg production. With the new poultry house they produce organic eggs according to the EU Eco regulation.

Free range egg production with the Natura-Nova Twin 280: the connecting passage between nest and system has been widened.

Organic egg production with Natura-Nova Twin: the walkways that are installed on both sides of the air duct covering have been reinforced for improved walking safety.

Recently, the Syring family from Bad Wildungen in Germany has invited the public to an Open Day: When next-generation farmer Daniel Syring showed strong interest in poultry growing, the family decided to expand their farm by a poultry house. For poultry housing systems, father Erich Syring and son Daniel got Big Dutchman on board. The well-done new house for 39,900 broilers has been completed and approx. 600 people seized the opportunity to visit the poultry house including poultry systems and heat exchanger. 

Saving heating costs in the poultry house with the „Earny“ heat exchanger

To save heating costs, the two farmers decided to equip their new poultry house with the Big Dutchman heat exchanger „Earny“. This system can help to reduce heating costs by up to 60% especially in the cold season.

One of the main features: the exhaust air from the poultry house used for the heat exchanger is completely pre-filtered before it is forwarded to the heat exchanger. This means that the exchanger element, which strictly separates intake and exhaust air and creates an optimum heat transition, remains free of dust and dirt. Another, so far unique, feature is the fully automatic compressed air cleaning of the filters. This prevents obstructions and thus performance loss during a grow-out.

Poultry growing with innovative heat exchanger

The Big Dutchman exchanger element consists of aluminium and thus ensures a very high heat transfer rate. The heat transfer rate is much higher than with traditional plastic-made exchanger elements. The ruffled structure of the aluminium element increases this positive effect. The aluminium has a special coating and is resistant to the influence of ammonia and CO₂. 

A particularly practical feature: The heat exchanger is delivered ready-mounted and can be installed without much time and effort. It can, of course, not only be installed in new buildings but can also be retrofitted in old or refurbished buildings without any problem.

Poultry system for a modern poultry house

Further eye-catchers from Big Dutchman at the Open Day were the amacs computer system for continuous monitoring and control of the house and the Augermatic feeding system including Fluxx feed pan.

Poultry house of the Syring family: Pictures of successful Open Day

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Big Dutchman is the world’s largest poultry equipment supplier for modern poultry production. A new field of business is residue treatment. The complete product portfolio of the German family enterprise from Vechta-Calveslage includes all kinds of poultry feeding systems and poultry housing systems. Be it barn, free range and organic egg production or egg production in enriched colony systems and poultry cages, be it systems for optimal poultry climate control or poultry growing, turkey production and breeder management: Big Dutchman offers the best poultry systems imaginable for every type of farm imaginable.

Big Dutchman sales representatives Guido Kreuznacht (far left) and Werner Meckelnborg (far right) congratulate the Syrings on their new poultry house. With this new house, the Syring family completed their first investment in the poultry growing business.

Well-done poultry house for poultry growing plus innovative heat exchanger

Earny heat exchanger: Particularly in the cold season up to 60% heating costs can be saved with this system – and it creates the right poultry house climate.

Pre-heated fresh air is supplied directly through the intake air openings (right). There is no need for too long, unhygienic piping. On the left, the exhaust air flap.

For the Open Day, the Augermatic feeding systems including feed pans was winched up under the ceiling.

The second fully enriched colony house on a U.S. egg farm was part of a four house expansion for this Michigan egg producer. Konos expanded by around 700,000 layers with the addition of four poultry houses: three are equipped with enrichable and one with enriched colony systems. The Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The thousand-mile journey for the U.S. egg industry may be the conversion from traditional cage systems to enriched colony systems (…)

Conversion from traditional cage systems to enriched colony systems: Please click here to read the full story on Konos’ four house expansion.

The first step was actually taken by the company JS West with the placement of a flock in the company’s enriched colony systems in July 2010. Please click here for details on a pioneering project.

AVECH-enriched colony system in the news – please click here.

AVECH enriched colony system gains American Humane Association Seal Of Approval.

Andrea and Norbert Holste have invested in their future with the building of two new poultry sheds upon their farm in Schöppingen, in the district of Borken. Some 300 visitors accepted the invitation of the new farmers to take a closer look at the new sheds, with the Holstes buying all necessary equipment from Big Dutchman.

Impressive poultry sheds

The new building consists of two stalls, each with a size of 20 x 95 metres, and offers places for approximately 84, 000 birds. The feeding system is composed of eight drinking-lines with stainless-steel drinking nipples and four feeding lines: this is the innovative Fluxx feed pan from Big Dutchman, that also employs the 360° flooding mechanism for a high feed level in the day-old chicks. Depending on the age and size of the birds, the entire feed line can be raised, which causes the flood mechanism to automatically close, and which in turn decreases the feed level, so that feed loss is reduced to a minimum.

Healthy poultry climate control

The 16 exhaust air chimneys in each house push the exhaust air towards the outside; these chimneys are built into the ceilings and are ten metres above ground level. Big Dutchman fresh air inlets keep the fresh air supply moving around the house, resulting in a healthy house ventilation system.

Two RGA-100 heating systems per house are able to ensure an optimal poultry house temperature with high energy efficiency in each house. The heating machines work with a closed combustion system, so that the poultry sheds remain free from smoke and harmful gases, which are discharged outdoors through a chimney. The built-in ventilators are able to ensure that there is a good dispersion of air throughout the entire house because of their large range.

In order to ensure a consistently good animal performance even during high summer temperatures, a spray cooling system with stainless-steel nozzles can be employed, and therefore reduces the possibility of heat-stress for the birds. Moreover, the humidity in the house can also be constantly monitored – another plus for this system.

Control feeding systems and climate systems for poultry growing by mouse click

Another important feature in the new sheds is the use of the control system amacs. With this computer-controlled system, Andrea and Norbert Holste can easily control all essential functions in their new sheds – for example, the feeding installations or the poultry climate control system – with only a mouse click.

amacs works off the basis that network engineering can be combined with modern technology for communication, which enables permanent data acquisition, supervision and control of the two buildings in real time. Therefore, houses can be controlled without any problems, either on the spot, or by remote control, from any location in the world, with either a Windows-PC or even a Smartphone.

You can read more about feeding and housing systems here: "Poultry growing with Augermatic poultry feeding system"

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Big Dutchman is the world’s largest poultry equipment supplier for modern poultry production. A new field of business is residue treatment. The complete product portfolio of the German family enterprise from Vechta-Calveslage includes all kinds of poultry feeding systems and poultry housing systems. Be it barn, free range and organic egg production or egg production in enriched colony systems and poultry cages, be it systems for optimal poultry climate control or poultry growing, turkey production and breeder management: Big Dutchman offers the best poultry systems imaginable for every type of farm imaginable.

New entrants into poultry growing: Big Dutchman sales consultants Guido Kreuznacht (far left) and Werner Meckelnborg (far right) present the Holstes with presents for the inauguration.

Both poultry sheds were equipped by Big Dutchman: the feeding system Augermatic is used here for the growing.

The feeding pan Fluxx ensures a high feed level.

Refreshing poultry growing: in each shed, the spray-cooling system Fogging Cooler was installed. In the photo above, both pump units can be seen, and below are the filtering units with the medicator, in which the essential oils are transported throughout the poultry house. This improves the birds’ wellbeing.

The Holstes also had two RGA-100-heating systems installed, in order to guarantee an optimal climate during winter.

A state-of-the-art poultry house for barn egg production with 80,000 laying hens recently attracted a large crowd of visitors to Gangelt in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia. Approximately 400 guests accepted the invitation issued by Herwin and Leon Lichtenberg to visit a successful new housing construction for aviary operation.

The two brothers, who originally come from Koningsbosch in the Netherlands and have both been customers of Big Dutchman for many years, also pursued this collaboration with the poultry equipment supplier from Vechta-Calveslage in the implementation of their most recent project. The NATURA 70 aviary and the brand new heat exchangers which Big Dutchman experts designed especially for use in layer management and which ensure high levels of dry matter in manure drying created a very high level of interest.

Sophisticated system for barn egg production reduces management requirements

The poultry house, divided by a sorting and packaging room in the centre, measures a total of 240 metres in length and 24 metres in width. The core of the building is the NATURA70 aviary for barn egg production. The concept of this layer management system is based on the fundamental principle of decreasing the management input required in aviary housing whilst also increasing egg production reliability.

A very substantial benefit is the fact that the birds do not fly at eye level, which considerably eases the controlling task of the layer manager. Further benefits of the aviary also include the small, easily manageable group sizes which are regulated by cross partitions every 2.41 metres. By specific request, the NATURA 70 was supplied with a 50 cm wide longitudinal egg belt instead of the standard width of 35 cm.

Effective heat exchanger used in layer management

“Highly promising technology!” is the unanimous verdict passed by all guests regarding the heat exchangers. The two brothers decided in favour of a new generation of Big Dutchman heat exchangers for application particularly in layer management and thus in barn egg production.

The technology is simple but highly effective: the new poultry house has a manure storehouse at each end and two heat exchangers are installed in each of these storehouses. Exhaust air flues extract warm air from the house and direct it into the hall whilst a continuous stream of fresh air is added simultaneously.

Poultry house with optimum house environment

The heat exchanger makes use of the house air to warm up the fresh air. The warm air is then fed into the system via an air duct and simultaneously dispersed throughout the entire poultry house. As the level of air humidity is low, it is ideal for ventilation of the manure belt – which results in high dry-matter contents and low emissions of ammonia. In winter the pre-warmed air – with minimum ventilation – ensures suitable temperatures in the poultry house.

For further reading on Big Dutchman poultry systems for barn egg production please follow this link!

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Big Dutchman is the world’s largest poultry equipment supplier for modern poultry production. A new field of business is residue treatment. The complete product portfolio of the German family enterprise from Vechta-Calveslage includes all kinds of poultry feeding systems and poultry housing systems. Be it barn, free range and organic egg production or egg production in enriched colony systems and poultry cages, be it systems for optimal poultry climate control or poultry growing, turkey production and breeder management: Big Dutchman offers the best poultry systems imaginable for every type of farm imaginable.

At the official opening ceremony Leon and Herwin Lichtenberg were presented with attractive gifts as well as a decorative key. Big Dutchman sales consultant Heinrich Beckmann (2nd from left) and Sebastian Dierken (far right) congratulate them on the new poultry house

NATURA 70 aviary system for modern barn egg production with 80,000 laying hens

Sophisticated layer management with NATURA 70 - litter aisle

View of the two manure stores, each of which is equipped with two heat exchangers (see top right and left).

“Barn egg production” is a very interesting topic! This was particularly evident at the Open Day when approximately 400 guests took advantage of the opportunity to find out more about this subject.