New products fill the halls at EuroTier
The World Poultry Show comes around just once every four years at EuroTier in Hanover, providing a platform for the supply industry to show off its wares. Philip Clarke takes a look at some of the new and innovative products on display
Automatic belt control
Big Dutchman
One of the downsides of alternative housing systems for layers is that the birds perch and defecate in different locations throughout the system. The manure accumulates unevenly on the belts, which in turn means they do not always run straight and may rub up against the sides of the tracks, leading to a higher energy requirement and even broken belts.
On most farms, monitoring and adjusting is done by hand – if it is done at all. So Big Dutchman has developed a new, fully automated system. Sensors on each side of the belt take position readings every second. This data is accumulated for 15 minutes to determine if the belt has moved left or right. If necessary the computer sends a command to motors on either side of the belt to adjust the slide plates.
“This saves on labour, and extends the life of the belt,” said company executive Ludger Thermann. The product is due to be launched next year.
Anta Phyt BLT
Dr Eckel
Phytogenic (plant derived) additives are becoming increasingly important for modern animal nutrition, helping to improve feed intake and boost gut flora, says Anne-Kathrin Blasse of German nutrition company Dr Eckel. The company’s latest combination of plant extracts, essential oils and prebiotic active substances – Anta Phyt BLT – picked up a silver innovation award for its contribution to improving bird health while reducing the need for antibiotics.
Feeding trials at Berlin University had demonstrated a 3.6% increase in final weight, a 2.1% drop in feed conversion ratio and a 7% fall in litter moisture. It has also been shown to counter Clostridium perfringens bacteria, said Dr Blasse.
AeroScalder
Marel Stork Poultry Processing
Lower water use and increased energy savings are two of the main advantages bestowed on the new AeroScalder, being rolled out in poultry processing plants in Australia, Holland and Germany.
In most factories, scalding after bleeding is done in hot water tanks. This can lead to contamination between carcasses, says Marel Stork marketing manager Roy Driessen, as well as taking 75% more water and 50% more energy. The new system involves mixing hot air and hot water in a chamber to the side of the main scalder, then blowing it in over the carcasses. Height adjustable spot blowers can target difficult places, such as between the legs.
With less water used overall, factories can also reduce the size of their dirty water treatment plants, leading to further savings.
Galli-Luxmeter
Hato Agricultural Lighting
It was discovered as long ago as the 1960s that chickens see differently to humans, being particularly sensitive to blue and UV light. It is also understood that lighting intensity has a great effect on behaviour. About 40 lux is optimal, says Hato director Paul Obers, with lower levels leading to stress and higher levels causing overactivity.
But the setting and checking of light levels using normal lux meters does not correspond to the vision sensitivity of the poultry, he adds. The Galli-Luxmeter his company has developed sees it as the chicken does, taking into account the high sensitivity the birds have to low wavelength light.
This is important given the higher levels of blue light thrown out by LED lights that are increasingly being used on poultry farms.
FarmPower-Manager
Big Dutchman
With the cost of energy rising inexorably, poultry producers need all the help they can get to maximise efficiency and cut waste. The FarmPower-Manager software from Big Dutchman aims to do just that. The system maps where all the energy is being used on a poultry farm – heaters, feeders, egg collectors, lighting and so on – creating a so-called “energy signature”. Once the farmer knows what each event uses, he can then set about making savings. It also allows for comparisons to be made between sheds and between flocks, and to calculate the contribution of renewable energy sources. And a traffic light system lets the farmer know if things are on track or not.
iD Vision candling system
iD Projects
Using technology derived from the pharmaceutical industry, French company iD Projects has developed a candling system for hatcheries to quickly and accurately identify and remove infertile eggs, before they are put into the setters.
The machine uses Visio Nerf’s patented artificial detection system, which takes more than 1,200 surface measurements to make the assessment. Infertile eggs show up as red on the computer screen. They are then removed from the trays by individual sucker cups.
Up to 100,000 eggs an hour can be candled, making it the fastest machine on the market, says marketing manager Vincent Fevrier. “The system is also better for hygiene, as only the infertile eggs are touched and there are no bad eggs left in the baskets when the chicks hatch. It also saves on hatchery waste, as these infertile eggs can then go for pet food or fertiliser.”
Avimatrix
Novus International
Higher growth rates and better litter quality are two of the benefits attributed by Novus to its latest feed additive, Avimatrix. Described as a “protected blend of flavouring compounds”, the new product includes benzoic acid and other bacterial inhibitors.
The product is coated in a protecting matrix using the company’s Premium Blend Technology. This allows for the slower, more targeted release of the compounds into the lower intestinal tract, so optimising its effectiveness in improving the gut microflora balance. Independent research over three years has indicated better growth rates (up to 4%) and drier litter, leading to reduced foot lesions in broilers. The technology also ensures that Avimatrix is dust-free and easy mixing for feed manufacturers, says marketing manager Marc Decoux, adding that inclusion at 500g/t of feed gives the optimum results.
SmartCount chick counter
Pas Reform
A new system to count chicks in batches rather than as individuals has enabled Dutch hatchery equipment supplier Pas Reform to cut down conveyor belt speeds dramatically, so improving welfare while maintaining throughput and accuracy.
The new SmartCount, which has been installed in the Elshuis Hatchery in the Netherlands, uses vision technology to analyse groups of chicks. It works by identifying patterns of falling chicks and counting them into the baskets. A series of rods, which make up the so-called “dosing curtain”, extend or retract to fine-tune the numbers as the basket nears capacity. “We don’t need to accelerate the chicks past individual sensors, so can run the belt at 0.2m/second rather than 1.8m/second and still achieve 60,000 chicks an hour,” says Pas Reform sales director Bouke Hammings.
The counter also includes a spray vaccinator and can give detailed feedback on things such as average chick weight and batch uniformity.
Winterwarm DXC heater
Winterwarm heating solutions
With supermarkets and regulators pressing for lower carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture, Winterwarm has launched its first indirect heater, aimed at broiler houses.
Available in 60kW, 80kW or 100 kW options, the DXC, (the C stands for “closed”), brings fresh air into the burners, blows the heat through a looped series of internal pipes, and extracts the spent gasses back out of the building. An angled fan gives a 40m “throw” of warm air into the shed. “The unit is easily cleaned, with drain holes to allow the water to flow out,” says sales manager Alex Gillies. He suggests that two 100kW heaters would be sufficient to warm a 200x 60m shed.
The company has also launched a new water heater, the DXW, (the W stands for “water”), as another indirect heating option. “All our heaters can be linked into the farm’s central control panel, though some of our customers have gone back to individual control.”
Hydrocare Checkbox
Intra care
Clean drinking water is fundamental to bird health and the new Hydrocare Checkbox contains all the kit needed to make a quick analysis of its chemical and microbial qualities A key part of the kit is the 3M Clean Trace Luminometer – a hand-held device that will give a reading of the bacterial content of water in seconds.
“It will not be able to tell you what bacteria are present, but it will alert the farmer to problems,” said marketing manager Arjan van de Vondervoort. Intra Care has also recently gained PT5 registration for its Hydrocare disinfectant, allowing it to be included in drinking water, when the birds are present – the first product to get such authorisation in Europe.
Ronozyme HiPhos
DSM
Making greater use of the phosphorous that is already bound up in feed ingredients is more cost effective and better for the environment than relying on supplements with inorganic phosphorous.
Accessing that phosphorous is made possible by the inclusion of phytase enzymes and Ronozyme HiPhos is the latest one to come to market from nutrition company DSM. Initially launched in Latin America last year and now available in the EU, the company claims its new phytase is the most potent yet, boasting nearly double the phosphorus release than its next competitor.
DSM business development manager Richard Slade said that the new enzyme would help to cut feed costs, improve bird performance and help the environment. It will be available in three forms: as pellets, in a form optimised for mash and as a liquid.
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