Another item of interest at the 2012 IPE show was the Big Foot Radiant Tube Heater by Space Ray. Space Ray manufacturers some the best heating equipment on the market; Hog Slat and Georgia Poultry have carried their 40,000 Btu poultry brooder and tube heaters for years.
“The Big Foot is hybrid heater that combines the best qualities of the standard brooder and tube heaters,” explained Space Ray’s Wilf Jackson. “Tube heaters have the advantage of less equipment to maintain but tend to produce a heating pattern that is oval in shape, while individual brooders produce a better heating footprint on the floor but require a producer to clean more pieces of equipment.”
“The heating footprint of the Big Foot is rectangular without gaps and the equipment can be installed close to the ceiling like a tube heater. Big Foot achieves its large, even footprint by utilizing a 19° angle on the reflector shield eliminating problems with convective wash as the heat waves are directed towards the house floor.”
Current plans are to offer the Big Foot in 60,000 and 90,000 Btu models and both single and dual stage ignition with emitter lengths of 15’ and 20’.
The Big Foot is being field tested by Hog Slat in a local farm and Space Ray is having independent tests conducted starting in February. We look forward to reporting on the results of those tests in future blogs.
Just returned from the 2012 IPE in Atlanta. Great place to catch up with industry contacts and see the latest and greatest.
Stopped by the Potter’s Poultry booth where Mike Button was quick to point the new Seal of Approval presented to Potter’s by the American Humane Association. The American Humane Association created the first welfare certification program in the United States to ensure the humane treatment of farm animals. Their Seal of Approval process verifies that equipment, housing designs and installation meet the standards of providing humane treatment in livestock production.
“A very pleasant surprise” said Mike.
Mike went on to comment, “When we first started coming to this show we were viewed as kind of an oddity. Producers really questioned whether or not eggs could be produced like this on a commercial basis. As we put systems in and the producers achieved success, interest in our systems has grown.”
“We estimate only about 5% of the total egg output is being produced in cage-free systems here in the U.S. We think that this will grow to over 25% similar to the amount produced in the U.K. There is a growing segment in the United States of consumers demanding eggs produced by more humane practices.”
“What’s unique about Potter’s Poultry is that we aren’t a battery cage manufacturer that took the doors off the front and started offering them as cage-free systems. We have been designing and manufacturing aviary systems for over 20 years. It not something we are doing because it’s the newest thing to hit the market…it’s what Potter’s Poultry has always done.”
You can learn more about Potter’s Poultry systems by going to http://www.hogslat.biz/Cage_Free_Aviary_System.asp or email us at thouston@hogslat.com
A NEW Solution to Clean and Help Extend the Life of your Medicator
Medicator Rx is a water soluble concentrate, with Aqua Lube, that is designed specifically for maintaining and cleaning medicators in swine barns and poultry houses.
It removes:
Rust
Bio-deposits
Calcifications
Medicator Rx solution also lubricates your medicator’s interior seals and all moving components as it cleans.
Medicator Rx can be used in two different ways, cleaning in-line and deep cleaning.
For in-line cleaning, between medicating and vaccinating cycles, mix one packet into 16 ounces of water, turn water on to inject Medicator Rx solution into the medicator and let it sit overnight*.
For deep cleaning, without scrubbing, disassemble the medicator and simply soak the parts in the Medicator Rx solution for 12 – 24 hours*. You will be amazed with the results!
Medicator Rx is recommended to use when performing maintenance or repairs. One packet will clean one medicator.
Kip and Michelle Cullers took a hard look at their existing broiler operation and decided changes needed to be made. First put into operation in 1989, the six 22-year buildings were in need of major renovation to qualify for premium payments.
After exploring their options with MoArk, a leading producer of specialty eggs, the Cullers next contacted Mike Lucariello who heads up Georgia Poultry’s operations in the area.
Working with the existing 40’ x 400’ dimensions, Mike put together a layout designed to house 12,500 hens per building. The layout features two rows of Wadeken center belt nests set up on a flat deck of plastic slats with a lowered center scratch area. New chain feeders and the old drinker systems, outfitted with cups, were installed on the deck area between the nests and the exterior walls.
The ventilation system was upgraded with the addition of seven 52” Windstorm fans and a 5’ x 55’ cool cell system on each side of the building. The system also unitizes the existing curtain system that can be manually activated during mild weather.
To complete the project, a 20’ x 40’ egg room was added to each building. The bulk of the egg collection is done in the morning with center belts moving the eggs to the end of the building where they are placed into flats, stacked on wheeled racks and moved to the egg cooler until pick up every Tuesday and Friday.
Kip commented, “We had complete confidence in turning the project over to Mike. He’s been in the chicken industry for a long time and has broiler and laying houses of his own. We are especially pleased with the way the ventilation system performed last summer. The tunnel system combined with the cool cell system kept the hens comfortable; in fact, we experienced no loss of production despite record the heat.”
Kip continued, “Michelle is responsible for the day-to-day operations on the farm. She does an outstanding job keeping up with the paperwork necessary for organic egg production. Plus she manages two full time employees and four part timers who gather eggs. I help out with repair and maintenance as the farming operation and travel allows.” (In case you are wondering if you have heard Kip’s name before, you may have. He holds the record for soybean production at 160.6 bushels per acre and travels worldwide speaking about his production methods).
To find out more contact us at 800-949-4647 or email us at thouston@hogslat.com. We’ll sit down with you, explain your options and help you put together a plan and cost estimates for remodel or new projects. You can see photos from the Cullers operation by clicking on the following link
The Lein family’s start in the egg business began with 12 hens back in 1999. Those hens provide eggs for the family as well a few neighbors and friends. Visitors to farm thought the hens had it so good they referred to them as “yuppie chickens”. When Lynn started direct marketing eggs she adopted the brand name, Yuppie Hill Poultry. As the business grew, Lyn acquired the present farm on Potter Road and converted an existing dairy barn into a laying house for 3,000 hens.
“That first house was a lot of work. We gathered the eggs, washed them and did the feeding all by hand. The air quality was poor and production never got above 70%” remarked Lynn.
In 2008, the family decided to increase production by constructing a new 50’ x 250’ flat deck house for 9,000 hens. Although the new system saved labor with automated feeding and egg gathering, the family researched other options before their next stage of expansion.
As Jay explained, “We were not totally satisfied with our conventional deck system. We felt the environment could be better for the chickens. In addition, we were spending a lot of time cleaning out the building between groups. The extended down time between groups made it hard for us to supply our customers and reduced our income.”
Their research led them to Potter’s Poultry http://www.hogslat.biz/Cage_Free_Aviary_System.asp, one of the leading manufacturers of cage-free production systems. After contacting Hog Slat rep Jason Billings, the group traveled to England to see firsthand the Potter’s System in use.
“We visited six commercial farms in four days and came away very impressed.” said Lyn “We were particularly interested in an aviary type system because the zoning restrictions on our farm forced us into putting as many chickens as possible in a limited floor plan. The other aviary systems we had looked at were really just big cages. Potter’s has been building aviary systems for 20 years and has designed a true cage-free system that is the most open one on the market.”
Jay added “We liked what we saw and came home determined to copy the style of barns we had seen in England. The ventilation was excellent and it equipment was built extremely heavy with a lot of small features that make a big difference.”
After returning, plans were finalized on 55’ x 245’ building with a center wall running the length of the building creating two individual rooms each capable of holding 8,900 hens. By combining this capacity with the first building the Leins will have three separate flocks. Because no more than one room is ever out of production for cleaning, eggs are always available to supply customers. Construction began in mid July and the first hens were placed October 3rd.
Colony nests are stacked two high along the center wall with the aviary facing it. The AVINEST colony nests allow hens to gather in groups behind privacy curtain to lay their eggs. The system uses the original AstroTurf pads that are perforated to allow dirt to fall away ensuring cleaner eggs. Cleaner eggs are also promoted by the automatic expulsion feature where the nest floors are lifted with a rack and pinion system gently moving the hens out of the nests at night time.
The aviary features perches where feed and water are available on multiple levels. Two manure belts also run the length of the system. On the other side of the aviary, opposite the nests, is a scratch area with doors that can be opened to an outside run. The computer controlled ventilation system features chimney style fans linked with automated sidewall vents.
When I asked about the different lights installed in the building Jay explained “First the red lights above the boxes come on at 4:00 until 6:00 am with the nests’ floors dropping down to provide access to the nests. At 5:30 the whole house fluorescents come on dim and gradually increase every 15 minutes until they are on full power. Next the perch lights come on, then the lights on the second layer of the aviary come on and finally the floor lights are activated. The floor lights are key to preventing floor eggs from being laid. At night the order is reversed with boxes closing around 4:00 pm with the house lights going down at 7:00. At 8:10 the bottom lights are turned off, the middle lights at 8:20 and the house lights are shut off at 8:30. This entire sequence is automatically controlled by a master light control.”
Egg collection system on the two-tier nest system is accomplished by the use of curved mini steel rod conveyers that bring the eggs to a single level. From there another conveyer system moves the eggs to collection area where the eggs are inspected, packaged and cooled until delivery to customers.
Jay also called out the manure handling belts. “We feel that one of the biggest benefits of this system over our older building is the ability to remove the manure frequently. Because a majority of the manure is deposited under the aviary perches, we are able to run the belts located under the aviary and dumped them on to a cross belt where it is piled outside.”
“We like our niche in the market” Lynn said when we discussing Yuppie Hill’s customers. “We supply upper-end restaurants and grocery stores in Madison, Chicago and Sheboygan. We provide a quality product produced by a family farm. Demand keeps growing and this new facility will enable us do a better job supplying our customers.”
One final point of interest at Yuppie Hill farm is the original dairy barn used for the first laying house has been converted again……… into a restaurant that serves brunch every Sunday morning except the second weekend the month. The second weekend is devoted to special Saturday night theme dinner of four to five courses with neighborhood chefs invited in to host the event. The chefs prepare local foods paired with regional wines and beers. The event is becoming quite popular with the last couple of dinners being completely sold out.
If you would like to find out more about cage free egg production contacted us at thouston@ hogslat.com or call 800-949-4647. We’ll help you explored the available options for your new or remodel project. To view photos of Yuppie Hill Poultry’s building and equipment, click this link
So…… every once in while you run across a product that is such a simple answer to a problem that you just have to say “Wow, why didn’t somebody think of that a long time ago?”
The severe winter of 2010 had us looking for an answer to monitor feed levels in bulk bins. Remember that winter? Record snow, cold, windy…….feed outages were a real problem. Nobody can or should climb an icy ladder in that kind of weather. There are some existing solutions like load cells and sonar systems, but we were looking for a simpler, less expensive way to check feed levels and protect against feed outages.
So we started looking into a ways to accomplish feed level monitoring….…..electronic sensors mounted in the bin walls, electric sensor cables hung in the bins, sonar bouncing devices from a fish finder……
One of the biggest problems that we kept coming back to was that all these methods required power be run to the bins to operate them. Extra expense……harder to install…more of a chance for break downs and failure to occur.
Then along comes the Bin Flag….
A simple, mechanical device that uses a paddle inside the bin to rotate a sight cylinder to indicate when material is present. Primarily used in industry applications to monitor levels in hopper for materials like sand, gravel, plastic beads…… it is the perfect device to measure feed levels for swine and poultry bulk bins.
It meets all the criteria we had established
1) No electricity to operate
2) Installs from the outside of the bin and you don’t need lift the bin to install
3) Low cost
4) Flexible- basic method would be install a unit just above the cone to know when it is critical to order feed. Producers also have the option of adding additional Bin Flags for more advanced monitoring.
5) Very visible- big added bonus. You can visually see the Bin Flag from up to 200 feet away. You know in a glance from across the yard how much feed is in the bins….drive by a site and check feed levels from your truck seat. It doesn’t have to be cold for that to be a bonus.
There are more details on line….go to www.hogslat.biz to check out the videos and photos.
There’s even a way to hook up Bin Flag to your existing alarm to call you when feed levels drop to a critical level. We’ll talk about that in the next blog or so.
Every now and then we stumble across a product or idea from another industry that we can adapt for use in the swine and poultry business. Chorelite boots are one such product.
Designed for use as deck boot in the off-shore fishing industry, it’s a unique product with features that will benefit swine producers and poultry growers as chore boot for use inside of confinement buildings.
The first thing you will notice about the Chorelite is how extremely lightweight it is. The Chorelite boot is constructed of EVA expanded rubber (similar to the material used in Croc™ sandals) to create a lightweight but durable boot.
To give you an idea of how lightweight the Chorelite boot is; a typical rubber chore -type boot weights about 2 ½ lbs. Contrast that to the Chorelite that weighs in at only 10 ozs.!! Less weight equals less fatigue at the end of the day.
The Chorelite boot’s one-piece, molded construction means there are no seams to separate and leak. The bottom tread is designed to be non-slip (remember the off-shore deck boot?) without being too deep preventing large amounts of muck from accumulating.
You will also notice the Chorelite boot is unlined making them easy to clean and disinfect. You can wash them up, dunk them in a bucket of disinfectant and hang them upside down to dry. They will be ready next time you walk back in the barn
When we first received the boots we were skeptical about their durability because they were so lightweight. We put 10 pairs on the personnel of a local sow farm last July. In six months of daily use they reported no tears or punctures in the boots…no leaks…..and tread wear was excellent.
Now don’t get us wrong, even though we introduced this product during the winter, this boot wasn’t designed to keep anybody’s feet warm. This is un-insulated boot for use inside of a confinement hog barn or chicken house. It is water-proof, lightweight and easy to keep clean.
To learn more about Chorelite boots see our video at www.hogslat.biz/chorelite.asp or stop in at your local Hog Slat or Georgia Poultry store and try a pair on for yourself.
As every chicken grower knows hot weather takes its toll on performance. Feed consumption and daily gain are difficult to maintain when temperatures reach and remain in the high 90s and above. Tunnel ventilation increases bird comfort resulting in improved performance. So is any type of tunnel ventilation good enough? Is there a return on adding fans for increased air speeds above the industry 550 fpm standard?
Mike Lucariello, a Tyson grower from Wheaton, MO has a unique perspective on the question.
Several years ago Mike remodeled six) 40’x400’ broiler houses to company specs including insulating the north side of the houses and adding insulated curtains to the south side. Fan power was increased to create a system capable of generating wind speeds of 550 feet per minute. Performance was excellent and his farm’s closeouts routinely ranked at the top.
Last year Mike built two new 55’ x 600’ drop-ceiling houses. These houses feature improved side and ceiling insulation, energy efficient 52” Windstorm fans, Gro40 brooders and Tego tunnel doors. The wind speed in the new houses was calculated at 700 fpm. The first group was placed in these houses in February and the performance and energy use was excellent.
The real test came this summer.
A flock was placed on June 22. For the next six weeks the area experienced very hot and humid weather with temperatures staying in the 90s and moving into the 100s on a few occasions – the kind of weather that hurts bird performance and causes mortality to increase. The flock was caught and processed on August 2. Mike is on a competitive contract with Tyson so his performance is compared with other farms for the same week.
These were excellent results especially considering that was an averaged total, (with 141,000 of the birds coming from the old houses and only 96,800 caught out of the newer houses with improved ventilation). Birds from the new house averaged 4.08 lbs. vs. 3.81 lbs. from the older houses. We would expect similar differences in Feed Conversion and Average Daily Gain.
Another thing to consider is these are small birds… big 8 lb.+ birds would benefit even more from increased air speeds in the 700 fpm range. This winter is the time to take a look at retro fitting your existing ventilation system, especially if you have or are switching to big birds.
Put a call in now to your local Georgia Poultry sales rep. They’ll visit your farm and help you put the cost of the retro together… it will pay big dividends in the heat next summer and put money back in your pocket.
Another item of interest at the 2012 IPE show was the Big Foot Radiant Tube Heater by Space Ray. Space Ray manufacturers some the best heating equipment on the market; Hog Slat and Georgia Poultry have carried their 40,000 Btu poultry brooder and tube heaters for years. 
