Poultry

Chaona eggs have become a popular choice for numerous consumers. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

The State Grid Ningxia Electric Power Co., Ltd. Guyuan Branch recently visited the Chaona egg sorting and marketing centre in Pengyang County Industrial Park to investigate potential safety hazards in electrical equipment

Given their unique advantages of low fat, low cholesterol, large egg yolk and thick egg white, Chaona eggs have become a popular choice for numerous consumers. Since the traditional egg sorting method relies on manual operation, which is inefficient and labour-intensive, the egg sorting marketing centre project came into being, injecting new vitality into the development of the industry.

Chaona eggs are currently being sold to Beijing, Xiamen, Xi'an, Yinchuan, Guyuan and other cities, and the market share continues to expand.

The HCS ProLife is a smart solution leading fresh drinking water through the hatching crates. (Image source: Giordano)

Giordano unveiled the HatchCargoSystem – ProLife (HCS ProLife) — a gamechanger in the early feeding phase of day-old-chicken — at last month's Eurotier Exhibition that took place in Hannover, Germany

The HCS ProLife is a unique sy stem that provides day-old chicken with fresh drinking water and feed inside the hatchery and during road transport. In addition to these internal drinking gutters, the trays are also equipped with feeding gutters, with both drinking and eating being positioned on either sides of the tray, providing maximum access to chicks.

Customers who wish to hatch the day-old-chicken will be provided with a smart tray that can be placed alternately between the crates and offers enough space for 74 hatching eggs. Having a unique framework, these trays allow the day-old-chicks to easily find their way onto the underlying crate immediately after hatching, where they have direct access to fresh drinking water and feed. The tray design allows the fresh drinking water to overflow from the above crate to the one below the tray, all the while ensuring a calm flow down and zero splashing. 

Extensive testing which has been carried out on the system has shown that the water quality remains within all current standards, right down up to and including the last crate. The system can be used in all existing incubators with very minor adjustments, allowing customer expectations to be met, while also keeping law and legistlations costs low. 

What makes the new cold plasma mite trap EX stand apart is its process which is complete devoid of additives or acaricides. (Image source: MIK INTERNATIONAL)

In collaboration with the Friedrich Loeffler Institute and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, MIK INTERNATIONAL GmbH & Co. KG presented its new product “Cold Plasma Mite Trap EX” for the first time at  EuroTier 2024 in Hanover

This system specifically focuses on controlling the red bird mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) in laying hen farms, and was honoured with a gold medal at the event. 

Red mites are one of the most common and economically important ectoparasites globally, with infestations causing massive damage to animal health and economy. Currently organic farming offers minimum options to control red mites, with the most common control method involving the use of acaricides. However, these cannot be used in excess due to the increased likelihood of developing resistance. 

What makes the new cold plasma mite trap EX stand apart is its process which is complete devoid of additives or acaricides. The process works by collecting and killing the mites and their brood in the mite trap. 

By generating a cold atmospheric pressure plasma, which is created by dielectric barrier discharge, the mites are killed highly efficiently and reliably. This can be used highly efficiently against all developmental stages of the red mite. 

After each killing process, the mite trap is automatically cleaned. The complete system is operated with a mains voltage of 230V and consists of a switching unit and at least one mite trap. Currently, 80 “Mite-EX” mite traps can be operated per switching unit.

TARGAN brings AI-driven system WingScan to the European market. (Image source: TARGAN)

Animal AgTech company TARGAN, Inc. recently secured a new contract with IKO Kompania Drobiarska to install TARGAN's automated feather-sexing system, WingScan 

This collaboration debuted at EuroTier 2024 in Hannover, Germany this year, following which it demonstrated TARGAN's commitment to delivering innovative AI-powered solutions to poultry producing companies across Europe. 

Depending on configuration, the WingScan system offers a throughput of 40,000–160,000 chicks per hour, with up to 98% accuracy. Automated chick sexing enhances efficiency and performance, providing downstream benefits at both the farm and processing levels. By implementing gender-specific rearing strategies, producers can improve flock uniformity, ultimately optimising plant operations.

IKO's CEO, Zbigniew Idziaszek expressed pride in being one of the first companies in Europe to integrate WingScan into their hatchery, while looking forward to the positive impact as they continued to expand their operations. He also highlighted how TARGAN's system perfectly aligned with their goals of boosting efficiency, enhancing quality and improving welfare standards across all stages of production.

Viscon Hatchery Automation, TARGAN’s commercial distribution and service partner for WingScan across select European markets, was instrumental in facilitating the agreement with IKO. The European launch of WingScan reaffirms TARGAN’s commitment to advancing animal protein production globally by delivering scalable, next-generation automation that meets the increasing demands of the poultry industry.

Area Sales Manager, Tomasz Zimnicki mentioned that the collaboration provided a tremendous opportunity to meet the specific needs of the European market. "IKO is well-positioned to fully capitalise on the downstream benefits at every stage of production—from hatchery to farm to processing plant—maintaining a strong competitive edge. We are excited about the continued collaboration between TARGAN and Viscon and are fully prepared to provide the highest quality support and service as more customers adopt the WingScan system,” said Zimnicki.