Eighteen months after introducing its first hatchholder, One2Born will soon be launching the One2Born 3.0. Experience has already been gained in several countries with the hatchholder – an effective, animal-friendly method allowing chicks to hatch in the houses.
‘The One2Born hatchholder has a positive impact on animal welfare and health, providing a better yield at each stage of the poultry production chain.’ Frank de Louw sums up the impact of the specially-developed product. He and Huub van Santvoort are the joint owners of One2Born in the town of Uden in the Dutch province of Noord Brabant. They and their team have worked together with a number of hatcheries to optimize the hatchholder.
Less stress
The One2Born hatchholder allows 18-day-old incubated eggs to hatch in the barn where they will grow up. In addition, the paper pulp boxes serve as protection during transport. After hatching, the fully biodegradable boxes act as toys for the chicks, and are fully compostable. The boxes are certified ‘fully sterile’, and as they are single-use there is no risk for the biosecurity.
Frank says that the chicks experience less stress hatching in the barn, because they don’t undergo transport or processing. After hatching they have immediately acces to feed and water. ‘They have an easier start to their lives, and have more water and feed available earlier. That means the young birds develop better and enjoy the environment in which they will spend the rest of their lives.’
Increased yield of 4 to 6 cents
Thanks to accelerated growth, lower mortality, better feed conversion, and healthier chicks with virtually no use of antibiotics, the investment is recouped straight away. Frank says that, by using the hatchholders, the additional financial yield is between €0.04 and €0.06 per chick. ‘Our technique works with no tools required in the barn. You don’t need to make any substantial investment to enjoy the benefits.’
The patented hatchholders are very effective and practical. Inspections must be candling the incubated eggs at day 18. During transport the boxes are stacked and the ventilation is provided by airflow channels in the box. A temperature of 31 to 32 °C must be maintained throughout transport. In the barn, the temperature needs to be 35 °C, with a floor temperature of 28 to 30 °C. Soon after placing the boxes in the barn, the first chicks start to hatch, and they immediately have access to water and feed. Around 98 to 99% of the eggs hatch under the current renewed inspection techniques.
Successful demand outside the Netherlands
Although One2Born is a Dutch company through and through, it has seen massive demand beyond the country’s borders in recent years. In the Nordic countries, poultry production chains have been set up allowing chicks to hatch in the barn using One2Born’s hatchholders. Consumers can see this for themselves on the shop shelf, as the product packaging is marked ‘born and raised in the barn’.
The experiences from the field with One2Born have been very positive. To continue developing the technology, recent updates have been applied to the first version. In the One2Born 2.0, the hatchholders are made only of paper pulp, and stacked and unstacked with a rotation of 180°. The convection channels were also optimized. The third and latest version holds 50 eggs instead of 40. This brings advantages in the hatchery when it comes to automation.
Frank is extremely pleased with the results achieved with One2Born and is looking ahead to the future. ‘We are making waves in the poultry industry with this innovative product. This is going to have a hugely positive impact on the entire chain.’
