Big Dutchman: innovative chain feeding system for separate male feeding – and more

Innovative chain feeding system for separate male feeding – and more MaleChain completes the wide range of Big Dutchman products for broiler breeder management

The management of broiler breeders is very challenging. Breeders are very sensitive birds, especially regarding feeding. Even small errors can have a negative effect on hatching egg production. The be all and end all in broiler breeder management is therefore that males and females are fed according to their needs, i.e. strictly separately. Breeder managers also need to guarantee that the males do not eat the hens’ feed and that the hens cannot reach the males’ feed, either. Big Dutchman can offer different solutions for this problem.

The newest product in the portfolio is MaleChain. This innovation is the world’s first chain feeding system for separate male feeding where the entire chain loop requires just one trough.

“With the double loop, breeder managers save lots of space in the barn,” Big Dutchman product manager Jennifer Lindel says about the central feature of MaleChain. She adds that “MaleChain is ideal for males with untrimmed beaks since the feed chain promotes natural smoothing of the beak.” Poultry equipment supplier Big Dutchman thus reacts to Germany’s ban on beak trimming with this feature. A patent for the innovation is pending.

Another benefit of MaleChain: all birds receive their feed very quickly and – even more important – very uniformly. This is because the chain conveys the feed in two directions. The chain speed also plays an important role: “The feed covers a distance of 36 metres in one minute,” explains Jennifer Lindel. The feed therefore reaches its destinations nearly simultaneously all over the barn. This has a positive effect on the males: they experience less stress during eating.

More advantages:

the hopper can be installed at the beginning or in the middle of the feed line → well suited for any house length; the chain’s height can be adjusted → females cannot reach the males’ feed; the males stand next to each other during feeding → ideal for bird inspection; the innovative system can be mounted very flexibly → standing and suspended versions available; the trough is open and accessible from all sides → perfect conditions for thorough cleaning.

Male turns into FeMale

The male grille can be replaced by a special grille for the females, converting MaleChain into FeMaleChain. The repurposed chain feeding system is a good option for breeder managers who want to increase the number of eating places for hens in their houses, which affects the hens’ constitution positively.

Characteristics of FeMaleChain:

space-saving chain loop; easy retrofitting in existing houses; simple feeding system on the manure pits; standing and suspended version.

ReproMatic feeding system

For both MaleChain and FeMaleChain, feed is transported by the CHALLENGER transport chain: a classic Big Dutchman product for broiler breeder management. The feed chain has proven its worth over many years as core part of the ReproMatic feeding system, a pan feeding system designed exclusively for breeders. This combination of chain and pan feeding system serves poultry managers well, during both rearing and hatching egg production.

Old and young

Two more interesting Big Dutchman products for broiler breeder management are not only efficient, but have another, unusual characteristic: their age difference amounts to more than 70 years!

Feed chain CHAMPION

The most senior product of the Big Dutchman product range is the CHAMPION feed chain. The chain was invented by two poultry managers who were searching for ways to facilitate the time-intensive manual feeding in 1938. With their invention, they not only laid the foundations of the Big Dutchman history, but were moreover responsible for the dawn of a new era in the poultry industry: the CHAMPION feed chain introduced automated feeding to poultry houses. The concept (hopper, drive unit, corner, feed trough, and chain) is still the basis for the standard components in poultry feeding today.

Feed pan MalePan. Three males eating from a round feed pan

Feed pan MalePan

Another attractive feeding product is much younger, but has already convinced many poultry managers: MalePan was developed specifically for separate male feeding around five years ago. A conveying pipe with auger transports the feed to the pans. The feed lines are raised until the hens cannot reach them. The pans are corundum-coated; corundum being a very hard mineral that is used as an abrasive in its powder form, among other applications. The birds thus smooth their beaks while they eat.