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By Ad Bal
“The future is food”, was the conviction of the founders of Ovobrand, when they decided to step into the egg processing business in 2007. The board of directors of Ovobrand, headed by their president Claudio Farina, had been involved in various kinds of businesses. Some of these were mainly focused on the domestic market in Argentina, such as in construction. Together they therefore decided to set up a very high standard integrated operation which is fully dedicated to egg processing. This allows the company to be active on the world market, rather than just on the domestic market. Otherwise, they would have gone into producing table eggs only. But by stepping into egg processing, the road to the world market was opened.This strategy automatically included that the new operation should meet the highest quality standards. And this is truly the case, as all was built from scratch. Not just that, all new staff are also very well experienced specialists. The fully integrated Ovobrand operation started producing in December 2010 and is currently still expanding its capacity.
Biosecurity is key
When entering the Ovobrand premises, it is immediately clear that this is a state of the art facility. Biosecurity measures are key. To start with the feed plant is located before the entrance gate, thus all ingredient suppliers have to stay outside the premises.
When entering the Ovobrand premises, it is immediately clear that this is a state of the art facility. Biosecurity measures are key. To start with the feed plant is located before the entrance gate, thus all ingredient suppliers have to stay outside the premises.
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Almost no external vehicles are allowed to enter the farm. And each vehicle is cleaned under pressure in order to remove all dirt which may include contaminants.
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Behind the feed mill is the main entrance to the facilities. Here all vehicles must go through the sanitation gate. This is not just a water bath device to only disinfect the wheels and a gate with sprinklers. Instead, each vehicle is cleaned under high pressure and with disinfectants. Disease agents may be hidden in the dirt layer that covers the vehicle. Thus, by cleaning it with high pressure, the dirt including a possible disease source will fully disappear. Also vehicles of visitors are not allowed on the premises. They are requested to step into a company car that is taking them to the houses.
On site rearing
Although Ovobrand currently have over one million layers, their size does not allow an own hatchery. So Hy-Line distributor Motta in Argentina is supplying day old chicks of the Hy-Line W36 strain. However, the rearing houses each have a capacity of 130,000 birds. But the incubation capacity of Motta or any other hatchery in the region, can not facilitate the supply of 130,000 chicks in one batch. For that reason, each rearing house of Ovobrand has a solid wall to internally separate them in two sections. Thus two groups of chicks can be reared separately in one house and in full accordance with the Hy-Line guidelines.
Although Ovobrand currently have over one million layers, their size does not allow an own hatchery. So Hy-Line distributor Motta in Argentina is supplying day old chicks of the Hy-Line W36 strain. However, the rearing houses each have a capacity of 130,000 birds. But the incubation capacity of Motta or any other hatchery in the region, can not facilitate the supply of 130,000 chicks in one batch. For that reason, each rearing house of Ovobrand has a solid wall to internally separate them in two sections. Thus two groups of chicks can be reared separately in one house and in full accordance with the Hy-Line guidelines.
They are kept in Big Dutchman cages in the 3 + 3 system with a catwalk in between (6 tiers). This allows having all the birds under direct veterinary control and to guarantee that the vaccination scheme is carried out correctly and effectively.
House to house
“Chicks in their early stage of life are very vulnerable to external factors”, says Dr. Gustavo von Bassenheim. Apart from being the CEO and vice-president of Ovobrand, Von Bassenheim is responsible for the technical part of the entire company. “Good rearing is the basis for good laying performance”, he continues.
“Chicks in their early stage of life are very vulnerable to external factors”, says Dr. Gustavo von Bassenheim. Apart from being the CEO and vice-president of Ovobrand, Von Bassenheim is responsible for the technical part of the entire company. “Good rearing is the basis for good laying performance”, he continues.
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Current capacity of the layer houses is nearly 1.3 million birds. After finalisation of new houses, the total capacity will be around two million birds.
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Each farm has its own and exclusive equipment to avoid any transfer from house to house, reducing the risk of cross contamination neither cross vaccination. Ovobrand also has its exclusive vaccination team who don’t visit any other facilities. When no vaccination needs to be done, they keep busy doing maintenance and cleaning.
There are rodent traps around the fence, keeping them away from the houses. Also the surrounding lawn is a smooth surface and there’s no grass underneath the fence. “In each rearing house we keep exactly the number of birds which are needed for one layer house”, von Bassenheim says. “We stick to the house-to-house principle, meaning that after 16 weeks of rearing, a full house is transferred to a layer house. So far we have been successful in the rearing stage. In the worst case we had 1.68% mortality, but we have also reached 1.22% only. This is well below the Hy-Line standards, so we think that we are on the right track.”
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Source: World Poultry, Vol. 27, No. 10, 2011
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