METHOD FOR TRANSFERRING PRE-INCUBATED EGGS TO A POULTRY HOUSE AND TRANSFER MACHINE USED THEREWITH

Abstract

A method is provided, wherein the eggs which are pre-incubated in setter trays are transferred to the poultry house in these setter trays. In the poultry house, a layer of insulating covering material is provided on the floor of the poultry house, in one or more strips. The covering material comprises, in particular, litter which is applied in a layer thickness of at least 2 cm. By a set of egg pickup members of a transfer machine, the pre-incubated eggs are removed in the poultry house from the setter trays, after which they are positioned on the covering material by the transfer machine. In this way, the eggs can be placed in the poultry house efficiently, with a minimal risk of damage to the eggs a high hatching rate being ensured.

Claims

1. A method for transferring eggs to a poultry house that have been pre-incubated in setter trays, the pre-incubated eggs being transferred to the poultry house in said setter trays, the method comprising: providing a layer of insulating covering material in the poultry house removing the pre-incubated eggs in the poultry house from the setter trays by a set of egg pickup members of a transfer machine; and subsequently positioning the pre-incubated eggs on said covering material by the transfer machine.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pre-incubated eggs are positioned on said covering material by said set of egg pickup members.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said eggs are located at a predetermined interrelated position in said setter trays and the eggs are positioned at a further interrelated position, which differs from said predetermined interrelated position, on said covering material, by adjusting the interrelated position of said egg pickup members after they have removed the eggs from the setter trays to said further interrelated position.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the eggs are located farther apart from each other in said further interrelated position than in said predetermined interrelated position.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of egg pickup members in said set corresponds to the number of eggs in one or in more of the setter trays, and that for each of the setter trays, the eggs contained therein are removed from the setter tray simultaneously by means of said set of egg pickup members.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said set of egg pickup members comprises at least 30.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said egg pickup members comprise suction cups for grasping the eggs by suction.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the eggs are positioned in pockets in the covering material by said transfer machine, said pockets being applied in the covering material by said transfer machine and the eggs being positioned in the pockets in an upright position.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein additional insulation is applied to at least a portion of the eggs positioned on the covering material, the eggs being covered with a sheet.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the layer of covering material on which the eggs are positioned has an average thickness of at least 2 cm.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the eggs are positioned in at least one strip on the covering material, wherein along the sides of said strip, the eggs are provided with extra insulation by providing an increase in height of said covering material along those sides.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the covering material comprises litter.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said covering material is applied on the poultry house floor.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transfer machine drives through the poultry house during the transfer of the eggs from the setter trays to said covering material, wherein the transfer machine stops each time when the eggs are being positioned on the covering material.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature is measured at different places in the poultry house, and the measured temperatures are used to determine where the eggs will be placed in the poultry house.

16. A transfer machine having a set of egg pickup members for grasping pre-incubated eggs in a poultry house, said transfer machine being further configured to drive through the poultry house and position the pre-incubated eggs picked up by the egg pickup members on a layer of insulating covering material in the poultry house.

17. The transfer machine according to claim 16, wherein the transfer machine is provided with wheels for driving through the poultry house.

18. The transfer machine according to claim 16, wherein the transfer machine is self-propelled.

19. The transfer machine according to claim 16, wherein the transfer machine is arranged for driving on the poultry house floor and positioning the pre-incubated eggs on the poultry house floor.

20. The transfer machine according to claim 1, wherein said egg pickup members are provided for positioning the pre-incubated eggs on the layer of insulating covering material.

Description

[0031] Further advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of some preferred embodiments of the method according to the invention and of the transfer machine used therein. However, this description is only given as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of protection as defined by the claims. The reference signs given in the description relate to the appended drawings wherein:

[0032] FIG. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a transfer machine which can be used in the method according to the invention for applying a strip of litter to the poultry house floor and for transferring pre-incubated eggs from the setter trays onto the applied strip of litter.

[0033] In general, the invention relates to a method for transferring eggs to a poultry house that have been pre-incubated in setter trays 1. The poultry house is in particular a broiler house but the poultry house may also be used to produce eggs instead of meat, for example, consumption eggs, but in particular the fertilised eggs of so-called dams intended to be hatched. The term poultry house must be understood in a broad sense and comprises every space in which poultry is kept, both for meat production and for the production of eggs. The term poultry house shall thus be taken to mean the usual poultry houses that usually have only one level, and moreover those that can have several floors and which are used, in particular, for so-called vertical farming.

[0034] In the case of chicken eggs, the eggs are preferably transferred to the poultry house after the eggs have been pre-incubated for approximately 18 days. As the first eggs will hatch only after 19 days, there is no risk that the eggs would already hatch during the transport or during the transfer in the poultry house.

[0035] The method according to the invention can also be applied to the eggs of other types of poultry, for example, the eggs of turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese, quail, pigeons, pheasants, patrons and other poultry.

[0036] In practice, there are different setter trays for incubating chicken eggs. An example of this is the standard setter tray Tray B00568 of the Petersime company. This setter tray is provided for 10 rows of 15 eggs, that is, for a total of 150 eggs.

[0037] For the transport of the eggs to the poultry house, the setter trays 1 are placed in carts 2, with wheels 15, which are then transported by a truck. The advantage of transporting the eggs by means of the setter trays is that no transfer step is required, which always causes a certain amount of damage to the eggs.

[0038] According to the invention, a layer of insulating covering material 3 is provided in the poultry house on which the pre-incubated eggs are positioned from the setter trays 1 by means of a transfer machine 4. The insulating covering material 3 is applied in particular in one or more strips to the poultry house floor. The insulating covering material 3 can be formed by a mat, for example, a mat made of plastic foam, but preferably litter is used for this purpose, such as, for example, flax straw, sawdust, wood shavings and the like.

[0039] In FIG. 1, a possible embodiment of a transfer machine 4 that can be used for the transfer of the eggs is shown schematically. This machine 4 is a self-propelled machine, provided with wheels 14, which drives forward in the poultry house during the transfer of the eggs in the direction of the arrow 5. At the front of the transfer machine 4 coupling arms 6 are provided, to which one of the carts 2 with the setter trays 1 can be coupled 4 on the left hand side of the machine 4, in such a way that it travels along with the transfer machine 4 in the poultry house. On top of the transfer machine 4, a belt conveyor 7 (or a roller system) is provided on which the operator of the machine 4 must place the setter trays 1. With this belt conveyor 7, the setter trays 1 on the machine 4 are transported in the direction of the arrow 10 to the rear thereof. A robotic arm 8 is further provided on the machine 4, to the end of which a set of egg pickup members 9 are attached. With these egg pickup members 9, the eggs are removed from the setter trays 1 and then positioned on the covering material 3. When removing the eggs from the setter trays 1, the belt conveyor 7 is preferably stopped, so as to pick up the eggs as carefully as possible. When placing the eggs on the covering material 3, the transfer machine 4 is further preferably stopped, so as to be able to place the eggs on the covering material 3 as carefully as possible. Alternatively, it is also possible that the egg pickup members 5 do not position the eggs directly on the covering material 3 but, for example, on a roll of paper, which is transferred from the machine 4 and placed on the covering material 3 after the eggs are placed thereon. At the rear of the machine, the operator must remove the empty setter trays 1 and put them back in the cart 2. During all this, the setter trays 1 therefore do not come into contact with the poultry house or with the litter placed therein so that there is no risk of contamination of the setter trays.

[0040] The egg pickup members 9 of the transfer machine 4 have, for example, suction cups, with which they can grasp the eggs by means of suction. Alternatively, the eggs can also be grasped by means of spring-loaded fingers, but suction cups are preferred because they involve the least risk of damage to the eggs. In practice, such egg pickup members 9 are already used in the stationary transfer machines used in hatcheries to transfer pre-incubated eggs from setter trays 1 into hatching trays.

[0041] An example of this is the Petersime Transferring Machine, which has 150 suction cups, allowing it to transfer 150 eggs from a single setter tray to a hatching tray in one go.

[0042] Compared to this known transfer machine, the robotic arm 8 of the transfer machine shown in FIG. 1 has more movement options and is also longer, such that with this robotic arm 8, not only can the eggs be lifted from the setter trays 1, but they can also be positioned on the covering material 3 on the floor of the poultry house. Due to the greater displacement to be achieved by the robotic arm 8, the machine 4 preferably comprises a set of egg pickup members 9, the number of which will correspond to the number of eggs in two (or even more) of the setter trays 1. As a result, the capacity of the machine can be increased to, for example, 45,000 eggs per hour.

[0043] In order to be able to control the distance between the eggs on the covering material 3, the egg pickup members 9 are preferably moveable relative to each other such that their interrelated position can be adjusted after lifting the eggs from the setter trays 1. In this way, it is specifically possible to position the eggs at a greater distance from each other on the covering material 3, such that the temperature increase of the eggs can be better controlled towards hatching time. The eggs can possibly also be held in several groups, for example, in groups of four, wherein the distance between these groups of eggs can be controlled.

[0044] To keep the eggs sufficiently warm, the layer of covering material 3 applied to the floor of the poultry house under the eggs should preferably have an average thickness d of at least 2 cm, more preferably of at least 3 cm, and most preferably of at least 4 cm. After transferring the eggs to this covering material 3, additional insulation may be provided, for example, by covering the eggs with a sheet, such as a sheet of paper or a plastic film. It is also possible, for example, to sprinkle extra litter on the eggs. However, the use of a sheet has the advantage that it can be taken away again when the eggs are about to hatch so as to avoid increasing the temperature of the eggs too much towards hatching time.

[0045] To control the temperature of the eggs, it is preferable to monitor a number of the eggs. The temperature in the poultry house can then be adjusted to the temperature of the eggs. Measuring the eggshell temperature can be done manually by means of, for example, an infrared thermometer, but there are also automatic systems for monitoring the temperature of the eggshells, such as the OvoScan system. This is currently being used for monitoring and controlling the temperature in hatchers in hatcheries and would therefore only need to be adapted to the climate control system of a poultry house.

[0046] In the covering material 3 pockets may be provided in which the eggs are then placed. These pockets allow the eggs to be placed in upright position, with their pointed end down, in order to obtain a higher hatching rate. The depth of the pockets also has an effect on the insulation of the eggs. The pockets are preferably made in the covering material by means of the transfer machine 4. This can, for example, be done simply by means of a roller with spikes which are pressed into the covering material while advancing the machine 4.

[0047] If the covering material 3 comprises a roll of foam which is unrolled onto the floor of the poultry house, it can already be provided with pockets for the eggs in advance. If desired, the eggs on top of the machine can be transferred into these pockets, after which, the foam is then, for example, lowered via an inclined surface onto the floor of the poultry house.

[0048] If the eggs are positioned in one or more strips on the covering material, it is preferable to provide the eggs along the sides of these strips with extra insulation by providing more covering material along those sides. In the case of litter, this can be swept together along the sides so as to obtain an increase in height. This can possibly be done after the eggs have been transferred, such that the litter can be swept up to the outer row of eggs.

[0049] The litter that is placed under the eggs can, but does not have to be, the same as the litter with which the remaining part of the floor of the poultry house is covered. Preferably, the entire floor of the poultry house is first covered with a thin layer of litter, after which an additional layer of litter (the same or different) or covering material is applied on top of that at the locations where the eggs will be positioned.

[0050] The strip or strips of covering material 3 on which the eggs will be laid can be placed in the poultry house in advance. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, however, the covering material 3 is also applied in the poultry house with the transfer machine 4. To this end, a device 11 for applying the covering material 3 is coupled to the coupling arm 6, on the right side of the machine 4. If the covering material 3 is a roll of foam, this can simply be a holder, with which this roll is unrolled onto the floor of the poultry house. If the covering material 3 comprises litter, the apparatus 11 is a spreader with which the litter is sprinkled in the desired thickness d onto the floor of the poultry house. This is done, for example, by means of a rotor 12 driven by the wheels 13 of the spreader. Preferably the spreader will have a control with which the amount of litter sprinkled on the floor of the poultry house can be controlled. For example, this control could comprise a controllable coupling between the wheels 13 of the spreader and the rotor 12 with which the relationship between the number of revolutions of the wheels 13 and the number of revolutions of the rotor 12 can be adjusted.

[0051] The above-described transfer machine 4 allows the eggs to be placed in any place in the poultry house. In order to reduce the heating costs, it is preferable to measure where it is the hottest in the poultry house in advance. This may depend on the heating system but also the wind direction. Based on the measured temperatures, it can then be determined where the eggs will be laid, namely at the place where the temperature is as optimal as possible for the eggs to be hatched. Usually this will be in the hottest place in the poultry house, unless cooling in the poultry house is required, which, however, would be very exceptional.