Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • FREE Magazine Subscriptions
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Poultry News
    • Production
      • Broiler Production
      • Ducks
      • Egg Production
      • Game
      • Hatching
      • Housing
      • Turkeys
    • Processing
    • Business & Politics
      • Business
      • Economics
      • EU & Politics
      • Marketing
      • People
      • Training & Education
    • Welfare
      • Environment
      • Food Safety
      • Vet & Medication
      • Welfare
    • Feed
    • Genetics
    • New Products
    • Magazines
      1. July 2022
      2. June 2022
      3. May 2022
      4. April 2022
      5. February 2022
      6. January 2022
      Featured

      Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

      By Michael BarkerJune 28, 2022
      Recent

      Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

      June 28, 2022

      Protected: Finalists Supplement – National Egg & Poultry Awards 2022

      June 27, 2022

      Protected: Innovation Supplement 2022

      June 1, 2022
    • Jobs
      • Browse Jobs
      • Post a Job
      • Manage Jobs
    • Events
      • National Egg and Poultry Awards
      • Poultry Fair
    Poultry News
    Housing

    Building accessible biosecurity

    Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanJuly 26, 20193 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    Avara Foods has invested in two new rearing houses from Morspan housing 50,000 birds and is trialling different heating systems in each.

    The houses above were the first of near identical rearing sites recently completed by Morspan Construction for Avara Foods in Powys.

    The two Morspan houses are 104m and 101m long by 32.3m wide and hold a total of 44,000 pullets and approximately 5,290 males. In total there are 24 pens, three for rearing males and 21 pens for females.

    They were built on an existing broiler breeder laying farm where the timber posted houses were ageing. Instead of refurbishment, Avara Foods made the decision to demolish and invest in new steel framed houses.

    The chicks come in at a day old from Aviagen and are reared in the houses until 18 weeks when they are transferred to the laying farm. One of the most important aspects in the project was biosecurity, says Morspan sales director Donald Gillespie. The buildings work on a four to seven week turnaround to allow a thorough clean combined with a shower-in, shower-out system to ensure the highest level of biosecurity at all times.

    The designers at Morspan worked closely with Avara Foods to ensure the highest levels of biosecurity could be maintained in the day to day operation of the unit. The design of the unit was crucial, says Gillespie. “If you make biosecurity too onerous staff bypass it,” he says.

    Rather than having biosecurity procedures at multiple points such as foot dips, hand washes and clothing changes, the buildings have a single point of entry where all processes are carried out. “Once they’re in, they’re in,” says Gillespie. “There are no points where staff keep coming in and out. We used a similar design to some of our Aviagen sites in Scotland.”

    The dimensions of the houses were designed to maximise the site. This was done because the site is landlocked, so the buildings were erected into all four corners of the site. This means so all bird movement is through the front elevations.

    Another core aspect of any workplace building is the equipment inside. Avara Foods was keen to use equipment that made the buildings easier and more appealing place to work, as well as focussing on a high level of performance from the birds. 

    On the project, Morspan were appointed as the principle contractor working alongside Connops Concrete, Climatec Systems and Securcom. Internal partitions were supplied by Jansen UK.

    The second site, which is slightly smaller, has just recently been populated. One interesting change in approach between the two sites is that in the latter, Avara Foods is trialling the use of heat lamps instead of brooders and are monitoring to see if is a significant difference in the birds performance.

    Once they work out which gives the better performance, the plan is to roll it out to other sites.

    Toby Arkel, the broiler breeder area manager for Avara Foods, says the company is happy with the new buildings and the professionalism by all contractors involved. “All involved are looking forward to working on these fantastic new farms delivering top quality broiler breeders onto the laying farms.”

    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleTheresa Villiers appointed new Defra secretary of state
    Next Article Poultry buildings: New build or refurb?
    Chloe Ryan

    Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

    Read Similar Stories

    Production

    Comment: The funding for research on avian influenza is much needed

    July 5, 2022
    Egg Production

    Lohmann installs in-ovo sexing technology

    July 4, 2022
    Egg Production

    Free-range producers prepare to market eggs as barn as housing order continues

    March 16, 2022
    Most Read

    Comment: The funding for research on avian influenza is much needed

    July 5, 2022

    Avara Foods’ mission to report carbon emissions

    July 5, 2022

    Analysis: How ‘agflation’ is driving up the cost of chicken

    July 5, 2022
    © 2022 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Farm Contractor
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALBCORS7 daysThis cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALB7 daysAWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB.
    explat_test_aa_weekly_lohp_2021_week_4517 days 8 hoursNo description
    ppwp_wp_session30 minutesNo description
    tk_ai14 daysGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    tk_qssessionGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_71 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    tk_lr1 yearThe tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_or5 yearsThe tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_r3d3 daysJetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo