The Cool Poultry Transport project aims to improve poultry welfare through better temperature control in the move between production and processing
“We wanted to reduce the number of deaths on arrival. We also wanted to improve animal welfare because we strongly believe that what’s good for the chicken is good for the industry,” said Dick van Ravenhorst, owner, Van Ravenhorst Transport Solutions.
At the 2022 Poultry Tech Summit, Ravenhorst, alongside Anne-Jo Smits, project manager, Poultry Expertise Centre, spoke about the objectives and results of the Cool Poultry Transport project.
Currently, most poultry are transported in open-sided trucks and trailers. While curtains do help provide some protection from the elements, there are major fluctuations in temperature and no controlled airflow.
Cool Poultry Transport project
The initial goal of the Cool Poultry Transport project was to find ways to improve poultry welfare during transport to processing plants, which boosts economic profit, while still in compliance with EU regulations. The EU prohibits transport on days hotter than 35 ℃ (95 ℉).
This was achieved with a truck design that featured regulated and constant airflow, resulting in an improved climate that kept humidity and temperature within the comfort zone of the birds. Closed curtains on both sides of the truck reduce poultry stress.
In field testing conducted in Switzerland, the new design reduced the number of poultry dead on arrival by half.
In addition, “we saw no excessive swings or extreme high or low temperatures,” Smits explained.
There was also evidence that the cooler transport benefited poultry welfare. The birds tested produced less manure and lost less weight during the transport process, she noted.
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Join an exclusive international gathering of industry-changing innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, technology experts, investors and leading poultry producers at the 2023 edition of Poultry Tech Summit on November 6-8 at the Hilton Atlanta Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Registration for this event will open in the spring of 2023.
