Trouw Nutrition’s Ramsay Hatchery in Saint-Félix-de-Valois, Quebec, Canada, is now using WingScan, the automated chick feather sex identification system developed by animal agritech company TARGAN. The hatchery is the first to install the system outside of TARGAN’s home U.S. market
Eric Stejskal, general manager, East Region of Canada at Trouw Nutrition Canada, commented: “TARGAN’s system is an impressive innovation and aligns well with our company purpose, to feed the future”.
With a throughout of up to 100,000 chicks per hour, depending on configuration, the advanced imaging systems in WingScan use artificial intelligence (AI) to achieve the equivalent performance of up to 32 or more manual bird sexers, with an in-field accuracy of up to 98%.
Ramin Karimpour, TARGAN’s Founder and CEO, commenting on the placement, said: “By automating the sexing process, hatcheries can tackle labor challenges, expedite delivery and shorten the time chicks spend at the site. The system itself is also less invasive on the bird, which increases animal welfare”.
He continued that by automating feather sexing, more producers would be able to take advantage of sex separated rearing.
On-farm, processing advantages
At the farm, sex-specific feeding strategies can be implemented, and barn space can be optimized. More consistent feeding and reduced competition among chicks lead to increased uniformity. This reduction in size variation benefits both primary and secondary processing stages, facilitating the introduction of new automated processes at the plant.
Ali Matloub, Director of Technical Sales and Business at TARGAN, commented: “It’s an industry-wide challenge to deliver sexed birds to customers in a timely manner. What Trouw Nutrition has managed to achieve for their customers opens the door for potential growth”.
