NATURA-RearingThe modern multi-level system

for pullet rearingGermanyBig Dutchman International GmbHPostfach 1163 · 49360 Vechta · GermanyTel. +49(0)4447-801-0Fax +49(0)4447-801-237E-Mail: big@bigdutchman.de

USABig Dutchman, Inc.P.O. Box 1017 · Holland, MI 49422-1017 · USATel. +1-616-392 59 81Fax +1-616-392 61 88e-mail: bigd@bigdutchmanusa.com

AsiaBig Dutchman AsiaNo. 25, Jalan Pemberita (U1/49) Temasya Industrial Park · Section U140150 Shah Alam · Selangor Darul Ehsan · MalaysiaTel. +60-3-556 923 20 · Fax +60-3-556 958 30e-mail: bdasia@bda.com.my

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Planning aids for the use of the NATURA Rearing SystemSections* Bird area Endset MPF Endset MB** Total length with- House width(m) 7 to 9 m 10 to 12 m 13 to 16 m

+ aisle + aisle out service room Number of rows 2 3 4(in m) (in m) (in m) (in m) Passage width (m)*** 1.41 - 2.08 1.47 - 1.97 1.50 - 2.10

Age of birds whenmoved out (weeks) 16 17 16 17 16 17

20 40.16 2.60 2.60 45.36 12048 11245 18072 16867 24096 2249030 60.24 2.60 2.60 65.44 18072 16867 27108 25301 36144 3373440 80.32 2.60 2.60 85.52 24096 22490 36144 33734 48192 4497950 100.40 2.60 2.60 105.60 30120 28112 45180 42168 60240 56224

* Length of a section: 2008 mm ** MB = manure belt *** all passages are of the same widthFor rearing up to week 16, allow 150 birds/running metre of installationFor rearing up to week 17, allow 140 birds/running metre of installation

Key1 NATURA Rearing section with fold-down perches2 mobile NATURA catching technique3 ramp = the pullets can easily approach the levels4 bridge = facilitates driving birds into the system5 drive unit for automatic folding up and down the perches (one drive per row)6 exhaust air chimney with light plate7 fresh air valve with light trap

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Our recommendationThe better the individual elements of a rearing systemare adapted to each other, – NATURA Rearing sections,house climate, manure drying – the better the overall

results will be. Please contact our experts for detailedadvice on all possibilities Big Dutchman can offer youfor your success in pullet rearing.

NATURA Rearing System – the professional multi-level system perfected for the rearing of healthy, vital and uniform pullets

Housing the chicks

The day-old chicks are housed in the central level forapprox. 21 days. They have feed and water in theirimmediate environment and become very familiarwith their surroundings. In order to give them moreroom to move, 50 % of the birds can be transferredto the lower level after approx. 10 days. Advantage:During the first 10 days, an even temperature level canbe maintained in the central level resulting in the evendistribution of the chicks and a good start of all birds.

During these 21 days, the cage fronts are closed. Forcontrol purposes, the upper third of the cage frontcan easily be folded up to the inside underneath themanure belt. Advantage: good monitoring and optimumaccess for the producer, better animal control.

The mobile NATURA cat-ching technique allowsthe house to be dividedinto smaller areas, so-called locks. The pulletsare driven into this lock,so that the producer cansimply catch, inspect orvaccinate the birds andrelease them through thedoor. Advantage: Healthierpullets. Less work andtime needed. 100 % successful vaccinations.

The three-level NATURA Rearing System is offered by Big Dutchman to ensure only the best prerequisites for asmooth transition of pullets from the rearing to the layingsystem. The “intensive training“ of the birds from day-oldonwards is vital to the easy adaptation of the hens whenthey are moved into the laying system.

The lower and central levels of the NATURA RearingSystem are equipped with feeding and drinker lines. Thetop level of the system is designed as resting area sincepullets are naturally drawn to use the highest place atnight. To encourage this natural behaviour, the lights areswitched off in the lower and central levels sooner than in the top level, thus creating a simulated sunset.

In the morning, the pullets have to move to the lowerlevels to feed. The position of the perches opposite thesystem makes it easy for the pullets to become familiarwith the entire interior of the house. The “enforced move-ment“ between the resting area and the other levels trainsthe pullets to adopt a uniform behaviour. At night, how-ever, the perches are automatically folded down so thatthe pullets stay in the system for the night from the start.The manure thus drops on the manure belt and not intothe passage area. Advantage: less ammonia emissions andimproved hygiene in the house.

Technically detailed solutions with important advantages for the breeder

During week 4, the rearing level is opened up andthe pullets move freely throughout the entire houselearning to jump and fly. By the time the pullets aretransferred to the laying system during week 16,they are well trained and comfortable using the different facilities (feeding, scratching, resting area).Advantage: Little additional training is necessary asthe basic design of the house for the rearing and laying systems is basically identical. Only the layingnests are new.

Opening the rearing level

bottom wires of the rearing levelare 3/4˝ x 3/4˝ or made of plastic=> secure foothold for the chicks

bottom wires of the lower levelconsist of plastic slats, but aremore often made of 1˝x1˝ wire=> at the end of the rearing period, the litter can be putdirectly onto the manure belt=> birds can be moved out quicklyand carefully by means of containerswhich can be driven into the house (ifperches are folded down andpassages are at least 1.05 m (3.5 ft) wide)

air duct=> optimum manure drying=> low ammonia emissions=> consistent climate=> additional oxygen supply to theday-old chicks (especially in winterwith minimum ventilation)

automatic fold-down perches=> easy reach of the individual levels=> at night, the perches are folded down =no manure in the passage=> efficient use of the house surface = highstocking densities=> for inspection, the perches are foldeddown = better monitoring=> contrary to systems with platforms, no manureaccumulation occurs underneath the perches

top level bottom wires are1˝x 1.5˝=> good self-cleaning effect

trough and nipple drinkers areprotected from soiling– by means of a tube above thetrough and nipple drinker, additionally used as perch– and a roof-shaped rail abovethe nipple drinkers=> improved bird health

the divided cage front can befolded up and remains in thesystem during the entire batch=> savings in time and labour

special approach rail design(patent no. 299 19 443.4) forcespullets to perch facing the passageway=> 70% less manure in the passages

NATURA Rearing System – the professional multi-level system perfected for the rearing of healthy, vital and uniform pullets

Housing the chicks

The day-old chicks are housed in the central level forapprox. 21 days. They have feed and water in theirimmediate environment and become very familiarwith their surroundings. In order to give them moreroom to move, 50 % of the birds can be transferredto the lower level after approx. 10 days. Advantage:During the first 10 days, an even temperature level canbe maintained in the central level resulting in the evendistribution of the chicks and a good start of all birds.

During these 21 days, the cage fronts are closed. Forcontrol purposes, the upper third of the cage frontcan easily be folded up to the inside underneath themanure belt. Advantage: good monitoring and optimumaccess for the producer, better animal control.

The mobile NATURA cat-ching technique allowsthe house to be dividedinto smaller areas, so-called locks. The pulletsare driven into this lock,so that the producer cansimply catch, inspect orvaccinate the birds andrelease them through thedoor. Advantage: Healthierpullets. Less work andtime needed. 100 % successful vaccinations.

The three-level NATURA Rearing System is offered by Big Dutchman to ensure only the best prerequisites for asmooth transition of pullets from the rearing to the layingsystem. The “intensive training“ of the birds from day-oldonwards is vital to the easy adaptation of the hens whenthey are moved into the laying system.

The lower and central levels of the NATURA RearingSystem are equipped with feeding and drinker lines. Thetop level of the system is designed as resting area sincepullets are naturally drawn to use the highest place atnight. To encourage this natural behaviour, the lights areswitched off in the lower and central levels sooner than in the top level, thus creating a simulated sunset.

In the morning, the pullets have to move to the lowerlevels to feed. The position of the perches opposite thesystem makes it easy for the pullets to become familiarwith the entire interior of the house. The “enforced move-ment“ between the resting area and the other levels trainsthe pullets to adopt a uniform behaviour. At night, how-ever, the perches are automatically folded down so thatthe pullets stay in the system for the night from the start.The manure thus drops on the manure belt and not intothe passage area. Advantage: less ammonia emissions andimproved hygiene in the house.

Technically detailed solutions with important advantages for the breeder

During week 4, the rearing level is opened up andthe pullets move freely throughout the entire houselearning to jump and fly. By the time the pullets aretransferred to the laying system during week 16,they are well trained and comfortable using the different facilities (feeding, scratching, resting area).Advantage: Little additional training is necessary asthe basic design of the house for the rearing and laying systems is basically identical. Only the layingnests are new.

Opening the rearing level

bottom wires of the rearing levelare 3/4˝ x 3/4˝ or made of plastic=> secure foothold for the chicks

bottom wires of the lower levelconsist of plastic slats, but aremore often made of 1˝x1˝ wire=> at the end of the rearing period, the litter can be putdirectly onto the manure belt=> birds can be moved out quicklyand carefully by means of containerswhich can be driven into the house (ifperches are folded down andpassages are at least 1.05 m (3.5 ft) wide)

air duct=> optimum manure drying=> low ammonia emissions=> consistent climate=> additional oxygen supply to theday-old chicks (especially in winterwith minimum ventilation)

automatic fold-down perches=> easy reach of the individual levels=> at night, the perches are folded down =no manure in the passage=> efficient use of the house surface = highstocking densities=> for inspection, the perches are foldeddown = better monitoring=> contrary to systems with platforms, no manureaccumulation occurs underneath the perches

top level bottom wires are1˝x 1.5˝=> good self-cleaning effect

trough and nipple drinkers areprotected from soiling– by means of a tube above thetrough and nipple drinker, additionally used as perch– and a roof-shaped rail abovethe nipple drinkers=> improved bird health

the divided cage front can befolded up and remains in thesystem during the entire batch=> savings in time and labour

special approach rail design(patent no. 299 19 443.4) forcespullets to perch facing the passageway=> 70% less manure in the passages

NATURA-RearingThe modern multi-level system

for pullet rearingGermanyBig Dutchman International GmbHPostfach 1163 · 49360 Vechta · GermanyTel. +49(0)4447-801-0Fax +49(0)4447-801-237E-Mail: big@bigdutchman.de

USABig Dutchman, Inc.P.O. Box 1017 · Holland, MI 49422-1017 · USATel. +1-616-392 59 81Fax +1-616-392 61 88e-mail: bigd@bigdutchmanusa.com

AsiaBig Dutchman AsiaNo. 25, Jalan Pemberita (U1/49) Temasya Industrial Park · Section U140150 Shah Alam · Selangor Darul Ehsan · MalaysiaTel. +60-3-556 923 20 · Fax +60-3-556 958 30e-mail: bdasia@bda.com.my

Tech

nic

al d

etai

ls s

ub

ject

to

ch

ang

e.e

8/20

02

Planning aids for the use of the NATURA Rearing SystemSections* Bird area Endset MPF Endset MB** Total length with- House width(m) 7 to 9 m 10 to 12 m 13 to 16 m

+ aisle + aisle out service room Number of rows 2 3 4(in m) (in m) (in m) (in m) Passage width (m)*** 1.41 - 2.08 1.47 - 1.97 1.50 - 2.10

Age of birds whenmoved out (weeks) 16 17 16 17 16 17

20 40.16 2.60 2.60 45.36 12048 11245 18072 16867 24096 2249030 60.24 2.60 2.60 65.44 18072 16867 27108 25301 36144 3373440 80.32 2.60 2.60 85.52 24096 22490 36144 33734 48192 4497950 100.40 2.60 2.60 105.60 30120 28112 45180 42168 60240 56224

* Length of a section: 2008 mm ** MB = manure belt *** all passages are of the same widthFor rearing up to week 16, allow 150 birds/running metre of installationFor rearing up to week 17, allow 140 birds/running metre of installation

Key1 NATURA Rearing section with fold-down perches2 mobile NATURA catching technique3 ramp = the pullets can easily approach the levels4 bridge = facilitates driving birds into the system5 drive unit for automatic folding up and down the perches (one drive per row)6 exhaust air chimney with light plate7 fresh air valve with light trap

1 2 3

4

57

6

Our recommendationThe better the individual elements of a rearing systemare adapted to each other, – NATURA Rearing sections,house climate, manure drying – the better the overall

results will be. Please contact our experts for detailedadvice on all possibilities Big Dutchman can offer youfor your success in pullet rearing.