February 5, 2010

Pas Reform to introduce new incubation system at VIV Europe

Dutch hatchery technology company Pas Reform will introduce Circadian Incubation, its latest advancement for modular single-stage incubation, at VIV Europe.

Circadian Incubation is based on observations that embryonic 'training' - or the imprinting of body functions – stimulates robustness on the farm, said Dr Marleen Boerjan, Director of R&D at Pas Reform Academy.

"This 'imprinting' is achieved by exposing the embryo to environmental triggers during the maturation phase of incubation – and has been shown to cause long-lasting alterations in the programming of body functions."

Studies show that embryos exposed to short periods of heat or cold develop an improved capacity to control body temperature during periods of heat or cold in the farm. Short-term conditioning, using Circadian Incubation, improves hatching results and produces positive, long-lasting effects on body weight and feed conversion, according to Pas Reform. Uniform, robust day-old chicks improve uniformity at slaughter age, thereby improving efficiency and performance throughout the entire production chain.

Pas Reform said that Circadian Incubation greatly challenges the incubator's homogeneity. Pas Reform's New Product Development programme has delivered a new design concept that maximises homogeneous temperature distribution.

"Three years of intensive flow simulations and empirical field studies have shown that the combination of a modular incubator design, a new airflow principle based on the creation of vortices, and adaptive feedback control, produces the precise environmental controls required to successfully apply thermal stimulation during incubation," said CEO Bart Aangenendt.

"We have called the combined use of these three features 'SmartPro': an innovative, accurate new incubator that maximises temperature homogeneity directly in accordance with the time-varying needs of the growing embryo at each stage of the incubation process," said Aangenendt.

Pas Reform's new SmartPro incubator will be unveiled for the first time at VIV Europe 2010.