October 30, 2020

 

Bell & Evans building new hatching facility

 

 

Bell & Evans - also known as Farmers Pride Inc. which had processed 4.1 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2019 - will add hatching capabilities to maximise capacity for the company's growth.

 

Three years after opening its US$40 million, organic certified, animal-welfare-focused chicken hatchery, Bell & Evans currently hatches 1.35 million chicks per week in its 160,000 square-foot hatchery located in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, the United States. The company is adding two HatchTech hatchers and 12 setters that will allow Bell & Evans to hatch 1.9 million chicks per week with a 40.7% increase.

 

Compared to other US hatching operations, 100% of Bell & Evans chicks receive immediate access to organic-certified feed, freshwater and light at hatch. At traditional chicken hatcheries, chicks do not receive nourishment until they arrive at the farm, sometimes up to three days after hatch. The Bell & Evans Hatchery is 100% formaldehyde free, has advanced candling and heartbeat detection equipment to make sure only viable eggs are placed in the hatchers, thus avoiding excessive bacteria exposure to newly hatched chicks from non-viable eggs.

 

"We have better practices because we consider what is best for our chickens, not what is most profitable for the business," said Bell & Evans owner Scott Sechler.

 

"From our hatchery to live bird transportation, on-the-farm care and live bird receiving and handling at our processing facility, every step of our process continues to be examined so we can feel good about our humane animal welfare standards."

 

Live bird transportation plays a key role in Bell & Evans' Humane Animal Welfare Standards. HatchTech's HatchTraveller provides continuous early feeding and a smooth, climate-controlled ride to the farms. This is another key difference of Bell & Evans's process that is unique for a US poultry operation.

 

Bell & Evans also announced it had started the construction of its new 411,500-square-foot chicken harvesting facility.

 

The facility sits on a 112-acre property located directly behind its hatchery. Bell & Evans already had permits to build a second new chicken harvesting plant of similar scale within the next 10 years and additional hatchery expansion plans to accommodate future growth.

 

With the new facility, Bell & Evans will have North America's first automated transport system that eliminates the use of fork trucks to off-load modules of chickens from transportation into harvesting. The innovative design creates a smoother transition that minimises stress on the birds, which is a priority for Bell & Evans.

 

The additional capacity will allow Bell & Evans to continue expanding its organic production to approximately 50% more in total production to meet increasing customer demands.

 

 - Watt Poultry