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AVECH® III

Enrichable and enriched colony housing systems

The AVECH III is a layer colony housing system which gives you the ability to start off with an Enrichable system, and then move into a completely Enriched system when you’re ready. The AVECH III is designed to meet and adapt to the complexities of the different markets you serve, and the continued regulatory changes your business faces.

Important Advantages

Features Big Dutchman’s renowned Champion Chain feeding system
Drip water cups prevent corrosion and help keep manure dry
Unique engineering design which holds up strongly under the shifting weight of birds
Gentle and efficient egg handling throughout the entire system, utilizing our EggCellent egg collector, egg saver wire and extra wide egg belt
Enriched system offers safe and secure nesting area, scratch area and perches – all placed to provide the ideal setting for hens
Has a proven track record with industry acceptance and delivers real results to egg producers around the world

Play Video about enriched colony housing

Common Features Between Enriched and Enrichable

The AVECH Enrichable and Enriched systems share the same quality components, such as feeding, drinking and egg handling. If the time comes for you to convert your system to a fully Enriched system, you simply add the nest environment, perches and other components which make up an Enriched system.

Feeding

Big Dutchman’s renowned Champion Chain Feeding System continues to prove itself in installations around the world and provides numerous benefits, including:

The feed gate easily adjusts the level of feed in the trough, regulating the amount of feed coming from the hopper while maintaining a consistent supply of feed on the chain
The Champion Chain presents feed according to the producer’s management schedule, and feed can easily be increased or decreased
Independent single or dual drives are separate from hoppers, drastically reducing the load on corners and significantly lengthening the life of all components
Champion provides uniform nutrition for every bird
Feed is presented on the top of the flat, smooth chain, helping to eliminate risk of bird injury
Champion yields unequaled feed conversions for significant cost savings

Drinking

Drip water cups prevent corrosion and help to keep the manure dry
One watering nipple per every 10 hens
360º access
High water flow

System Integrity

The floor cross supports are mounted above the floor to allow hens to walk on them, which keeps the cross supports clean
The strength of the AVECH comes from a unique engineering design which holds up under the shifting weight of birds as they move from side to side, which happens in both the enrichable and enriched systems
The AVECH system features 10 support rods (5 on each side) and cross support brackets to provide exceptional system strength and integrity

Egg Handling

From the hen to the packing area, Big Dutchman has taken every effort in designing the most efficient egg handling system available in the industry. Our egg handling systems provide gentle egg transport throughout the entire system, yielding higher returns to your bottom line. Safe and efficient egg handling is done with our EggCellent egg collector which has an innovative design to provide high volume egg collection with less adjustments, and maintenance, while still providing protection for the eggs. The EggCellent’s special egg conveying chain is made of interlocked plastic module parts, which will not stretch and requires no lubrication. These chain modules feature integrated soft padding for impact protection and gentle egg transport.

Egg Saver Wire

After the hen lays an egg, the egg gently moves from the nest and is held with the egg saver wire. At a pre-determined period of time the egg saver wire moves up to release the eggs onto the extra wide egg belt.

EggCellent

Safe and efficient egg handling is done with our EggCellent egg collector, which has an innovative design to provide high volume egg collection with less adjustments and maintenance, while still providing protection for the eggs.The EggCellent’s special egg conveying chain is made of interlocked plastic module parts, which will not stretch and requires no lubrication. These chain modules feature integrated soft padding for impact protection and gentle egg transport.

Egg Belt

The extra wide egg belt provides extra room for the eggs to transport from the system to the Eggcellent egg collector. This egg belt is wider than other systems in the market, which reduces checked eggs and a higher return to your bottom line.

Components Which Make an Enriched System

For a fully “enriched” future, the AVECH III colony housing system provides you the security and peace of mind that comes from investing in a system with a proven track record, industry acceptance, and has been delivering real results to egg producers across the United States, and around the world. Trust the system that is used to house millions of layers, produced positive results, and is used to compare all other systems to.

Nest Environment

The nest environment provides a safe, secure and comfortable place for hens to lay their eggs. Our nest design and placement is proven to help hens produce quality eggs time after time. The nest environment consists of:

Strategic placement with specific lighting requirements
Nest curtain
Nest mat
Staging area

Nest Area

Our nest area provides the hens a safe, secure and pleasant area for them to relax when they lay eggs. Results from customers are that at least 95% of all eggs are being laid within the nest area.

Safe and Secure

With the design and placement of the AVECH nest environment, hens are able to rest comfortably while they lay their eggs without any interference from the hens which are feeding.

Nest Curtain

Big Dutchman’s nest curtain design allows the hens to enter and exit the nest environment in every direction, giving them the freedom to move in the direction they feel most comfortable moving.

Scratch Area

The scratch area provides hens the ability to act out their natural behavior of scratching. This allows them to build their muscles and increase their bone density. Additionally, the egg producer is able to control the amount and timing of the distribution of the feed which is placed on the scratch area, resulting in less feed waste.

Perch and Staging Area

Our perches and placement of perches have been scientifically researched to provide the ideal setting for the hens. The size of our perches provide ample amount of surface area for the hens to perch comfortably, and the position of the perches allow for unrestricted movement from one end of the system to the other.

Round perches provide ample surface area for the hens to perch comfortably
Birds are calmer
Perches remain cleaner
Size of perch allows the hens to perch more naturally

Perches

The design and placement of our perches create a calming environment and allows unrestricted movement from nest to scratch area.Our perches are round and of an optimal diameter so hens are able to balance easily, and perch more naturally.

Scratch Staging Area

The scratch staging area is a dedicated space for the hens to freely move around from the perch to the scratch area.

Nest Staging Area

The nest staging area is one of the more crucial features in the AVECH III system. The nest staging area is a dedicated space for hens to move freely as they make their way into and out of the nest.

Resources

View and download the latest AVECH III enrichable and enriched product brochures.

Get Started on Your Project

Over the course of 80 years we have designed, tested, developed, and refined egg production equipment to meet every imaginable need. Get in touch with our sales team to discuss your farm requirements today.