New innovative chicken house in Horst

Family business Kuijpers Kip has started building an entirely new and progressive production company for chicken meat: De Kloeke Kip. All steps in the chain will soon be at one location in Horst, from hatchery to butcher's shop. The new facilities are smartly designed and equipped with the latest techniques, so that Kuijpers Kip can continue to work on their mission: 'Good food for everyone with an eye for people, animals and the environment'. In Limburg, the family found a positive entrepreneurial climate to start this innovative short chain company.

Raising chickens without antibiotics, building a chicken house without gas connection or external heat supply, and controlling the whole chain. The new concept seems to tick off sustainability, animal friendliness and affordability in one fell swoop. Marcel Kuijpers: 'Our conviction is that innovations must be good for people, animals and the environment. We want to produce sustainable food in an efficient way, so that it is affordable for everyone without harming the environment and animal welfare.' Poultry concepts that focus only on animal welfare cost more energy and raw materials to produce the meat. As a result, that chicken is less sustainable, as well as more expensive.

Started construction
The construction of four houses, each for 64,000 broilers, and the construction of the hatchery has started. The houses will be so-called patio houses. The Kuijpers family is fully convinced by this type of poultry house. They are working with it for ten years now, with success: "We have hard figures that chicks grow well in it without antibiotics", says Jan Kuijpers. The hatchery will be adjacent to these stables, where the heat comes from to heat the hatchery. The air washer recycles the warm air from the larger chicks and brings it germ-free to the smallest chicks. They call this family heat. Jan Kuijpers: "We use existing techniques and link them together."

Short chain
Except for prebreeding, everything happens at the new location in Horst. Marcel Kuijpers: "The only transport is the transport of hatching eggs from Stevensbeek to Horst. The chicks don't have to go in a truck anymore. That's good for the animals and the environment, but it also reduces the risk of cross-contamination." The vertical chain approach is an important revenue model for the family. "We have a lot of data and know everything about the front links. Transparency and quality of hatching eggs are guaranteed, allowing us to grow the chicks optimally."

Source: New Harvest