First 1.5m chicks through Cobb’s Russian hatchery

Breeding company Cobb has announced a milestone in an expanding Russian enterprise, with the delivery of its 1.5 millionth parent stock chick since the opening of its Stromyn hatchery.

The firm expanded primary production in Russia as the traditional markets for parent stock – Germany and Holland – were increasingly being restricted by avian influenza outbreaks. Russia also offers subsidies to companies investing in the domestic poultry industry.

Cobb estimates that in 2014 it will be selling close to six million parent birds, approaching 30% of the Russian market.

“Opening the Russian hatchery has greatly reduced travelling time to our customers, which is reflected in excellent results,” said US hatchery director Don Sewell.

“We are losing less than 0.1% of chicks on arrival at the farm, and 14-day mortality is below 1%.”

Stromyn has a ChickMaster single-stage hatchery with a capacity of about 3.5 million breeder females a year. It also boasts individual air handling units in each room, while its delivery fleet is equipped with the latest Veit environmentally controlled trailer units.

Source: Poultry World