Next generation technology from Pas Reform

The modern hatchery manager’s goal is to produce large numbers of uniform, robust day-old chicks. To reach that goal, Pas Reform introduces SmartPro, an advanced solution for modular, single-stage incubation that enables so-called “Circadian Incubation”.

Robustness is a health criterion, originating in the embryonic life stage of the chicken and correlating directly with the performance and resistance of individual chicks under differing farm conditions.

Detailed research has shown that robustness can be achieved by stimulating the embryo with a specific trigger, such as stimulation by heat or cold, during critical periods of the incubation process. This causes so-called “embryonic imprinting” on a physiological level, to produce a chicken that will thrive in its farm environment.

Such daily short-term thermo-conditioning is at the heart of Circadian Incubation and known to improve hatchability, for long-lasting effects that include 1-2% increase in final body weight and 1-2 points better feed conversion rates. Batches of uniform, robust day old chicks also deliver uniformity at slaughter age, thereby improving processing yields, efficiency and performance throughout the entire production chain.

To support the use of circadian incubation, the incubator must deliver precise climate control. To achieve truly homogeneous temperature distribution, the challenge is to exchange energy, CO2/O2 and moisture, without affecting temperature uniformity around the eggs.

To meet this exacting requirement, Pas Reform combines modular incubator design, a new Vortex™-based airflow principle and Adaptive Metabolic Feedback™. The combined use of these three features is in the next generation SmartPro™ incubator: advanced incubation that maximizes temperature homogeneity directly, to produce the highly precise environmental controls required.