The current flock of Cobb slow is 33 weeks old and in full pro- duction.
The Vencomatic automatic laying nest has improved egg quality and hatchability.
as well. “Holambra is famous for its plants and flowers and has its own auction place, so it was a logical step for me to in- vest in greenhouses. If you ask me what kind of farm I run, I tend to say I am a plant farmer. However, the different branches on our farm coexist.”
Eggs in multiple baskets Zegeren’s main focus is to further invest in the plant business and invest in automation of the greenhouse. “That said, the last couple of years our investment plans mainly concerned our poultry branch. The nice thing of having our so-called eggs in multiple baskets is that there is only a slim chance that we are not making money. There is always one pocket in which we outperform. In the past our chicken houses were paid for by good orange harvests, my greenhouses could be
A Vencobelt connects both houses to the egg collection room.
built due to good profits in our poultry operation and some additional automation in the poultry houses became possible after good earnings in the plant business.” Zegeren is espe- cially happy with how the businesses have been performing recently: “The last two years, all three branches were making a good profit, upping our reserves and driving our new plans for the future.” According to Zegeren it is important to give every branch the attention that is needed. “When profits are made, we look for the best place to invest it in.” About five years ago the profits of the orange plantation and greenhouse were allocated to the poultry farm. “At that time we still had manual laying nests, which were really labour-intensive. Besides that, I had the idea that the collection of eggs stressed the birds to such an extent that performance was influenced.” However, the
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