Poultry farming success story: a young poultry farmer from the feed mill Avimosa who continues the family saga with a poultry facility made by Gandaria-Silos Córdoba.
Antonio Herrando, a 25 year old poultry farmer, has chosen the turnkey houses made by Gandaria, a Silos Cordoba’s group company, for his great personal projet: raising chickens on a farm located in Alameda de la Sagra (Toledo).
Antonio Herrando’s history is linked to the poultry industry because of his grandfather. He was a former owner of the company Ranchos Pecuarios, currently Avimosa and started his adventure as an entrepreneur, with the business of laying hens and feed mills that supplied to farms in the area. His grandfather’s business is still standing beside the new broiler farm of his grandson, called Explotación Díaz Guerra in honor of his mother’s surnames.
I chose Gandaria for their good performance as well as their good materials and quality of service.
In Alameda de Sagra, a municipality in the province of Toledo, Antonio Herrando is breeding 37,000 chickens on a fully automated Gandaria poultry facility. The facility is 150 x 15 meters, plus two technical rooms annexed. It is integrated within Avimosa, it could not be otherwise, and though at the time of the visit he had carried out only one breeding cycle, expansion was already on his mind. The example of this young 25 year old entrepreneur is a hope for the poultry industry, which often lacks generational relay.
A WORKER AT AVIMOSA & POULTRY FARMER
One of the peculiarities of this farmer is that he is still working as a carrier at Avimosa. Like his grandfather and his father later on, Angel Herrando, who still works at the feed mill.
But in the case of Antonio Herrando, his work was to deliver feed to the group farms. This has given him the opportunity to observe the facilities of farmers in the area, see what worked and what failed and finally choose what he wanted for his personal project.
He has spent five years as a carrier, but he wanted to go a step further and have his own company, as once did his grandfather, which he defines as an “entrepreneur and courageous man”, and that after his retirement he sold his business.
FAMILY SUPPORT
After a long time thinking about it – he started the paper work three years ago – he got down to work, and after an in situ market research, visiting the poultry facilities of the farmers in the area, he decided to acquire the Gandaria-Gandaria model. He was convinced of the good performance of the model, as well as “the good quality materials, service and excellent payment terms and conditions” he explains.
Thus, in September their first Cobb chicks arrived and he began his first tasks as a poultry farmer, that he shares with his job as a feed delivery man. With the sole help of his mother in the morning, this is possible because everything is automated. The poultry facility operates virtually by itself without any problems. That allows him to work for Avimosa and also manage his own poultry facility.
THE FACILITY EQUIPMENT
Antonio Hernando’s brand new poultry house is made of sandwich panel, including cooling and cross-ventilation system. The cooling water is driven by separate pumps for each module (30 in total) so that the panel is dampened uniformly to minimize risks. Moreover, with this system the lifetime of the panels is extended.
The feeding and drinking system (4 and 5 lines respectively) are split in the middle of the facility, for an optimal management. Everything was supplied and installed by the Gandaria-Silos Códoba team, with its own staff.
The facility is completely waterproof, without any fissures, for which the quality of the finish is especially important. Upon entering, the first technical room highlights the control panel, which records if there is a failure. In that case, it would be identified in red.
For ventilation, the house has eight large fans 43,000 m3 and nine small fans 19,000 m3 scattered along the side walls. Fans are very efficient and low consumption.
As for the lighting, it is carried out with LED lights, specifically with 169 points of light 7.5 watts with which it is able to maintain uniformity in the facility with only 1.26 kW / h consumption.
Feeders are GAN 14 and the troughs are stainless, multidirectional and have a double foot nipple. The troughs do not have rubber gaskets that can cause problems when disinfected. Some disinfectants are corrosive to certain equipment, but in this case the problem has been eliminated.
POULTRY FACILITY DESIGN
The facility is designed with gable eaves 1 meter on each side. The windows are a letterbox type, through which cold air enters but without coming directly in contact with the animals. Condensations, meanwhile, are also directed outward.
The double top is an essential element to ensure isolation in facilities. Sometimes, the outside temperature was 0°C and humidity 80%, but this could be easily solved by installing a biomass boiler operated by almond shells as fuel. The poultry farmer is especially proud of the heating system since he only needs to spend € 700 in biomass fuel for the whole winter. This would not be possible without a perfect insulation of the facility.
Perfect insulation from outside temperatura.
The roof insulation is a cover made of sandwich panel 3 centimeters thick, plus the 220 mm air chamber. Finally, below that there is a third layer of polyurethane aluminum foil 3 centimeters thick. All this insulation prevents condensation within the chamber.
Windows, meanwhile, are made of injected polyurethane to avoid thermal bridges. In this sense, the facility is mounted on a foundation, a fact that also contributes to breaking the termal bridges by embedding the sandwich panel in the ground. There are six temperature probes inside the facility
plus a humidity sensor and a negative pressure gauge. Outside, there is lighting every 20 meters. The sandwich panel enclosure is five centimeters thick.
Cross ventilation
Cross ventilation enables easier handling than tunnel ventilation. In winter large fans are shut down and small fans start operating –minimal ventilation. They all work in groups and at specific times, so that no part of the facility is unventilated.
One aspect that this young poultry farmer also valued about Gandaria is that they offer the customer “turnkey poultry facilities”, whether with tunnel ventilation, combitunnel or cross ventilation, depending on their needs. Moreover, the design of the facility with gable eaves facilitates the air to flow on top, so that when it goes down it is not so cold. This is very beneficial for the animals.
Future projects
This young poultry farmer says he is pleased with the results of their first breeding. He is already planning to expand with a second broiler facility next to the current one, which he has planned for the summer of 2016. For this new project he will also buy from Gandaria-Silos Córdoba.
For my second poultry farming venture I look forward to having Gandaria-Gandaria as my usual supplier.
Read the full story at: www.agrinews.es
