'Always perfect feed and no segregation'

Udo Baumeister and Stephan Werthmann unanimously agree: Polem's horizontal floor silos are an asset to their laying poultry business. The partners jointly own Landwirt Baumeister in Breckerfeld, Germany, a laying poultry farm with egg trading and sales. “The horizontal bottom silos are ideal; no segregation and the feed always sinks,” says Udo Baumeister.

About ten years ago, Udo Baumeister learned about the horizontal floor silo through a fellow poultry farmer. “We already had several silos from Polem but I didn't know about the horizontal floor yet. We also heard good results about the horizontal floor silos from the advisor of the Dutch feed manufacturer. A continuous feed flow and no segregation. The feed drops evenly; the oldest feed goes to the chickens first. Silos last a long time and the horizontal floor silo requires little maintenance. We have had polyester hopper silos here on the farm for years and started with one horizontal floor. We like that so much that we are replacing the hopper silos with horizontal floor silos.”

Everything in their own hands

In hilly Breckerfeld, the poultry farm Landwirt Baumeister is hidden behind a row of trees where a few silos are just visible. It is a laying hen farm with egg trading, dyeing, cooking and pelleting facilities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Besides their own rearing farm, they keep 120,000 laying hens in three houses of which 12,000 are free-range and 108,000 free-range. Below the layer house is the dyehouse that processes 12 million eggs annually. The cookery cooks 200 million eggs a year. Baumeister markets the eggs to retailers, bakers, butchers, farm stores and market trucks.

Udo Baumeister is a chicken farmer at heart. Despite the fact that Baumeister sells more purchased eggs than she produces herself, the chickens remain the core of the business. “The most important thing is that the chickens feel good. A good house, good feed and good care. Only then can they perform as they do here: weeks of almost 100 percent laying and live to be over two years old,” says the poultry farmer.

Preferred horizontal bottom

“The hopper silos were not yet worn out but our experience with the horizontal floor made us decide to replace the hopper silos at this barn already,” Udo explains. The horizontal floor silo they installed at the middle barn in 2014 has been satisfactory. “We have seen the differences for years: the feed comes out of the horizontal floor silo so much nicer. Totally no segregation, the feed always sinks and we have little to worry about. Hardly any maintenance is required,” says Udo Baumeister. The result is high production; laying rates that barely fluctuate due to the constant feed supply. “Uniformity of the hens is incredibly important. Then you achieve high production. In the house with the flat floor we see the higher laying percentage and better feed conversion compared to the two other houses with hopper silos.”

Angled transfer

The Polem dealer, placed a horizontal soil silo of 50m³ capacity right next to the laying hen house. A striking feature is the right-angled transfer into the house. Instead of a takeover point that buffers the feed, the feed goes directly into the house. This looks tighter and saves a sensor which is positive for operational reliability. In Germany, it is common to run the polyester of the silo down to the ground with a solid anchorage on the concrete slab. The appearance is different but in terms of operation there is no difference. The chassis is thus more protected from weather influences. Through an additional opening at the rear, maintenance or cleaning can be done, if necessary, to check and lubricate the grease nipples preventively, for example. By dehumidifying the compressed air required to drive the sweeper auger, breakdowns are prevented. In Baumeister's experience, the horizontal floor is low maintenance. “That works great. With us, five employees are responsible for the chickens. Good feed every day is a basic need for the chickens and also for us,” says Udo Baumeister.

Air-control

The new silo features Air-Control, a Polem proprietary innovation. The system protects against overpressure, provides natural ventilation inside the silo and ensures that dust feed falls back into the silo. In this area of Germany, summer temperatures can be high. So also in the silo. When temperatures drop, condensation can occur with adverse effects on the feed.

With the Air-Control, the temperature in the silo remains almost equal to the outside temperature. “For us, that means less chance of mold formation and quality deterioration of the feed. 100 percent of the received feed ends up in the silo which is beneficial for keeping pests out. We are very satisfied with it,” explains Udo Baumeister.

“In the barn with the horizontal floor silos, we see the higher laying percentage and better feed conversion compared to the two other barns with hopper silos.”

Baumeister adds 20 percent wheat. From the Polem horizontal floor silo, the feed goes to a daily silo in the barn. Udo Baumeister and Stephan Werthmann are considering supplementing rapeseed. “The expectation is that rapeseed contributes to good production and welfare of the laying hens. That's what we do it for. The horizontal floor silos contribute to optimal production of our laying hens,” Udo Baumeister concludes.