Breeder housing for the flock that produces the flock

Weigh the ration exactly, deliver it to every bird at once

A daily bin on load cells, weigh or dump scales, and on the current specification a feed batch weigher with automatic dosing to each mini hopper: female and male lines separately. The controller sees the weight, so the day's ration is a number, not an estimate.

• Flat-chain feeding at 36 m per minute: the whole flock goes to feed together
• Three loops in a production house, six in an All-In All-Out house
• Trough grids keep males out of the female feed; 15 cm spacing per hen
• Shallow-pan breeder feeding on smaller layer breeder houses

Males managed as their own population

A dedicated male fill line, Chore-Time Model G Plus rooster feeders winched out of reach of the hens, and dedicated male drinking lines: two systems, two rations, one calm house.

• Separate male hopper and FLEX-AUGER line, with automatic dosing on the current specification
• A spiking area behind a light trap wall, with its own drinking and, on full turnkey specifications, its own ventilation and cooling
• Replacement males introduced without breaking All-In All-Out discipline

European or American style, both current on AFI farms

Two proven nest configurations, chosen on house width, flock size, and how the operation wants to run egg collection. Both deliver into a full-width egg collection room, so eggs leave the house without traffic entering it.

• European style: Valego centre-belt community nest with gentle rack-drive expulsion before lights-off
• American style: Chore-Time 20-hole side-belt nests with powered egg tables
• Virgin plastic slat platforms matched to nest height: hens step, not jump, into the nest
• Droppings pass through the slats, keeping the nest approach dry

Water against feed, every day

Closed Lubing nipple lines split from the centre of the house, with separate female, male, and spiking-area lines. Every house gets a water inlet panel with filtration, a Dosatron medicator, and a pulse water meter wired to the controller.

• Winched lines follow the flock; anti-perch rollers keep birds off and droppings out
• Automatic flushing available for rearing specifications
• Daily water consumption logged against feed at the controller

Light-tight by construction, programmable to the minute

Insulated, sealed doors, light-trapped dog houses, and brown light traps rated at 21,000:1 light reduction, so a midday tropical sun reads as darkness at bird level. Rearing houses are dark-out capable.

• Warm white 3,000K dimmable LED rows, IP67 rated for washdown
• Programmable 0 to 100% dimmer with stepped sunrise and sunset
• Driven from the environmental controller’s lighting output

Gentle at brooding, full tunnel at peak lay

AFI fits breeder houses with the DACS MagFan 3, designed for floor-kept birds, so minimum ventilation over brooding runs on the same fans as tunnel ventilation in the hot season.

• Design air speeds of 650 to 700 ft/min at bird level
• Up to 70% lower energy use than conventional cone fans
• TPI side wall inlets, closed-frame cooling pads, and insulated tunnel doors or TPI tunnel units
• AgriSHIELD cellulose insulation across the full envelope

Fresh air in, light kept out

In a breeder house every inlet is also a light path. TPI side wall inlets are hooded and light-trapped, so minimum ventilation runs without breaking the dark house. On AFI's newest layer breeder houses, TPI 6000 series tunnel units close the cooling pad openings outside tunnel mode.

• Side wall inlets direct incoming air along the ceiling during brooding and minimum ventilation
• Adjustable louvres and sliding plates on automatic winching from the controller
• Four-high TPI tunnel units on the layer breeder specification

Climate, feed, water, and light in one box, all logged

Chore-Tronics 3 Breeder Edition is the AFI breeder standard. For farm-wide connectivity, AFI fits Hotraco Fortica with the Fortus platform: the specification on AFI's newest breeder contracts.

• Built-in dimmable lighting output runs every photoperiod step
• Silo load cells and feed scales close the loop on the weighed ration
• Alarm system with battery backup and off-site alerts as standard
• Remote access from phone or PC, with a REST API for farm software

Brooding heat where the chicks are

Chore-Time Ultra-Ray infrared radiant heaters warm birds and litter directly, with Dura-Therm LPG space heaters where whole-house heating suits the operation. Heater control is integrated with the environmental controller and brooding curves.