HatchTech will launch its renewed version of the HatchTraveller Chick Transport System at the 2019 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta, USA.
Designed around the scientific findings of its research team, HatchTech’s innovative transportation system helps poultry companies to drive chick quality, while offering a major step forward for animal welfare and sustainability.
HatchTraveller is the world’s first hybrid, battery-driven trailer for day-old chicks. The system allows the user to transport up to 183,600 chicks in one single journey. In addition to its core transportation function, HatchTraveller also serves as a mains-powered storage facility for chicks as they await transport, eliminating the need for a separate storage room.
HatchTraveller’s key feature is an innovative climate-control system based on HatchTech’s laminar airflow technology and patented perforated radiators. By maintaining a uniform climate inside the trailer, the technology ensures the body temperature of each chick remains constant at 104°F (40.3°C) for the duration of the journey. Through extensive testing, HatchTech’s researchers identified maintaining body temperature at this constant level as the number one factor for ensuring chick quality and welfare during transport. As well as minimising heat stress and dehydration, this important feature allows newly hatched chicks to receive the full benefit of nutrients present in the residual yolk.