The poultry industry in Germany will soon phase out debeaking for laying hens. With regard to this decision, Big Dutchman has developed an innovative pendulum that makes use of the birds’ natural behaviour of searching for feed and thus occupies them because it remains permanently interesting. PickPuck is available in the litter area 24 hours a day. Using this innovation permanently also wears down the layer’s beak and promotes their natural scratching behaviour. PickPuck for barn and free-range egg production will be presented for the first time ever at EuroTier 2016.
A swinging plate with a coarse surface is suspended below a drop pipe filled with attractive feed such as wheat. When a hen picks onto the plate or nudges it from the side, this movement dispenses a small amount of feed that the hens can then ingest. The specially coated surface of the plate incidentally also wears down the beak in a natural manner. Grains dropping into the litter additionally promote the natural scratching behaviour.