• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • EYES ON ANIMALS – Watching out for their Welfare
  • English
  • Nederlands
  • Deutsch

Eyes on Animals

Watching out for their Welfare

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
DONATE
  • About us
    • What we do
    • Our team
    • Key Figures
    • Our Vision
    • Contact
  • News
    • Latest news
    • Good news
    • Bad news
    • Featured news
    • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Inspections
    • Farms
    • Markets
    • Transports
    • Slaughterhouses
    • Special projects
    • Other
  • Training
    • Police
    • Truck drivers
    • Poultry-catchers
    • Slaughter personnel
    • Training Material
    • Request a training
  • Industry Tips
    • Animal transport
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
    • Slaughterhouses
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
      • Ritual slaughter
    • Educational videos
  • Publications
    • In the media
      • Print
      • Television
      • Radio
      • Videos
    • Newsletters
    • Special reports
    • Training Material
    • Annual reviews
  • Help us
Home » Our inspections » transport » Loading of broilers by machine

Loading of broilers by machine

February 13, 2014

20140213_kippenvangen_achtmaal_016
Today the team from Eyes on Animals brought a work visit to a large poultry farm, containing 175.000 broiler chickens spread over 7 barns. The broiler chickens that are ready for transport to the slaughterhouse are mechanically caught at this farm by a machine. The machine has a conveyer belt system, which makes sure that the chickens are in an upright position when placed on the catching arms of the machine (the width of the arm can vary between 3-7-9 meters). Through a mechanical arm they are placed in the containers one by one, again in an upright position. The machine automatically indicates when the container has reached the correct weight, after which the conveyer belt stops. This prevents overloading. Next the containers are loaded onto the trucks. The chickens are barely handled by humans anymore. Four employers are needed; two on the ground and two near the containers. Each hour, around 5000-8000 chickens can be loaded. The poultry owner who has been using this machine for several years is very enthusiastic about it. He believes it improves the welfare of both the animals and the employers. The catching happens calmer now. The animals don’t need to be caught by their legs and suspended upside down anymore, which can cause stress, pain and bone fractures. The slaughterhouse where these chickens are transported to is equally satisfied about the large percentage of fit animals they receive. Also for the employers the work has become more pleasant; they do not need to lift thousands of (heavy) chickens anymore.

We got a positive impression about this way of catching broiler chickens. Our team has also observed the catching and loading of broilers by humans, and it was much more stressful. The welfare of the birds during catching by humans could be better guaranteed if they were supported by under their breast instead of suspended upside down by their feet, but industry tells us that is not a viable option for these large farms due to the volume and the amount of time this would cost. In the barn it was calm, the machine does not produce a lot of noise and the chickens did not seem very stressed by the slow moving machine. Another benefit is that the chickens remain upright during the whole process. During our inspections of broiler chicken transports we have often seen animals lying on their back (a consequence of manual catching), unable to upright themselves. During inspection of this truck, all chickens were upright.
Our conclusion is that this method contributes to better animal welfare in this stage of the broiler chickens’ lives and we hope more poultry owners will make this investment.
We would like to thank Arjan Oostvogel, owner of this poultry farm, and Bram Godrie from GTC Agricultural for their time and clear explanation.

20140213_kippenvangen_achtmaal_029
The chickens walk on the catching arm of the machine.

20140213_kippenvangen_achtmaal_020
From the catching arm the chickens enter the container in an upright position.

20140213_kippenvangen_achtmaal_067

The loaded containers are stacked onto the truck.

  • share 
  • share 
  • share 
  • save 
  • email 

Filed Under: transport

Primary Sidebar

Search

Featured

As small slaughterhouses disappear, transport distances increase

Eyes on Animals is observing a troubling trend: transport distances for culled cows and sows are … [Read More...] about As small slaughterhouses disappear, transport distances increase

Featured

Dutch transport company Van Os implicated in serious transport fraud involving Irish calves

May 8, 2025

Once again, serious violations have been uncovered in the transport of calves from Ireland. Last … [Read More...] about Dutch transport company Van Os implicated in serious transport fraud involving Irish calves

Our most recent newsletter

Dear friends,

It’s not every day that an animal-welfare organization takes on the challenge of redesigning a large pig slaughterhouse and their animal handling techniques, but that’s exactly what we did in 2020.

Read more…

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe

* indicates required

Eyes on Animals op Twitter

partijvddieren Partij voor de Dieren @partijvddieren ·
20 Jun

De Tweede Kamer zegt al jaren: op snikhete dagen geen dieren vervoeren! Maar minister Wiersma wil dat verbod niet doorvoeren, en saboteert door nóg een keer te onderzoeken wat de ‘sector’ er eigenlijk van vindt. Onder aanvoering van de PvdD heeft de Kamer nu gezegd: niks daarvan!

Reply on Twitter 1936025008075157628 Retweet on Twitter 1936025008075157628 140 Like on Twitter 1936025008075157628 619 Twitter 1936025008075157628
dierbescherming Dierenbescherming @dierbescherming ·
20 Jun

Gisteren is er op initiatief van de @PartijvdDieren opnieuw een #motie aangenomen om de maximum toegestane #temperatuur voor #veetransport te verlagen. Een stap in de goede richting om eindelijk een einde te maken aan #hittestress.
#dierenleed #warmte #hitte

Reply on Twitter 1936133724061536708 Retweet on Twitter 1936133724061536708 29 Like on Twitter 1936133724061536708 119 Twitter 1936133724061536708
eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
20 Jun

👏🐄 En nu maar hopen dat zo’n hoge boete helpt!
- Bloedende poot en ontsteking: bijna 12.000 euro boete voor vervoeren van zieke koeien naar Tilburgse slachterij Vion | Tilburg | #veetransport https://www.bd.nl/tilburg/bloedende-poot-en-ontsteking-bijna-12-000-euro-boete-voor-vervoeren-van-zieke-koeien-naar-tilburgse-slachterij-vion~a251bd1d/

Reply on Twitter 1935963416176243178 Retweet on Twitter 1935963416176243178 6 Like on Twitter 1935963416176243178 23 Twitter 1935963416176243178
Load More...

ANBI

Footer

Donate with Paypal

Paypal Eyes on Animals
One-time donation:
Monthly donation:

Reading Material

  • In the Media
  • Newsletters
  • Special EonA reports
  • Legislative texts
  • ANBI

Our Amsterdam Office

Amsterdam House Hotel
Eyes on Animals main office is in downtown Amsterdam, at the Amsterdam House Hotel. The generous and warm-hearted hotel owner donated to Eyes on Animals, free of charge, a beautiful room where our inspectors can work, hold meetings and store their material.

Copyright © 2025 · Eyes on Animals | Website by Webkompaan