Super insulated dome-shaped house looks promising
A newly developed type of broiler house in South Africa shows promsing first results: 16% more weight per square metre, as well as better food conversion rates. The companies behind this revolutionary dome-shaped house put this down to the high level of insulation combined with a top-of-the-range management computer system.

Nuway is the name of the newly hatched broiler house. The concept has been developed by Chemvet Steel & Fencing, a local manufacturer of pig and poultry houses, and insulation company Technopol. Their combined expertise has resulted in a revolutionary dome-shaped, highly insulated and totally computerised broiler house.

Chemvet and Technopol built the first four houses for 40,000 broilers each on their newly established farm on the highveld, some 50 km south-east of Johannesburg. "This is a novel design, so we decided to try it first, before selling it," says Technopol's Managing Director Lammie de Beer.

Computerised control
The control rooms attached to each shed harbour the heart of the Nuway house: the Danish SKOV management computer system. This controls the 10 ventilators and the cross-ventilation with computerised DAs and the high pressure humidity system, depending on the outside and inside temperature. The SKOV computer also keeps track of the daily feed and water intake of the chicks, and measures growth automatically with computerised scales in the house. A few button pushes show that the chicks came in at an average weight of 48 g and on day 35 have progressed to 2,098 g live weight. "It is the Rolls Royce of management technology. It gives the manager peace of mind."

 Super insulated dome-shaped house looks promising