Game bird farm partners with hatchery technology producer

Candling equipment from iD Projects allows Bettws Hall employees to remove infertile and dead eggs.

Hatchery technology producer, iD Projects, has been chosen as the technology provider for a United Kingdom game bird hatcheries and game farms, Bettws Hall. iD Projects' candling, transfer and counting solutions have been installed at Bettws Hall's site in Powys, Wales, where more than half a million pheasant and partridges eggs are set each week during the hatching season.
Established as a farm in 1988, Bettws Hall is a family-run countryside business, which has diversified into a wide range of countryside and field sport activities including driven game shooting, a game bird hatchery and game farm, All Terrain Vehicle sales and servicing, luxury accommodation, shooting lodges and public houses.
Bettws Hall produces pheasant and partridge chicks, poults and ducks, delivering to around 400 customers throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Approximately 60 percent of Bettws Hall's eggs are produced on the company's own sites, while 40 percent are bought in from suppliers in France and America.
Bettws Hall has invested in a new candling and transfer line in preparation for the 2013 hatching season.
"Having researched the various products available on the market, we decided to appoint iD Projects as our technology partner. Not only were the team very professional in their approach to identifying the best solution to meet our needs, they also offered the best pre and aftersales customer service we'd seen. The technology and equipment was competitively priced, but perhaps more importantly, the lead time for installation was very quick and the installation team had an in-depth knowledge of the products," said Richard Crofts, stock and sales manager at Bettws Hall.
The candling system from iD Projects allows hatchers to remove dead and infertile embryos. Bettws Hall also included iD Projects’ four line counting machine at the hatchery. According to the company, the machine counts up 60,000 chicks per hour. Two staffers at Bettws Hall grade the chicks, identifying and removing unformed chicks and egg shells. Once counted, the chicks are secured in boxes and distributed immediately on trucks to customers throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.