The system

The Roundel has been designed and equipped to allow all the birds to indulge in their natural behaviour, while also taking into account the fact that practices, such as beak-trimming, will not have to be applied.

1. The Night Quarters provide living space for the primary needs of the hens: eating, drinking, resting and laying eggs. In this area existing technology in the poultry sector, such as laying nests, aviary system etc., have been used.

2. The Day Quarters provide space for the hens to indulge in their natural behaviour such as foraging and dust bathing. The natural world has been brought indoors. A unique feature of the system is the insulated blind which acts as a side wall and which can be completely rolled up. This creates a uniform climate between the day and night quarters . This encourages more birds to use the foraging area to range and dustbathe than in customary systems.

3. The Wooded Area also creates a natural environment for the hens so they can forage, explore and find shelter. Should a calamity occur (for example, an outbreak of avian influenza) which requires the hens to be confined, this wooded area can be closed off. However the hens can still access the foraging area where their natural needs will be satisfied. This is another unique feature of the Roundel in comparison with other housing systems!

4. The Central Core consists of three areas:
- The ground floor is the working area for the poultry farmer.
- The first floor accommodates an area where visitors can see how the system works.
This visitor facility covers an area of 150 m2.From here visitors can proceed through a glass
tunnel at the same level as where the hens are housed in one of the living areas.
This is also another distinctive and unique feature offered by the Roundel! This area on the first floor can also of course be used for other purposes.
- The second floor houses two heat exchangers, which are used to control the climate in the night quarters and to pre-dry and dry the manure the birds produce.

Click on the zones shown here for more specific information.