Het Spelderholt has traditionally been the primary research centre for poultry farming in the Netherlands. Until 2004, the research was conducted in Beekbergen. After that, the research centre moved to Lelystad.
General design of the farm:
- Four barns, of which two with outdoor runs, one partially equipped with a covered run and one without a run.
- All buildings have multiple feed silos for nutrition research. It is also possible to feed single raw materials (such as wheat or CCM).
- Supplements can be added to the drinking water at all buildings, also per experimental unit.
- Grain is automatically fed at the laying hens barns, and buildings are equipped with automatic daylength control.
Barn descriptions
1. Broiler chickens barn (P1):
- completely dark barn with mechanical ventilation
- in total 18,000 broiler chickens or 6,400 ducks
- 8 main units, with a total of 32 sub units
- possibilities for raising laying hens or broiler chick parent birds.
2. Multifunctional turkey barn (P2):
- natural ventilation, with light-reducing elements in the air intakes and exhausts
- 4 main units, with a total of 16 subunits
- 1,680 tom turkeys, 2,400 turkey hens, 2,400 ducks or 9,000 broiler chickens
- for 2 of the 4 sections, covered run, optional outdoor run
- heated/cooled floors (Kombidek), optionally combined with solar boiler and thermal storage in the ground.
3. Organic laying hen barn (P3):
- naturally ventilated daylight barn
- approximately 2,000 organic laying hens
- 4 main units, with a total of 8 sub units
- each subunit has a covered run and an outdoor run (with possibility for rotating pasture)
- outdoor runs have grass, a maize section and a windbreak.
- 2 main units with organic aviary and 2 other units with a shavings deep litter system (75% shavings).
- ttwo units have a total capacity of 1000 broiler chick parent birds. These units can be mechanically ventilated.
4. Laying hen barn (P4):
- 6 main units.
- One main unit: mechanically ventilated dark barn for research in small units (variable design; various animal types).
- One main unit: mechanically ventilated dark barn with a total capacity of 1000 broiler chick parent birds (4 subunits). In these units, tests can also be conducted with laying hens on deep litter.
- The remaining 4 main units:
- naturally ventilated daylight barn
- for approximately 5000 Freiland laying hens, among other possibilities
- design: two types of aviary systems
- all subunits: covered run and outdoor run
- all subunits: covered run and outdoor run
View the slide and sound show of Het Spelderholt here.
Research projects laying hens
Click here for an overview of laying hen research projects
Research projects table poultry
Click here for an overview of table poultry research projects