On the farm of… the Nijhuis family in Beuningen, Netherlands

Leo explains :  “Before we made the decision to switch to organic in 2010, we had a conventional layer farm. It was going well, but in our case, it was not future proof. With an eye on animal welfare, social developments, and financial returns, we opted for organic layer poultry farming at the current location in Beuningen and this still suits us very well.”

• Top results

In the last flock, the Nijhuis family achieved 427.9 eggs per hen raised with a mortality rate of 4.64% and a feed intake of 122.7 grams per day per hen housed. This means an average production of 86.3, above average. The hens were held for 89 weeks.

“Depending on how long you maintain the flock, we aim for 400 eggs per hen raised. In doing so, the hen should suffer as little as possible, though you have no guarantees. After all, they are living animals,” Leo said. “We always had brown hens. In this case, the NOVOgen Brown. Personally, I like to have a peaceful hen in the barn.”

NOVOgen Brown and NOVOgen White are distributed, since 2011, by Verbeek into the Dutch market, as well as Poland, Germany, and Belgium. Over the years, Verbeek has built up a solid reputation as dedicated people with a deep passion for poultry farming and a wealth of knowledge. 

• Proactive farm management

It sounds cliché, but nothing could be further from the truth. Wilko Vije is a laying poultry specialist at Reudink, the feed mill company supplies the farm with organic feed and advice. Wilko visits Leo, Yvonne, and Sander’s farm every 3-4 weeks: “The family is very serious about the business. If something is wrong, they immediately draw attention to it. You can see peace, cleanliness, and regularity in everything. The barn looks neat and hygienic. They follow fixed working patterns. No one just enters the barn.”

Leo says: “Every morning and evening I walk inside the barn. This way, we remove any dead chickens as soon as possible to prevent potential spread of disease. We do dry cleaning and disinfection so that the machinery doesn’t suffer. The barn was built in 2010. After 10 years, we replaced all the laying mats. To reduce worm infestation, we use Vermistop. We also take monthly manure samples that we have the vet examine to monitor worm pressure. In addition, we pay close attention to blood lice. In a house with 24,000 chickens, this is quite manageable.” 

The family is extremely proactive and want to prevent problems rather than solve them. “Together with them, I designed a prevention plan with guidelines for the flock in terms of nutrition, lighting, the outdoor run, et cetera, says Wilko. The family uses PoultryPlan, Reudink’s management tool, to keep good track of all results. Data contributes to the success of this farm,” says Wilko.  “And good information is also important,” Leo adds.

• Future perspectives

This farm has already anticipated the stricter requirements where the winter garden no longer counts as barn area. This means that 24,000 organic laying hens may continue to be kept in the current housing system. Sander says: “We don’t necessarily want to get bigger or expand further. Perhaps we will be able to sell more locally in the future. There are just a lot of requirements for that. Ultimately, the consumer decides. What they buy is produced. With the increasing focus on nutrition and animal welfare in our society, organic is an appropriate choice. We definitely see perspective in that respect.”

Based on original article from Reudink: Reudink – Op het erf bij… de familie Nijhuis in Beuningen (reudink-bio.eu)