To ensure future-proof sustainable and resilient egg production in North-West Europe (NEW), integrating hen longevity with animal health and welfare will become a vital necessity. Both territorial and common EU challenges amplify the need for longevity. The implementation of keeping hens longer while maintaining animal health and welfare in combination with ensured profitability is less evident. Orbem, together with 10 project partners, is eager to tackle these challenges.
Promoting the longevity of laying hens in practice
Through transnational cooperation in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and Germany, OMELETTE brings together multidisciplinary knowledge and skills needed to jointly overcome obstacles and stimulate the adoption of hen longevity in the field by:
- Reducing disparities in innovative capacity
- Capitalizing on innovative techniques and customizing them to the poultry sector
- Integrating and reinforcing smart digitalization
- Employing methods to monitor hen behavior and track the entire flock in real-time
- Focusing on continuous, structural improvement.
The above objectives will lead to a more proactive management that directly improves hen longevity.
Long term impact
Knowledge and techniques will feed the co-creation of a cross-border Longevity Action Plan that will be demonstrated on different pilot farms in the NWE region representing specific territorial situations and supported by impact analyses.
Focused training schemes and diverse communication will be targeted at current and future farmers and their advisors to increase knowledge and change behavior so that sustainable hen longevity will become standard practice in a future-proof resilient NWE egg production. In addition, OMELETTE will close the gap between farmers and local authorities and between farmers and consumers. Demonstrations at pilot locations targeted at authorities or consumers will increase knowledge of the origin of eggs, of the challenges but also of the efforts from the sector, leading to a raised awareness and facilitation of dialogue.
Project Partners — Countries
- EPC (Experimental Poultry Centre) — Belgium
- KULeuven — Belgium
- Pehestat — Belgium
- Vencomatic — The Netherlands
- HATO — The Netherlands
- ORBEM — Germany
- HSOS — Germany
- UBERN — Switzerland
- CARB (Chambre régionale d’agriculture Bretagne) — France
- INNOZH — France
- ANSES (Agence nationale sécurité sanitaire, alimentation, environnement et travail) — France
Duration
The project started in November 2023 and runs until May 2028.
Budget — EU funding
• Total Budget: €6,325,029
• EU Funding: €3,693,018
Project’s Website
Further information and updates can be found on the project’s website.
Contact
Jimena Saldivar
Be Part of the Omelette Project!
Orbem has teamed up with other partners across the North Western Europe region to work on the Omelette project, with the main objective to optimize and deploy solutions that improve hen welfare and stimulate longevity.
Hatcheries that participate with us will have the opportunity to obtain detailed information on how to optimize their operations in coordination with in-ovo sexing technology to ensure the best possible outcome for their processes and for the one-day-old chicks.
By participating, you’ll gain exclusive insights to fine-tune your in-ovo technology, optimize production, and contribute to a more sustainable future for hen welfare.
Ask to hatcheries
To achieve this, we ask the hatcheries that collaborate with us to allow us to come to your facilities and share existing information on current processes.
Technical requirements for participation:
- Location within the North West Europe region
- Minimum volume – 1 million day-old chicks per year
- In-ovo sexing technology in operation
About the Omelette Project
Through transnational cooperation in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Germany, OMELETTE brings together multidisciplinary knowledge and skills needed to jointly overcome obstacles and stimulate the adoption of hen longevity in the field by reducing disparities in innovative capacity, capitalising on innovative techniques and customising them to the poultry sector.
Jimena Saldivar
Advisor Corporate Strategy Projects
