Ochten, the Netherlands – In Ovo’s innovative Ella® machine at Het Anker hatchery will double its capacity in May 2023. This will enable the hatchery to supply larger laying flocks and marks a significant step forward in helping Dutch agtech company In Ovo achieve its goal of putting a complete end to the culling of day-old male chicks.
Het Anker hatchery has been involved in developing In Ovo’s pioneering Ella® egg sexing technology since 2012. A major breakthrough came in 2020 when the first layer hens were hatched at Het Anker using Ella®without any male chicks having been culled. This was proof that the technology works.
At that time, In Ovo was already working on a larger capacity Ella® machine. The new machine went into operation in September 2022. In May 2023, its capacity will double to meet market demand. The expansion will take place at the current Het Anker premises.
In Ovo’s Ella® machine is capable of determining the sex of fertilised eggs at high speed from day nine of the incubation period. This means only hens are hatched and there is no need for the culling of male hatchlings. Ella® is a stable, fully automated inline sexing solution that works on both white and brown hatching eggs and makes a significant improvement to animal welfare and sustainability.
Jan Vroegindeweij, director Het Anker: “We are delighted with the Ella® capacity expansion. After a period of uncertainty during the first half of 2022, we have come on leaps and bounds. Both quality and quantity meet our expectations, so we now have the confidence to scale up production.”
Wouter Bruins, co-founder In Ovo: “We are extremely proud to be expanding at Het Anker. As a customer from the very beginning, we have gone through thick and thin together and are now ready to grow significantly. It’s incredibly positive that the market has embraced our initiative so much and we are eager to make a much greater impact on animal welfare.”
About Het Anker
Het Anker is a commercial hatchery specialising in the hatching, rearing and sale of 17-week-old layers. The company continues to follow the ongoing debate on the culling of day-old male chicks and has been actively involved in facilitating progress in this field for more than a decade. Het Anker remains committed to helping to develop an approach to egg sexing that occurs prior to the incubation process. In this context, the development put into the market by In Ovo is a welcome step that we are happy to implement.
About In Ovo
In Ovo is a Dutch AgTech scale-up based in Leiden that develops high-tech solutions to improve animal welfare and sustainability in the poultry sector. With Ella®, the company’s pioneering innovation, the first ‘female-only’ chicks were hatched in 2020. In Ovo’s ambition is to end the culling of day-old male chicks worldwide. Aside from Ella®, In Ovo has a pipeline of other innovations to further increase its impact. Visit www.inovo.nl or follow In Ovo on LinkedIn.
Media contacts:
In Ovo BV
press@inovo.nl
Tel. +31 (0)6 1009 6750