Welcome to Westlandyn Farms
A modern egg production farm in Shakespeare, Ontario, it was constructed for the West Family and began operation in late 2003.

 

Gary and Brenda West previously operated a family dairy farm milking 70 head of Jersey and Holstein cows plus all replacements.


 

Faromor Ltd., and sister company Stonecrest Engineering had all the in-house expertise and product required to deliver a state-of-the-art facility.

 

The West's decision was easy to turn over project responsibility - design, construction management, equipment supply - to these trusted local neighbouring firms.


 

Faromor Ltd. installed a Zucami cage and manure removal system manufactured in Spain. Zucami, a product relatively new in Canada, is well recognized and a leading cage manufacturer worldwide.

 

Stonecrest Engineering was able to prepare a Nutrient Management Plan, provide engineered structural drawings, address regulations and obtain building permits allowing the Wests to devote their attention to the ongoing dairy.

 

The West's next decision was to select a qualified farm builder with whom they and Faromor and Stonecrest had confidence.


 

Cages are manufactured with injected plastic partitions having multiple uniformly sized holes to improve cage ventilation and ensure a long corrosion free life. The full front access door facilitates easy bird placement and removal without injury.
 

The lift conveyor automatically moves to each level to receive the eggs and transport them gently to an automated packer.

 

Displaying innovative design and unique features Zucami cages offer a peaceful and gentle accommodation for the bird and ensures uniform ventilation within the cage.

 

Zucami feed trolleys, offering proven performance, deliver fresh feed to all the birds in a balanced and equal manner. Feed troughs feature a feed shield and lip to prevent waste.

 

The dairy operation, originally started by Jack and Margaret West, began in 1956 and is still operated with the barns and facilities now leased to a new young dairy producer.

 

The manure storage was placed at the end of the cage barn rather than in a common "L" formation. Expansion beyond this planned 25% was not anticipated and existing geography resulted in reduced initial site development costs.

 

After the West's son Adam and his wife Danielle became partners in the family operation it was decided to switch to a layer operation.


 

At the heart of the operation is a Hotraco computerized control system that manages fans and air inlets to ensure optimum environmental conditions year round.

 

The Hotraco control system automatically manages the feeding system from feed bin to cage giving the manager a choice of number of day feedings.

 

Barn design was based on a four row wide by four cage high layout with adequate wall height to accommodate a future fifth level cage expansion. With Zucami trolley feeding this 25% expansion could later be accommodated without building changes.

 

Each feed trolley is equipped with two centrifugal fans that direct a jet of high velocity air over all egg collection belts as it travels along the cage row.
 

This air stream removes dirt particles resulting in noticeably cleaner eggs. It also encourages the birds to be more alert and active during feeding.



 

Eggs are transported from the cage to the front-end lift conveyor via collection belts. Eggs are gently transferred from collection belts to the lift conveyor.


 

Belt speed is regulated at the packing station to optimize operator capacity.

 

Egg gathering and packaging is easily managed at the packer work station permitting a single operator to gather and pack eggs from 25,000 hens in approximately 2-1/2 hours daily.

 

From the egg packer the eggs are placed in flats, skidded and moved to an adjacent refrigerated storage area awaiting twice a week pick up.

 

Manure accumulates below the cage on manure belts and these are operated regularly (every 3-4 days) to transfer the manure to a below floor level collection belt at the end of the cage rows.

 

This manure belt conveyor transports manure to the covered manure storage.

 

Ventilation in the layer barn is accomplished with continuous air inlets located at wall/ceiling juncture on each side. Appropriate capacity, corrosion free, fiberglass fans are evenly positioned down both sides of the building.

 

From the storage bin an inline electronic feed weigher continuously records the weight of feed delivered per bird daily and can adjust to match calculated consumption rates.

 

The manure storage is ventilated with manual winch positioned side wide curtains to ensure sufficient ventilation to protect the storage against gaseous deterioration and keep out the elements.

 

Is Westlandyn Farms still satisfied following four years of continuous operation? Yes, and although new to the poultry industry, they have achieved recognitiion as top regional egg producers. They state that they would change little , and do not hesitate to recommend Faromor and Stonecrest to producers.

 

A failure of any system component triggers an alarm call out to the individual on call that confirms the nature of the problem for required action.