How to Select an Automatic Egg Collection System

An automatic egg collection system should be sized and arranged around the route from the cage to the collection destination. The cage-side equipment, any elevation change and the transfer to a central conveyor can be separate parts of the package. A system description is incomplete until those handovers are identified.

Define the collection boundary

Start by stating where the proposed equipment begins and ends. Does the supply cover only the cage rows, the house-end collection equipment, or the route to a central egg room? Put those boundaries on a drawing and identify equipment that will be supplied by others.

Record the number and arrangement of rows, their lengths and the relevant height changes. For an existing farm, photograph the connection points. A replacement unit needs to match the actual interface, not simply the name of the old collection system.

Automatic Egg Collection System from the Famou Machinery equipment range.

Describe the collection requirement

Give the supplier the intended collection schedule and the quantity that must be handled within that operating period. A daily total alone does not describe a concentrated collection window. Ask for the capacity basis and any assumptions about simultaneous operation of several rows or houses.

The proposal should explain where eggs accumulate and how transfers are coordinated. If performance is to be assessed, agree the method and operating conditions. Avoid treating a general claim about reduced breakage as a guaranteed result for an unspecified installation.

Examine the transfer points

Request details of transitions between belts, lifts or conveyors included in the design. Identify access for cleaning and inspection around each transfer. Operators should be able to locate a problem without dismantling unrelated equipment or entering an obstructed space.

Check what happens when one section is stopped. The control description should explain the intended operating sequence and the response to an unavailable downstream section. Confirm the sensors and controls included rather than assuming they accompany every mechanical component.

Compare the installed package

• Complete route and stated supply boundaries.
• Capacity requirement with its operating time window.
• Transfer details and equipment access.
• Control sequence and included detection devices.
• Installation, training and replacement-belt information.

A useful selection connects the equipment to the way the farm collects eggs. Review the route with both the cage supplier and the operator responsible for collection. Once the handovers, operating window and control sequence are clear, the quotations can be compared on the same function instead of on isolated machine capacities.

Related equipment: Automatic Egg Collection System, In-House Egg Collection System, Automated Egg Conveying System.