Freshlight ionizing stable lamps: several birds with one stone

Freshlight ionizing stable lamps: several birds with one stone

“SINCE THE LAMPS, I HAVE NEVER SUFFERED FROM PEAK. IN ADDITION, MY ANIMALS HAVE NOT BEEN SICK ANY MORE”

Initially, Van den Top was not really interested in an extra light source in his stable. His organic laying hen house, measuring 90 by 15 metres, was already provided with sufficient natural light via light strips on both sides. After all, that is a precondition for the biological concept. In addition, Van den Top had extra lamps in the stable. So he didn't have to do it for the light. But the ionizing air purification, which did not require a complicated installation with filters and the like, appealed to him enormously. He therefore decided to purchase the system.

Because the result was immediately spectacular, Van den Top also had the lamps hung in his rearing stable in mid-2017. And now, already a year later, he is actually only more enthusiastic. Van den Top: “Although it was all about fine dust reduction, the lamps also have an unexpectedly good effect on my barn. It is a beautiful, bright and natural looking light, to which the chickens respond wonderfully. Since the lamps, I have never really had a problem with pecking. In addition, my animals have never been sick again. This while in the past I sometimes found an IB or an E. coli. I find that remarkable.” Although the ionization also counteracts bacteria and viruses, Van den Top thinks that this is mainly due to the extra vitamin D that his chickens produce, due to the full spectrum of (extra) daylight that falls on them via the lamps.

Ultimately, the poultry farmer is happy that – by accident actually – he came upon the FreshlightAgri system to tackle his particulate matter. Because he had never opted for the extra daylight lamps on his own. Van den Top can no longer do without this 'unexpected extra': "If I set the lamps to one hundred percent, it is just as bright in my stable as outside. However, I never set them lighter than sixty percent, and that only in the afternoon. In the morning my animals only get thirty percent extra light, so that they can lay their eggs quietly. This also ensures a healthy rhythm.”

Nevertheless, the air-purifying effect of FreshlightAgri is still the most important thing for Van den Top. Although you can't see the real fine dust, the reduction in the coarser, visible dust is a good indication of how it works. And that improvement is really remarkable for the farmer. Van den Top: “In the past, once I had walked to the end of my stable and back again, I had to clean my glasses immediately, because there was a thick layer of dust on them. Nowadays my glasses are still clean.” But the farmer also sees it clearly in the barn itself. “When sunlight comes in, I don't see a thick fog of dust particles, like I used to. It's just clear. Delicious!” says Van den Top with a laugh.

I DO NOT SEE A THICK MIST OF DUST PARTICLES, AS I used to. IT IS JUST BRIGHT. LOVELY!

“My weekly production is one to two percent higher than before”

What the poultry farmer particularly likes is that the system requires no maintenance at all. In addition, the installation was very easy. “You don't need any extra air supply and exhaust, so you just have to hang them up. And they are very economical, because it is LED lighting. But I especially like that I don't have to worry about it. It doesn't work with filters that need to be emptied daily or anything like that. The dust just settles in the barn”, Van den Top says with satisfaction. He can therefore recommend it to all other (poultry) livestock farms.

The farmer feels that his chickens are feeling better: "They are very calm and, for example, no longer fly up at all if something happens in the barn." Van den Top does not only rely on the peace in his stable. His company is also showing better results: weekly production is one to two percent higher than before.