Hatchery construction remains on schedule

Construction of Osceola’s 87,000-square-foot Valley of the Moon Commercial Poults Inc. turkey hatchery is on schedule for completion in early to mid-November.

About one-third of the concrete has been poured at the hatchery. According to Hatchery Operations Manager Jason Williams rain has been somewhat of a hindrance but construction progress is still on track.

Williams will be the hatchery’s operations manager. Williams and his wife Jennifer are moving to the area from Neosho, Mo. The couple have three children; Loren, 14; Ethan 3 and Sidda, 7 weeks.

Jobs

Williams said the company is accepting job applications, however, he anticipates the company won’t begin hiring until October.

“We’ve been getting a lot of interest from people,” he said.

At full capacity, the company anticipates the hatchery will employ 50 to 60 people. However, this doesn’t include farm division workers. At some point down the road the company hopes is to establish a farm division in the area with breeding, growing and laying facilities.

“The closer the eggs are to the hatchery the more we would save on shipping costs,” said Williams.

Inside

Nabholz Construction is the general contractor for the project. Williams said Nabholz built a chicken hatchery for Aviagen in Sallisaw, Okla. 17 years ago.

Upon entering the hatchery, employees will be required to shower for biosecurity measures – this will ensure that no possible diseases are transmitted between people and the turkeys, said Williams. Truck drivers who are picking up turkeys will also have a separate shower room to avoid possible contamination.

Eggs will be delivered to an egg room inside the hatchery. The eggs will come from a farm division, which includes breeding, growing and laying facilities.

Once arriving in Osceola the eggs will be placed on a rack which will turn the eggs from one side to another once every hour, said Williams.

“The state-of-the art machine controls the temperature, humidity, ventilation rates, CO2 levels and will able to sense the actual temperature of the eggs,” he said. “The infrared sensors make sure the eggs are comfortable and at the right temperature.”

The hatchery’s first load of incubators is expected to arrive next week. In about six weeks, a generator will arrive. According to Williams, the generator is sized to run the hatchery in case of a power outage.

After 25 days of incubation, the eggs will be transferred to a hatcher room where the turkeys will hatch from their shells. The egg shells with be dumped into a waste system and recycled. According to Williams, the shells make “excellent fertilizer.”

The turkeys will be taken into a service room where they will be prepared for shipment. The turkeys are sorted and graded first. Male and female turkeys are grown separately. Determining the gender of each bird is a challenge, said Williams. It requires someone who “has a good set of eyes and pays close attention to detail.”

“We strive for over 99 percent accuracy,” he said.

Vaccines will be given to the birds as requested by customers before shipping the turkeys.

The turkeys being shipped domestically will be packaged in plastic crates that will be washed and returned to Valley of the Moon. Turkeys being shipped internationally or small orders of turkeys will be shipped in cardboard boxes, said Williams.