Driving high-quality development of animal husbandry with new productive forces

Eggs on the production line are inspected. [Photo by Zhang Minmin for chinadaily.com.cn]

In Shiqiaozi town, Zhucheng, Shandong province, a base for Shandong Mu Zu's project supports two million free-range egg-laying hens and includes facilities for breeding and deep processing. It covers an area of 197,800 square meters. 

The base is clean and fresh, and each chicken is tagged with a number. By scanning the number, detailed information such as the chicken's age, feeding habits, immunization status, amount of feed consumed and number of eggs laid at each stage can be readily accessed.

Chicken farming relies on advanced technology, with big data playing a crucial role. At this base, the eggs produced each day are collected using automated equipment. The egg conveyor belt automatically transports the eggs laid by the hens to a grading warehouse for sorting.

Inside the grading warehouse, there is some integrated egg processing equipment. During this process, the "egg inspection system" uses cameras to photograph and identify all the eggs, eliminating any damaged ones. 

Next, the "dirty egg inspection system" identifies the eggs again and cleans any dirty eggs again before they are sent for UV sterilization, ensuring the eggs are safe to consume.

The chicken base is clean and tidy. [Photo by Zhang Minmin for chinadaily.com.cn]

Antibiotic-free egg-laying hen farming is a microcosm of the digital empowerment of the livestock and poultry farming industry in Zhucheng. The city's broiler chicken farming industry the covers various processes, including breeding, hatching, farming, slaughtering, deep processing, and machinery manufacturing, forming a multi-billion-dollar industrial chain. (Edited by Huang Junyao)