Egg & Processing
Egg Conveyor Systems
Egg conveyor systems link nest or cage egg-collection belts to a central packing or handling room, typically across a multi-house farm. Systems include cross-conveyors, elevators and inter-house tunnels.
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Role within the project
Conveyor design determines cracked-egg percentage and egg-quality decline on multi-house sites. Wet, cold or exposed conveyor runs increase both.
Typical applications
- Multi-house layer complexes with central packing
- Multi-house breeder farms with central egg-room
- Farm-to-hatchery internal transfer
Selection criteria
- Verticality and level tolerance across long runs
- Sealed and climate-controlled runs vs exposed
- Line-speed matching with house belts
- Cleaning access along the run
Engineering considerations
- Insulated tunnels between houses — no condensation on eggs
- Slope and level tolerance kept within supplier spec
- Access hatches every 20–30 m for cleaning and jam recovery
- Emergency stops at every drop-point
Commercial considerations
- Per-metre-per-egg-throughput CAPEX
- Downtime cost dominates OPEX
- Extended warranty on drives and rollers
Procurement considerations
- Independent verticality survey at handover
- Cracked-egg guarantee across the whole run, not per section
- Cleaning cycle and downtime spec in RFQ
Common mistakes
- Exposed inter-house runs — condensation and cracking
- No insulation in cold climate — condensation and pathogen growth
- Slope tolerance ignored — jams and cracks
- No independent commissioning of the run end-to-end
Ask suppliers
Ask for cracked-egg data across a full multi-house run of comparable length under commercial production.
Related resources
Frequently asked
Is the conveyor part of the cage or aviary supplier's scope?
Usually yes for in-house collection, but inter-house and central runs are frequently a separate supplier. Confirm scope boundary in the RFQ.
How long can an egg conveyor run be?
Commercial layer complexes run 200–400 m from house to central packing routinely. Above 400 m, egg-quality decline needs to be modelled and cushioned.