Up to 400,000 chickens raised in seven weeks at big Auckland farm

Newly hatched chicks in a huddle. Photo / Tristan Spinski - The New York Times

How does industrial-style chicken farming work in the Auckland area these days?

One of the largest businesses of this type which works with Tegel has explained its operations, telling how it can raise up to 400,000 chicks in 10 large sheds on its site in just seven weeks.

The application to Auckland Council by the business, D B Chicks 2014, explained how all that works.

Its site is 3.5km from Parakai township, 7km northwest of Helensville and 300m from the harbour at its nearest point.

This area is rural and has few houses compared to more built-up areas and the business needs Auckland Council’s consent to continue discharging contaminants into the air from its factory-style operations, so written approval was also obtained from a number of neighbours.

D B Chicks 2014 owns and operates its intensive poultry farming operation for broiler chickens on two titles at South Head Rd, Parkhurst, Helensville in the Kaipara south head area.

The existing operation is a broiler farm, which is where meat chickens or broilers are delivered as chicks to the site, the document sent to the council said.

“Those chickens are then floor-raised on pine shavings in climate-controlled housing. Brood and grow farming (i.e. where the chicks are hatched on the site) is not undertaken on the site,” the application from a planner says.

“The current operation raises up to 400,000 chicks over a seven-week production run utilising the existing 10 large sheds on the site. Chicks are delivered to the site at day one of week one and then trucked out as grown chickens at week six.

“There is a period of 10 days to four weeks between each run for shed cleaning and preparation, and arrival of new stock. The sheds are re-stocked with fresh litter with the arrival of the new birds. Feed is delivered to the site in covered trucks and directly placed into the covered silos. Over each run there is approximately 180 truck movements, consisting of shaving trucks, trucks delivering and collecting the chickens, feed trucks and litter trucks.”

The assessment of environmental effects was prepared by Debbie Tilley, principal planner at consultants Cato Bolam. Those consultants lodged the consent application documents for renewed air discharge permits.

Notification of the application was deemed necessary because of the contaminants: “Discharge consent is being sought to discharge contaminants into air from the continued operation of an existing intensive poultry farm,” the council summary said.

“The operation can raise up to 415,200 chicks in 10 large sheds located in two groups of five sheds in the central and northern part of the site. D B Chicks operate under a range of consents, including air discharge consent,” a document said.

It seeks a renewal of that air discharge consent to continue the operation of the poultry farm at the existing levels.

The application was lodged six months before its existing consent lapsed.

Asked about how many birds were in the spaces provided, one document lodged with the application said: “Currently the maximum bird stocking density is 18.3 birds per square metre and 38kg per square metre. The current New Zealand Code of Welfare for Meat Chickens has a maximum density of 38kg/m2 . Therefore, the stocking density will not increase in the future.”

Tegel’s involvement in the operation was also cited.

“Tegel is constantly improving the minimum shed standards and bird health criteria. Environmental effects are also considered as a part of Tegel’s continuous improvement plans. For example, Tegel has recently added the requirement for DB Chicks to measure ammonia levels within the shed with a handheld unit. The eight older sheds on the ... farm are also being upgraded to Tegel shed standard,” the document sent to the council said.

Each farm has a diesel-fired backup power generator which is only if there is a power outage, it said. Those sheds have to be fitted with an automated ventilation system to optimise the temperature and humidity levels.

In December 2019, the Herald reported how about 180,000 chickens on the farm that supplied Tegel died of suffocation after a power cut. The animals died at the same D B Chicks operation near Helensville in late November that year. The Ministry for Primary Industries investigated.

And 16 months after the animals died, the Herald reported the case was referred to prosecutors. But in 2021, it was reported that there would be no prosecution.

“The deaths were caused by an electrical failure of equipment providing ventilation to a large chicken shed,” MPI director of compliance Gary Orr said. “The person in charge of the animals took steps to maintain that equipment and the Crown Solicitor advised this provided a defence to potential charges under the Animal Welfare Act.”

The Ministry for Primary Industries told the Herald that after taking advice from the Crown Solicitor, it would not pursue prosecution after the broiler farm deaths.

Marcel Rodriguez Ferrere, an animal law expert, said the tragedy was “the biggest mass death” in New Zealand history.

Companies Office records show D B Chicks 2014 directors are Eltham farmer Murray Prankerd and Blair Robinson of Ashburton.

Comment was sought from D B Chicks via their planners about the latest consent application and the deaths in 2019 but no response was received.

The assessment of environmental effects lodged for the air discharge is now on the council’s website for everyone to see, with submissions open until July 31.

* Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, having won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.