After farmer Wolfgang Kaltenberger and his wife Katharina took over their parents' farm in Weitersfelden in 2016 and built their first chicken coop in 2017, the second construction project for the family now followed.
In mid-April 2020, the earthworks for the pre-fattening house began. Since late summer 2020, up to 9,600 chicks have been growing up in the new building before they later move into the chicken coop. To ensure that the animals have ideal conditions and the farm can operate efficiently, the Kaltenberger family opted for systems from Uponor, first and foremost a concrete-integrated panel heating system.

Animal welfare and time saving

 "We have already had good experience with a panel heating system integrated into the floor slab in the existing chicken coop," says Wolfgang Kaltenberger. One of the main advantages of panel heating is animal health: with panel heating, the required temperatures can be achieved much more precisely than with conventional fan heaters. In addition, warm feet prevent foot diseases, to which poultry are very susceptible. On the other hand, the farm benefits from the fact that the bedded straw on the floor always remains dry and does not have to be replaced as often. "This saves us a lot of work," emphasizes the farmer.

Special heating system for industrial areas

 When it came to selecting the product for the floor heating. The pipes are laid at intervals of 15 centimeters over 400 square meters of barn area, which adds up to 2,700 linear meters. Two Uponor Vario PLUS heating manifolds, each with eight heating circuits, provide even heat. Thanks to the modular design, these distributors made of fiber-reinforced plastic can be adapted to a wide range of installation conditions and can be installed quickly with virtually no tools. Uponor technology is also present in new buildings beyond floor heating. An 80 meter long Uponor Ecoflex Thermo Twin pipe connects the underfloor heating with the heat generator, i.e. the wood chip heating in the machine hall. It combines the supply and return lines in one pipe.

From planning to implementation

Last but not least, the drinking water is also transported by Uponor systems; this task is performed by multi-layer pipes Uponor Uni Pipe PLUS with the S-Press PLUS fitting system. "Chickens are one of the few animals that require water of drinking quality, and with Uponor I know that I can rely one hundred percent on its hygienic provision," explains the client. The same type of pipes is used for the drinking water installation in the technical room. In the summer of 2020, the time had come: With the commissioning of the pre-fattening barn, the family was able to open a new chapter in the history of their organic farm.