Fine dust from manure and feathers can be unhealthy and cause so-called pigeon fancier's lung. Poultry farmers with aviary systems in particular are at risk. FFP2/FFP3 dust masks are not really sufficient. That is why Paul and Maria Geens' poultry farm Marpa in Hoogstraten (Flanders) uses Arbin Kite airhoods, which offer a much higher level of protection.
In the middle of a beautiful Kempen farming landscape between Hoogstraten and its sub-municipality Wortel, we found the modern and sustainable laying-hen farm Marpa and spoke with poultry farmer Paul Geens and with Jarno Lambreghts of Arbin Safety Products. Geens has 170,000 laying hens: 110,000 at the main site in Hoogstraten and 60,000 in Rijkevorsel. He has both brown (the majority) and white hens. "My parents had a farm in Hoogstraten with dairy cattle and poultry," says Geens (58). "That business was continued by my brother. I started here from scratch in 1993 with 60,000 caged hens. In 2004 everything went on lockdown. I then built a free-range barn for 20,000 hens. In 2012 we converted the cage barn into a free-range one." In 2016 a free-range barn for 58,000 hens was built across the street and in 2016 a free-range barn for 60,000 hens was built in Rijkevorsel. Although all hens at Marpa enjoy free range, two barns are currently kept indoors due to the more difficult sales of free-range eggs caused by avian flu. At Marpa, in addition to Paul Geens and his wife Maria, four other people are employed.
Many masks tested
As a true professional, Geens also thinks about his own health and that of his people. "We used to wear ordinary dust masks, but we heard from various sources that those are not enough because there is so much more dust with free range," says Geens. "So I started looking, mainly on the internet, and we tried out several. Some seemed good at first but ultimately didn't meet our needs. We finally came across Arbin and since 2021 we have been using the Arbin Kite airhoods. We always wear them when we enter the barn, for example for inspections. For cleaning the barns we use another model with a long hose strapped around the body," says Geens.
When we entered the barn with Geens — masked, of course — the dust was immediately noticeable, as is always the case with free range. But that says nothing yet about how harmful that dust is. It is mainly the proteins from feathers and dried hen droppings that are harmful. They cause pigeon fancier's lung, in proper medical terms 'extrinsic allergic alveolitis'. Measurements in test barns have shown that dust concentrations are much higher in aviary barns than in cage barns. Regularly removing litter reduces the coarse dust, but the fine dust particles remain.
According to Jarno Lambreghts, the Arbin Kite airhoods offer the highest protection. Geens confirms this. The airhoods are powered systems with a motor unit and a filter, so the wearer does not feel any resistance from the filter. In addition to a high level of protection, it provides a cooling flow of fresh air inside the mask. The mask does not hinder the wearer in his work, even when that work takes a lot of time.