HEKA incubators have repeatedly been the first choice since 1986 for hobby breeders as well as professional commercial and pedigree poultry keepers who value the best possible breeding results in terms of both quantity and quality.
As a result, there is now at least one HEKA incubator in almost every larger zoo in Germany and in many zoos throughout Europe. In some cases, new requirements are also brought to us, which we are always happy to address. The development of our plastic rearing boxes, for example, was prompted by a request from Walsrode Bird Park. Together, we developed the desired product, which subsequently also became very popular with private and professional pedigree poultry breeders – contrary to our expectations, which had been modest because of the high price. The product, however, speaks for itself.
The development of our laboratory unit followed a similar path. We developed it together with and for Prof. Dr. Schusser of the Technical University of Munich / WZW Weihenstephan. Interestingly, at the same time he was working with several laboratories commissioned by Lohmann, which were also using our incubators, on sex determination in the hatching egg – and both came to positive results at almost the same time. These developments are set to revolutionize commercial poultry farming and large-scale hatcheries in connection with the issue of chick culling. This and other units, mostly from the "HEKA Favorit-Olymp" series, can now be found at almost every German university in at least one specialist department. Typical fields of application include biology (microbiology, virology, veterinary medicine, animal physiology, animal welfare, behavioral research, biology education and general zoology) and agricultural sciences, as well as more unusual fields such as medical engineering, anatomy, pathology, forensics, trauma surgery and infectious medicine/zoonoses. The well-known federal institutes also use our equipment. One case that gave us particular pleasure a few years ago was when the Australian government successfully hatched an endangered species by artificial incubation for the first time using our equipment (HEKA Favorit-Olymp 2200), after years of unsuccessful attempts with equipment from other manufacturers.
The most extraordinary project of all is currently underway in a major US laboratory (Colossal): the 3.5-metre-tall flightless bird "Moa", which became extinct in New Zealand in the 14th century, is to be brought back to life – naturally with a three-digit number of HEKA incubators and rearing boxes. Initial successes have been achieved – more information and footage can be found here:
Ntv article (German):
https://www.n-tv.de/wissen/Kuenstliches-Ei-soll-ausgestorbenen-Riesen-Vogel-zurueckbringen-id30848642.html
YouTube video from the US laboratory Colossal (English):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmsXdWSOK-k
These are the "special highlights" that we encounter from time to time and that are fascinating because they reveal new applications. Of course, however, our main customers are hobby poultry keepers, professional pedigree poultry breeders and smaller (organic) poultry farms. You certainly do not need an advanced academic background to achieve excellent hatching results with our HEKA incubators. Our operating instructions are clear and easy to understand – and because our business depends on having 99.9% satisfied customers, we are always there for you after your purchase as well if you have any questions or problems.
