Meeting the market requirements is the central aim for LOHMANN GB as it eyes further expansion.


In November 2012, LOHMANN GB hatched its 100 millionth chick at the Millennium Hatchery near Henley-in-Arden. Formed as a partnership between Poultry First (formerly Ross Poultry) and LOHMANN TIERZUCHT in 2001, the company had sole responsibility for marketing LOHMANN layers in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.


LOHMANN GB‘s Managing Director Mr. David Scott

In 2008, Poultry First’s shares in LOHMANN GB were bought out by its current director, Mr. David Scott. The result was a more integrated layer production and distribution outfit.

At that stage, the company’s two main breeds, the LOHMANN BROWN-CLASSIC and the LOHMANN BROWN-LITE, enjoyed a 27 % share in the UK market with 8.4 million day-old chicks sold that year. This year, LOHMANN GB will have a market share of 40 %, selling 12.8 million day-old chicks. “This sales growth is a reflection of our birds and the level of technical support we offer our customers”, according to Mr. David Scott. “None of our field staff are salesmen as such, they all come from production backgrounds.”

“LOHMANN birds offer both shell quality and persistency”, says Mr. David Scott. “Maximising the number of saleable eggs is our mantra, not just maximising the total number of eggs. So shell quality really is the key.”

Over the past four years, there has been a steady growth in the sales of LOHMANN BROWN-LITEs. “The LOHMANN BROWNLITE was introduced in 2008 with the aim of supplying medium eggs to the colony market,” says Mr. David Scott. “But the breed has been popular on free-range units too, and now over a third of our chick sales are that of LOHMANN BROWN-LITEs.” This fits the current market requirement with more demand to value and medium eggs.


Presentations during Road Tour 100.000.000 DOC by LOHMANN GB and LOHMANN TIERZUCHT

All LOHMANN GB birds come in as day-old parent stocks, having been hatched from grandparent stocks by LOHMANN TIERZUCHT in Cuxhaven. They are placed on breeding farms throughout the Midlands and Southern England, some rented, some owned and some on contract. “Having a mix of farms gives us flexibility. If order volumes change, it is easier to make adjustments on our own breeder units”. The fertile eggs are then transported to the Millennium Hatchery where LOHMANN GB has a custom-hatch agreement. The day-old chicks are dispatched to commercial layer units, having been infrared beak treated and vaccinated for Infectious Bronchitis and Marek’s disease. Nowadays, LOHMANN GB operates as a franchise for LOHMANN TIERZUCHT, covering the whole of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Pieter-Jan Luykx