Where the chickens rule.

Today the family’s third and fourth generation works together.

The Lafaut Hatchery started as a reproduction company, established a long time ago by great-grandfather Gerard Lafaut, in Bruges, Belgium. It was his son Azair’s dream to hatch the eggs of his father’s chickens. In 1969 he opened a hatchery in Beselare (BE) on a piece of land owned by his father. Distinguished by its premium quality chicks, the hatchery opened a second establishment in the French town of Hondschoote, near the Belgian border. Today, the Hondschoote establishment that was founded by Azair and his son Koen, is the parent enterprise.

Even now, Lafaut Hatchery still is a family business. Koen Lafaut uses all of his passion to manage the hatchery in a smooth way. He works hard and is open to opportunities. He focuses on quality and moreover, he takes time to listen. Since 2018, Koen’s son Maxim learns the finer business details from his father, and he seems to have inherited his (great-)(grand)father’s hatching genes.

Key values

The three cornerstones of Lafaut Hatchery:

• Quality: Through the years Lafaut Hatchery developed a reputation for quality; both in Belgium and abroad. Lafaut works with Ross en Cobb broilers which are internationally renowned for their permanent constant performance. It is Hatchery Lafaut’s permanent goal to have premium quality chicks.
• Familiarity: Every morning, Koen Lafaut works in the production hall amongst his employees. He wants to be in touch with his product and his team. At Lafaut’s they really understand the fact that managing a company is team-work. This human factor is therefore one of the greatest assets of the family business. Thanks to the warm and friendly atmosphere everyone really feels at home here.
• Innovation: Lafaut Hatchery connects innovation and product improvement. Through the permanent investment in new technologies, Lafaut constantly wants to improve the customer satisfaction but also the animal welfare. An actual example thereof is the investment made with the purchase of Petersime incubators. Those machines are equipped with sensors that closely monitor the eggs during the breeding process, in order to have as many, and as much identical chicks as possible. This means that the chick’s quality can be maintained at a high level. Recently, the company invested in air-conditioned trucks, which promotes both the well-being and the quality of the chicks.