Case study: Couvoir Scott accelerates hatchery operations with WingScan

For Sébastien Morin, General Manager of Couvoir Scott, a family-run hatchery in Quebec, Canada, automation has become central to supporting growth and protecting delivery schedules.

As broiler hatcheries look to increase output and manage ongoing labor challenges, TARGAN’s WingScan™ has transformed a critical stage of Couvoir Scott’s production by delivering greater speed, consistency and predictability.

Preparing a four-generation poultry business for growth

The company’s roots in poultry go back nearly a century. The Grégoire-Morin family has been involved in the poultry industry for four generations and that history is still visible in the family archives. “We found newspaper advertisements from 1931 where my great-grandfather, Joseph Grégoire, was already selling day-old chicks,” said Morin.

The business now operates one broiler hatchery in Scott, Quebec, producing approximately one million day-old chicks per week. With planned investments expected to increase capacity to 1.5 million chicks per week within the next five years, Couvoir Scott is building on its long-standing poultry heritage while preparing for a significant new phase of growth.

The challenge: growing volume and a shrinking pool of skilled workers

Before installing WingScan, Couvoir Scott relied on manual feather sexing and had planned to expand from a 16-position carousel to a 30-position manual sexing table. But as sales increased, recruiting enough skilled chick sexers became more difficult, and manual capacity was affecting production speed and delivery schedules.

“We started looking for an automated solution because our sales volume was increasing, and it was becoming more difficult to recruit enough skilled people to perform chick sexing,” said Morin.

Making automated sexing accessible at scale

WingScan became available while Couvoir Scott was planning its new hatchery, giving the business an opportunity to move directly to an automated model that could support higher volumes, more consistent performance and future growth.

“We chose WingScan because TARGAN was the first company to successfully commercialize this technology,” said Morin. “After visiting their facilities, I was confident in the solution and signed the contract shortly afterward.”

WingScan has been operating at Couvoir Scott since April 2026. Morin said installation was quick and professional, with well-organized training and strong on-site support from experienced technicians.

Doubling average throughput and finishing before noon

The impact on throughput has been significant:

• Maximum sexing capacity increased from approximately 32,000 chicks per hour to an average of around 65,000 chicks per hour
• Throughput can reach up to 85,000 chicks per hour when flock hatchability is optimal
• Sexing is completed in about four hours, even on the busiest production days
• Chicks are ready for shipment before noon
• Couvoir Scott is producing more chicks with approximately the same number of employees, and slightly fewer in some areas

“Today, we produce more chicks with approximately the same number of employees” said Morin. “Some employees who also wanted to retire were able to, thanks to WingScan.”

Improving delivery reliability and driver schedules

The benefits extend beyond the hatchery floor. Before automation, delays in sexing could affect delivery schedules and sometimes required the team to notify customers that chicks would be late.

With WingScan, processing speed is consistent every day. Trucks now arrive to find chicks ready for loading, while drivers can leave earlier, make longer trips and still return for a second delivery in the afternoon.

Customers have said they have noticed the operational improvement. According to Morin, they mainly appreciate the faster and more consistent deliveries.

Greater consistency in the sexing process

WingScan has also improved the quality and consistency of Couvoir Scott’s sexing process, reducing the hatchery’s sexing error rate by approximately 2% compared with manual sexing. Morin described WingScan as a relatively gentle process that integrates well into a fully automated production line, with no significant impact observed on chick welfare or mortality.

A game changer for broiler hatchery efficiency

For Couvoir Scott, WingScan has delivered a clear operational shift: faster sexing, more predictable production, earlier deliveries and improved consistency, all while supporting the hatchery’s growth plans. Just as importantly, it shows how automated sexing can make a high-value production strategy more practical and accessible for hatcheries looking to improve efficiency from hatchery to farm to plant.

“WingScan is a game changer for improving efficiency in broiler hatchery production,” said Morin. “I have already recommended it to other hatcheries in Quebec. We were the first hatchery in the province to sign a contract for WingScan.”

Looking ahead, Morin believes automation will be essential for maintaining hatchery competitiveness and efficiency. For growing hatcheries, WingScan demonstrates how automated sexing can turn a specialized process into a scalable source of operational and commercial value.