Many good points raised about them for the chicks.
From a usability standpoint,
I watched an employee try to fish easter egger chicks out of there for a customer yesterday and it was ridiculous. The tower was too deep for the employee to be able to reach the back parts, especially at the awkward half bent over angle. They had the buyer hold the box, were crouched over some (this was a level of the tower at about chest height of the employee) and then had a feed scoop duct taped to a wood stick, using the stick and scoop to herd/scoop chicks up to the front half where the employee could grab them. The buyer wanted certain color chicks, and it was a disaster for the employee trying to get the right ones.
I like the principle of the infrared plate instead of red heat lamps, since its a lot easier to see the chick's color and know what you are getting without the red light (implementation not as good, but idea is nice).
Its also handy they don't put 2+ breeds in one bin anymore, so you don't have to sort out who is who (or rely on a high schooler employee being knowledgeable enough to do so). It is much easier to get a good look at the chicks in the towers than it was in the bins. However, the bins it was easier to point out a specific chick and have the employee catch it since you could track it from above, in the tower that doesn't work so well.
From a usability standpoint,
I watched an employee try to fish easter egger chicks out of there for a customer yesterday and it was ridiculous. The tower was too deep for the employee to be able to reach the back parts, especially at the awkward half bent over angle. They had the buyer hold the box, were crouched over some (this was a level of the tower at about chest height of the employee) and then had a feed scoop duct taped to a wood stick, using the stick and scoop to herd/scoop chicks up to the front half where the employee could grab them. The buyer wanted certain color chicks, and it was a disaster for the employee trying to get the right ones.
I like the principle of the infrared plate instead of red heat lamps, since its a lot easier to see the chick's color and know what you are getting without the red light (implementation not as good, but idea is nice).
Its also handy they don't put 2+ breeds in one bin anymore, so you don't have to sort out who is who (or rely on a high schooler employee being knowledgeable enough to do so). It is much easier to get a good look at the chicks in the towers than it was in the bins. However, the bins it was easier to point out a specific chick and have the employee catch it since you could track it from above, in the tower that doesn't work so well.
