Founded by Sarah Last and Eleanor Toulman, Mimictec have developed the PeckTec© system to direct the natural pecking behaviour of chicks, encouraging them to eat and drink earlier and more often.
Joining the Accelerator in 2017, the team developed their patented PeckTec© product that clips onto feeders and drinkers in commercial poultry sheds and is designed to improve the feed use efficiency, weight gain variation and welfare of commercial meat chickens.
To support their growth the startup has raised a successful funding round of $450,000, with over half of this coming from Scale Angel Investors, a fund that invests in companies that have at least one female founder.
Sarah studied Science at The University of Melbourne, majoring in animal health science before realising her dream to study Veterinary Medicine. Through her studies and personal experience understanding the behaviour of exotic birds she created the concept behind the PeckTec product - that birds do better when reared in an environment of maternal care. Understanding that there are solid welfare and practical reasons to separate young chicks from adult hens in a commercial environment, she began work to artificially replicate the core features of maternal care in a system practical to modern day farming. To further develop this product, Sarah transfering from the Veterinary Medicine degree into the Master of Entrepreneurship program in 2016, also at the University of Melbourne and as part of the Wade Institute. There she met fellow co-founder Eleanor Toulmin and together they have developed the PeckTec system from early proof of concept devices to a full commercial system. Sarah has skills and insights are in the agriculture and science sphere and also in prototype development, product development and IP strategy.
