Hatchery Management

in

Southern Africa

Compiled by Alan Saunders

This material is owned by the South African Poultry Association and it’s intended purpose is to provide farmers with relevant
information on production practises. Under no circumstances may this material be used for commercial gain.
 Introduction
The majority of chicks produced in South Africa are hatched in modern hatcheries which
need to be managed and operated at a very high level of technical skill. Modern breeds
require different approaches to incubation compared to breeds which were known two to
three decades ago. The ever increasing genetic pressure on both the broiler and commercial
layer has not only impacted on the commercial performance of the bird. It has also resulted
in changes in the approach to incubation of these breeds.
A sound knowledge of equipment, incubation systems, the functioning thereof as well as
good technical knowledge of embryonic development and all interacting factors, is a
prerequisite to the production of quality and disease free day old chicks.
This book shares my experiences and knowledge of hatchery management under Southern
African conditions. It forms part of a series of books on poultry management and housing
which are available from the address below.
The text should be read in conjunction with many manuals available for specific incubators as
well as equipment manuals specific to such equipment. This book is a guide to methods of
managing commercial broiler and layer chick hatcheries and contains written text as well as
photographic illustration. I am indebted to many incubator supply companies as well as day
old chick supply companies and breeders who serve the local egg and broiler producer and
who have assisted in supplying photos for this book.
Alan Saunders
Stellenbosch

2
Disclaimer
The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein.
Appropriate information sources should be consulted, especially for new or unfamiliar
procedures. The author cannot be held responsible for any typographical or other errors
found in this application. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use
of information contained herein.

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 Contents
1 Chick Hatcheries ..........................................................................................................7
1.1 Basic Requirement of Hatcheries ..........................................................................7
1.1.1 Location ........................................................................................................ 7
1.1.2 Floor Plan and Construction ......................................................................... 7
1.1.2.1 Rectangular Floor Plan ...........................................................................8
1.1.2.2 T-shaped Design .....................................................................................9
1.1.3 Water Supply ................................................................................................ 9
1.1.3.1 Water Temperature .................................................................................9
1.1.3.2 Water Pressure ......................................................................................10
1.1.3.3 Water Quality .......................................................................................10
1.1.3.4 Volume of Water ..................................................................................10
1.1.4 Staff ............................................................................................................. 10
1.2 Hatchery Buildings ..............................................................................................11
1.2.1 Egg Receiving, Handling and Storage Rooms ............................................ 11
1.2.2 Fumigation and Pre-Heating Room ............................................................ 12
1.2.3 Setter Room ................................................................................................ 13
1.2.4 Hatcher Room ............................................................................................. 13
1.2.5 Chick Take-off, Handling and Holding Room ........................................... 14
1.2.6 Waste Disposal, Wash Bay and Trolley Storage ........................................ 15
1.2.7 Chemical and Vaccine Storage ................................................................... 15
1.2.8 Machine and Electrical Control Rooms ...................................................... 16
1.2.9 Workshop and Spares ................................................................................. 16
1.2.10 Offices and Staff Ablution .......................................................................... 16
1.2.11 Connecting Passages and Doors ................................................................. 16
1.3 Hatchery Floor and Drains ..................................................................................17
1.4 Ventilation ...........................................................................................................18
1.4.1 Environmental Requirement ....................................................................... 18
1.4.2 Air Supply and Flow ................................................................................... 18
1.4.3 Exhaust Airflow .......................................................................................... 20
1.4.4 Conditioning of the Air ............................................................................... 21
1.5 Incubators ............................................................................................................22
1.5.1 Multi-Stage Setters...................................................................................... 22
1.5.1.1 Fixed Rack Setters ................................................................................22
1.5.1.2 Trolley Setter ........................................................................................23
1.5.2 Single-stage Setters ..................................................................................... 24
1.5.3 Hatchers Machines ...................................................................................... 25
1.6 Ancillary Equipment ...........................................................................................25
1.6.1 Egg Transfer Machine................................................................................. 25
1.6.2 Chick Take-off ............................................................................................ 26
1.6.3 Infrared Beak Trimming ............................................................................. 26
1.6.4 Other Ancillary Equipment ......................................................................... 27
2 Biosecurity and Hygiene Control...............................................................................28
2.1 Biosecurity Program ............................................................................................28
2.2 Disease Risk ........................................................................................................29
2.2.1 Bacterial Infection ....................................................................................... 29
2.2.1.1 Omphalitis ............................................................................................29

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 2.2.1.2 Salmonella Infection .............................................................................29
2.2.2 Fungal Infection .......................................................................................... 29
2.2.3 Vertical Transmitted Disease ...................................................................... 30
2.3 Chemical Disinfectants .......................................................................................30
2.3.1 Phenols ........................................................................................................ 31
2.3.2 Oxidising Agents ........................................................................................ 31
2.3.3 Iodine .......................................................................................................... 32
2.3.4 Chlorine....................................................................................................... 32
2.3.5 Quaternary Ammonium .............................................................................. 32
2.3.6 Formaldehyde ............................................................................................. 32
2.4 Monitoring Hatchery Hygiene ............................................................................33
3 Development of the Chick Embryo ...........................................................................34
3.1 The Chicken Egg .................................................................................................34
3.1.1 The Shell ..................................................................................................... 34
3.1.2 The Shell Membranes ................................................................................. 34
3.1.3 The Albumen .............................................................................................. 35
3.1.4 The Yolk ..................................................................................................... 35
3.1.5 Egg Shell Strength ...................................................................................... 36
3.1.6 Microbial Contamination ............................................................................ 36
3.2 Early Embryonic Development ...........................................................................36
3.3 Fertility ................................................................................................................37
3.3.1 Male Fertility .............................................................................................. 38
3.3.2 Other Factors affecting Fertility.................................................................. 39
3.4 Embryonic Development during Incubation .......................................................39
3.4.1 Yolk Sac ...................................................................................................... 39
3.4.2 Amnion ....................................................................................................... 39
3.4.3 Allantois ...................................................................................................... 40
3.4.4 Chorion ....................................................................................................... 40
3.4.5 Development of the Embryo ....................................................................... 40
4 Chick Incubation ........................................................................................................46
4.1 Hatching Eggs .....................................................................................................46
4.1.1 Transportation of Hatching Eggs ................................................................ 46
4.1.2 Egg Size ...................................................................................................... 47
4.1.3 Egg Shell Quality ........................................................................................ 47
4.1.4 Shell Contamination.................................................................................... 48
4.1.5 Egg Age ...................................................................................................... 48
4.2 Hatching Egg Storage..........................................................................................48
4.2.1 Egg Holding Room Temperature ................................................................ 49
4.2.2 Egg Holding Room Humidity ..................................................................... 49
4.2.3 Moisture Condensation on Shell Surface .................................................... 50
4.2.4 Positioning and Turning of Hatching Eggs during Storage ........................ 50
4.2.5 Pre-storage Incubation ................................................................................ 50
4.2.6 Pre-heating and fumigation of hatching eggs ............................................. 51
4.3 Incubation Process...............................................................................................52
4.3.1 Temperature Requirement .......................................................................... 52
4.3.2 Relative Humidity Requirement ................................................................. 53
4.3.3 Air Supply Requirement ............................................................................. 54
4.3.4 Hatching at Altitude .................................................................................... 55
4.3.5 Turning ........................................................................................................ 56
4.3.6 Egg Transfer to Hatchers ............................................................................ 56

5
 4.4 Candling of eggs at transfer ................................................................................57
4.5 Analyses of Hatch Results...................................................................................57
4.5.1 Determination of Fertility and Embryo Mortality ...................................... 58
4.5.1.1 Fresh Egg Breakout ..............................................................................58
4.5.1.2 Candling Breakout ................................................................................58
4.5.1.3 Hatch Debris Breakout .........................................................................60
4.5.2 Weight Loss during Incubation ................................................................... 61
4.5.3 Embryonic Temperature during Incubation ................................................ 62
5 Chick handling and Quality .......................................................................................63
5.1 Removal of Chicks from the Machines ...............................................................63
5.2 Chick Quality ......................................................................................................64
5.3 Sexing of chicks ..................................................................................................64
5.3.1 Vent Sexing................................................................................................. 65
5.3.2 Feather Sexing ............................................................................................ 65
5.3.3 Colour Sexing ............................................................................................. 66
5.4 Vaccination of Chicks .........................................................................................66
5.5 Morphological Alteration of Chicks ...................................................................67
5.5.1 Dubbing of Breeder Males .......................................................................... 67
5.5.2 De-Spurring and Toe Cutting of Breeder Males ......................................... 68
5.6 Chick Holding and Transport ..............................................................................68
5.7 Chick Temperature ..............................................................................................69
6 Trouble Shooting .......................................................................................................71
6.1 Normal Embryonic Mortality ..............................................................................71
6.2 Embryonic Mortality during First Week of Incubation ......................................71
6.3 Embryonic Mortality during Second Week of Incubation ..................................72
6.4 Embryonic Mortality during the Third Week of Incubation ...............................72
6.5 Malposition..........................................................................................................72
6.6 Specific Problems ................................................................................................73

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1 Chick Hatcheries
The day old chick hatchery forms an important link between hatching egg supply farms and
commercial production farms. Not only is there a large amount of contact made with egg
supply and commercial farms but also as a result of the fact that the hatchery is central in the
production chain, any problems that may be encountered in the hatchery could have
significant consequences, be it an integrated production business or a hatchery supplying day
old chicks to the industry at large.
The hatchery building and equipment used within the building are highly specialized with
unique environmental and hygiene requirement. A large amount of live biological material in
the form of eggs, chicks and hatchery waste is handled daily. The environmental conditions
that are created in the hatchery are also conducive for the development and growth of harmful
micro-organisms, which may be spread to commercial farms as well as back to the hatching
egg supply farms.
The chick hatchery has to be planned with the view to the production of quality day old
chicks which are healthy and disease free.

1.1 Basic Requirement of Hatcheries

The chick hatchery forms an important link between hatching egg supply farms and rearing
farms. Three basic types of chick hatcheries exist:
 Broiler chick hatcheries produce large numbers of chicks destined to be reared for
their meat production qualities. In some of these hatcheries chick sexing through
feather sexing may be carried out and vaccination, if required, is usually confined to
spray vaccination.
 Layer chick hatcheries are more labour intensive and will require chick sexing by
colour or feather sexing as well as Mareks and possibly other vaccination to be
performed. Unwanted male chicks and hatch debris need to be disposed of.
 In parent and breeder chick hatcheries vent and possibly feather sexing of the chicks
will be required and Mareks and possibly other vaccination will be done. Unwanted
male or female chicks depending on the lines being hatched as well as hatch debris
will require disposal.
Each operation will have unique requirements that need to be considered in the design and
sizing of the building.

1.1.1 Location
To assist in the control of disease spread, hatcheries should be well separated from egg
supply farms as well as farms and customers to which the chicks are supplied. On the other
hand, large distances between hatching egg supply farms and chick rearing farms, will result
in high transport cost. A balance therefore needs to be found between an economical distance
and the risk from a disease control point of view.
The availability and reliability of labour, water and electrical supply as well as ease of
disposing of hatchery waste should also be considered.

1.1.2 Floor Plan and Construction

Control of the flow of product through the hatchery building is important in the control of
spreading of pathogens within the hatchery and this needs to be considered in the basic
7
design and floor plan. Hatcheries should be constructed in such a way which ensures that
eggs are taken in at one end, chicks out the other and that there is no back flow of product or
equipment prior to such equipment being cleaned and disinfected.
Common materials used in the construction of hatcheries consist of bricked walls with very
smooth plaster finish which is to be painted and sealed with a durable paint capable of
withstanding large amount of high pressure washing. A second but more expensive option is
to use polyurethane board covered with metal sheeting on both sides. Although more costly,
the panelling is energy efficient, seals very well, is cleaned and sanitized easily and requires
minimal maintenance once erected.
Movement of staff within the building is a further biosecurity consideration, especially during
days when chicks are being hatched and removed from the machines.
The removal of hatchery waste, disposal thereof and the manner in which cleaned equipment
and bins return back into the hatching process should also be considered in the design of the
building.
Adequate controlled ventilation should be provided and the flow of air should be in the
direction of product flow, which is from the clean end (egg receiving end) to the dirty end
(chick dispatch and debris disposal end) of the building.
As a result of a significant volume of wash water being used in cleaning of the hatchery
building and equipment, adequate drains are to be provided. Drains should remove waste
water in the direction of product flow which is from the clean end to the dirty en" of the
building.
Two basic designs of chick hatchery buildings are usually considered.

1.1.2.1 Rectangular Floor Plan

The rectangular design of the building as illustrated in Figure 1.1 below is a basic design
which allows for good utilization of space and work flow. This basic floor plan however
lends itself very poorly to future expansion.
Figure 1.1: Basic rectangular floor plan
Chick Take off

Storage
Egg Room Room Wash Bay Chick Handling

Fumigation Office

Setter Room Hatcher Room Machine

Room
Staff Staff

8
Although the rooms are orientated in a manner which allows for production flow from clean
to dirty areas by means of a central passage way, this design does lack in biosecurity features,
especially in terms of staff movement within the building.
This compact rectangular design of the hatchery building is commonly used in smaller
hatcheries.

1.1.2.2 T-shaped Design

In this building design, the setter and hatcher rooms are located on the side of the building,
with the central area accommodating the areas where egg storage, chick handling and
cleaning will occur. Passage ways are created to ensure movement of equipment and staff
without having to pass through demarcated areas and this improves the application of
biosecurity control measures.
Figure 1.2: T-shaped design

Egg Room

Future Setter Setter Room

Room

Clean Trolley Room

Future Hatcher Wash Bay

Room Hatcher Room

Chick Take off Office

Staff

Chick Handling and

Storage

This basic design has excellent biosecurity features but as a result of more passages
separating the rooms the initial building costs will be higher.
If cognisance of possible future expansion is taken in the initial planning, this design lends
itself very well to future expansion without major disruption to ongoing production.

1.1.3 Water Supply

Water is required in fairly large volumes for sanitation as well as cooling of air (evaporative
cooling) and humidification of machines and machine rooms or lobbies. Cold water supply
from water chillers is also required in most modern machines for cooling purposes. Adequate
supply of clean water (chemical as well as bacterial) with a neutral pH is therefore essential.

1.1.3.1 Water Temperature

Most modern incubators make use of water in a closed reticulation system through copper
tubes to assist in cooling. The installation of a water chiller to maintain water at around 13 to
15 °C in larger hatcheries will be justified. Water is circulated within the closed system and
the system will provide for the opportunity to adjust water temperature to best satisfy the
requirement of a particular circumstance. The water lines to the machines should be well
insulated to prevent condensation and dripping.

9
Water which is used for humidification of machines and hatchery rooms or lobbies should be
around normal room temperature of 25 to 26°C.
For hatchery sanitation, water at normal room temperature will be adequate but the supply of
hot water (50 to 60°C) in areas where much debris accumulates and washing is done will
assist in speeding up and improving the sanitation process and possible saving on chemicals
used in the long run.

1.1.3.2 Water Pressure

The water pressure required for cooling coils would depend on the specific machine type but
in most instances it is in the order of 2.5 to 3.0 bar.
Most machines require a slightly higher water pressure for the humidification nozzles (4.0 to
5 bar).
The water pressure for sanitation should be high and most high pressure low volume pumps
used in the cleaning and disinfecting of hatchery equipment operate at a pressure of 100 to
120 bar.

1.1.3.3 Water Quality

Water with high mineral content will soon block humidification and spray nozzles. The
installation of a water filtration and treatment plant may need to be considered, especially
where borehole water is being used.
The use of river and open dam water for hatcheries can only be considered with great caution
if a reliable water treatment and filtration plant is installed.

1.1.3.4 Volume of Water

The volume of water required will depend on the machine type and size of the hatchery and
needs to be checked and verified with the supplier of the incubators.
It is advisable to size the supply lines based on simultaneous operation and combined demand
of all applicable equipment and usage.

1.1.4 Staff
The staff that will be required will depend on the type of hatchery (broiler production,
commercial layer chick production or parent chick production) as well as the extent of
automation. Areas where most labour is required include the process of preparing eggs to be
set, tray over of eggs from setter to hatcher machines as well as the process of chick take off,
chick grading, sexing and boxing and cleaning of machines and equipment during this
process.
It is best to consult with the suppliers of equipment in this regard as each application will
have its own set of labour requirement and circumstance. The number of days that chicks
will be hatched during the week will also determine labour requirement. Chicks may be
hatched either four times per week, twice per week or only once per week. This results in a
considerable fluctuation in the amount of labour required on a daily basis.
It is also common to have chicks removed from the machines as early as possible on the day
of hatching to ensure that chicks are dispatched or transported to farms as early as possible.
This will result in setting of eggs at night and removal of chicks from the hatchers during
very early hours of the morning.

10
1.2 Hatchery Buildings
It is not possible to put forward a hatchery design that will suit all circumstances as they
differ widely. Most suppliers of incubator machines have standard design plans which can be
used and modified to suit requirements.
The building will consist of various major areas grouped as follows:
 Egg receiving, handling and storage
 Fumigation and preheating room
 Setter rooms
 Hatcher rooms
 Chick take-off, holding room and dispatch
 Cleaning area
 Chemical and vaccine storage
 Machine and electrical control room
 Workshop and spares
 Offices and staff area
 Connecting passages

1.2.1 Egg Receiving, Handling and Storage Rooms

No fixed rule can be applied to determine the size of the egg room but consideration should
be given to the following points:
 The cold room should be large enough to provide for storage of eggs ready to be set.
Sufficient space between trolleys and walls (15cm) as well as between trolleys for
free air movement during storage should be allowed for
 In most instances, sufficient storage space for 5 to 7 days stock will be considered,
depending on the frequency of supply from hatching egg supply farms. This could be
longer for commercial layer and parent hatcheries where hatching is not as regular as
for example in the case of broiler chicks hatcheries
 The storage area should be large enough to ensure easy rotation of stock (first in, first
out)
 The manner in which eggs are transferred from the breeder farms and the need to
grade and transfer eggs onto machine trolleys will determine the additional space
required to carry out this work. In many instances, eggs are collected direct onto
setter trays and trolleys on the farm which requires very little additional handling at
the hatchery other than to possibly transfer the setter trays holding the eggs onto
machine trolleys. Eggs may also be received in cartons and pulp trays, requiring
transfer onto setter trays at the hatchery which requires additional space
 If eggs are to be sanitized rather than fumigated at the hatchery, an area for the
sanitizing machine must be provided for but then the fumigation room may be omitted

11
 Example of a hatchery egg holding room

1.2.2 Fumigation and Pre-Heating Room

The fumigation and preheating room should be located close to the egg storage room and
normally connects the egg room to the setter room or passage.
When single stage machines are used, this room may be omitted as in single stage setters
preheating can be done in the machine cabinet at setting. A fumigation room may however
still be required to fumigate eggs upon receipt at the hatchery.
The fumigation and preheating room should be large enough to take one full setting of
trolleys and in particular, sufficient space between trolleys as well as between trolleys and the
wall should be allowed (15 to 20 cm) for good circulation of air. The design of the room and
positioning of circulating fans should such that air is forced through the entire setting (all
trolleys) to ensure that all eggs are exposed to the warm air as well as the fumigant.
The room will be equipped with air circulating fans and heating elements, heating pan for
fumigation, extraction fan and controls. An illustration of positioning of the air circulating
fans, heater elements and trolleys for good air circulation is presented in Figure 1.3.
Figure 1.3: Diagram of a fumigation and pre-heating room

Extraction fan

Circulating fan with

heating element

Trolley with Trolley with

eggs eggs

Heater pan
for fumigant

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1.2.3 Setter Room
The sizing of the setter room will depend on the number and type of setters used. For
example to hatch 120 000 broiler chicks per week over two hatches per week will require 4
multi stage setters, each with a capacity of 108 864 eggs or 24 trolleys holding 4 536 eggs
each.
Calculation:
108 864 ÷ 6 settings = 18 144 eggs/machine (4 trolleys/setting) x 4 = 72 575 eggs per setting
72 575 eggs per setting twice/week = 145 152 eggs per week
@ 83% hatch = 120 476 chicks/week or 60 238 chicks/hatch
This hatchery setter room will therefore have to accommodate 4 such setters.
Some machines require access to the back of the cabinet while others may be installed with
the back and sides flush against the wall. It is however important to allow for sufficient space
in front of the machines (3.0 to 4.0 m between the machine and facing wall or facing row of
setters). This will provide for temporary storage of trolleys and easy manhandling of the
trolleys into and out of the machines. A good ceiling height above the setters should be
provided as this area needs to be kept clean and from time to time maintenance work will be
carried out in the area above the setters.

Example of a setter lobby

1.2.4 Hatcher Room

The sizing of the hatcher room will also depend on the number and type of machines used. In
the example above for the setters hatching 120 000 broiler chicks per week over two hatches
per week, 4 hatchers each with a capacity of 18 144 eggs will be required.
Calculation:
18 144 eggs/hatcher x 4 hatchers = 725 76 eggs/hatch 2 times/week = 145 152 eggs/week
The eggs will be transferred into the hatchers on for example Monday afternoon and Friday
morning for hatching on Thursday morning and Monday morning respectively. At 83%
hatch = 120 276 chicks/week (60 238/hatch)

13
Some machines require access to the back while others may be installed with the back and
sides flush against the wall. The exhaust ventilation system chosen will also affect the size of
the hatcher room. When a plenum chamber is to be used then allowance for this must be
made at the back of the hatcher cabinets (see Ventilation below).
Only hatchers used on the same day of hatching are to be located in the same room. This will
require two or more hatcher rooms so that micro-organisms released during hatching do not
affect eggs of a subsequent hatch. The individual rooms are then completely cleaned and
sanitized before placement of the next hatch, without disrupting other settings.
It is important to allow for sufficient space in front of the machines (3.5 to 4.0 m between the
machine and facing wall or facing row of hatchers). This will provide for sufficient working
area for transfer of eggs from setter trays to hatcher baskets.

Example of hatchers

1.2.5 Chick Take-off, Handling and Holding Room

The chick take off area should be separated from the chick handling and storage area. During
the process of removing chicks from the hatcher baskets, a large amount of fluff and debris is
produced and it is best to keep this away from the staff and chicks being processed and made
ready for shipment. The chick take off room should be large enough to comfortable hold the
chicks from one hatcher, providing for sufficient space between stacks of baskets as well as a
large enough working area.

Placing chicks onto a chick carousel situated in an adjacent chick handling room

14
The size of the chick handling and holding room will depend on the type of hatchery (need
for sexing, vaccination and grading) as well as the frequency with which chicks are
dispatched.
The area in which boxed chicks are to be held should be large enough to allow for sufficient
air movement between stacks. Allow for 20 to 30 cm between stacks of boxed chicks for
good ventilation.

A hatchery chick handling room

1.2.6 Waste Disposal, Wash Bay and Trolley Storage

From the chick take off room, production flow is in three directions. Chicks will flow to the
chick handling room, waste will flow to the waste disposal area and the hatcher baskets and
trolleys will flow to the wash bay.
The waste disposal area, usually outside the building, is required for storage of waste bins
and eventual removal and disposal thereof at the end of the chick take off process. The size
of this area will depend on the number of bins required and this area should be adjacent to the
wash bay to enable bins being returned to the hatchery to be cleaned before re-use.
The wash bay area should be large enough to handle hatcher baskets and trolleys of at least
one hatcher plus sufficient working area, taking into account whether the washing will be
done manually or by use of a tray washer.
It should also be noted that live un-hatched embryos that may have partially pipped but that
are still alive should be disposed of humanely as soon as possible. This is normally done by
passing all of the hatchery waste through a macerator.
The washed hatcher baskets and trolleys will be moved into a drying area/room (trolley
storage room) in which they are stored before being moved back into the hatcher room, after
the latter has been cleaned. The size of this holding room will depend on the working
schedule and should allow for all hatcher baskets in question to be stored as long as it takes
for the hatcher room and machines to be cleaned and disinfected.

1.2.7 Chemical and Vaccine Storage

Hatcheries make use of a large amount of cleaning and sanitising agents and a separate
storage room of adequate size for these products must be allowed for. It is preferable to
locate such storage room close to the pumps and dosing system which will be used for
supplying high pressure water.

15
Likewise all vaccines should be stored in a special room adjacent to the chick handling room.
In this regard Mareks vaccine in the case of parent and commercial layer chick hatcheries is
of special importance. The room should not only allow for an area where the vaccine can be
stored and properly prepared. It should also provide for cleaning and storage of equipment
used in administering such vaccines.

1.2.8 Machine and Electrical Control Rooms

The electrical standby plant and switch gear, air conditioning plant, water chiller, boilers,
high pressure pumps, chemical dosing system, air compressors and all other major fixed
ancillary plant and equipment are usually placed in the machine control area.
This area need not necessarily be enclosed (walled) to allow for sufficient air flow, but should
preferably be under roof.

1.2.9 Workshop and Spares

Due to a large amount of equipment being used in a hatchery and the need to make necessary
repairs as quickly as possible, a well equipped workshop will be of great benefit.
The spares that need to be carried will depend on circumstance and backup service provided
by the equipment suppliers. A high inventory of spares will be costly and should be weighed
up against the risks involved in not having the particular spare part available. It is best to set
up an essential spares list in consultation with equipment suppliers.

1.2.10 Offices and Staff Ablution

For biosecurity reasons, no staff members or visitors should be allowed access to a hatchery
without at least covering private clothes with protective clothing and removal of shoes and
wearing boots or covering shoes with plastic covers.
With disease risks in mind, it is preferable that the hatchery only be accessed after showering
and wearing of clean protective clothing and footwear supplied by the hatchery. Such
ablution facilities should allow for separate male and female showers, with toilet facilities as
well as a common canteen for tea breaks.

1.2.11 Connecting Passages and Doors

Connecting passages allow for proper control of access to the various rooms and it is
essential to ensure that all passages allow for movement of product as well as staff and
equipment in a discipline fashion from "clean" to "dirty" areas within the building. The
passages should furthermore provide for cleaned equipment to be moved back into use after
such equipment has been cleaned, without crossing areas considered to be "dirty".
This is of special importance during hatch days when chicks are being removed from the
hatchers. On such days, no movement from the chick hatching area, back into the egg rooms
and setter areas should be allowed.
Doors connecting the various rooms to the connecting passages should close in a positive
fashion and doors on overhead rollers are popular. The doors should also be large enough to
allow for easy movement of trolleys through the door openings and this should be checked
with the trolleys that will be used in the setter machines.
Impact bumper rails protecting the doors from accidental damage by trolleys should also be
considered.

16
1.3 Hatchery Floor and Drains
The hatchery floor is of extreme importance in efficient hatchery operation. The floor should
be capable of withstanding heavy traffic in the form of eggs on trolleys. Because of a large
volume of water being used for proper sanitation and hygiene control, the slope of the floor
and drainage is a further point to be considered. The direction in which the drainage water
flows should also take into consideration product flow and must always be from clean to the
dirty end of the process and hatchery building. The floor should be sloped to the drainage
and generally a slope of 1 mm per meter is applied in passages, lobbies and other working
rooms. The floors within the machines are to be level and smooth to ensure proper sealing of
the floor with the machine cabinet walls and trolleys interlocking as required.
When planning to build a hatchery the floor starts with the base on which the floor is to be
constructed. This base should be well compacted. The floor slab should be 100 to 120 mm
thick and should the base be suspect, re-enforcement of the slab may be required, as hatchery
floors carry a great deal of heavy traffic in the form of egg buggies and trolleys. The floor
finish should be smooth and hard but not slippery which is achieved by screening, floating
and towelling. Some makes of machines have steel casters fitted to trolleys and such casters
are even harsher on wear and tear of floors.
Three types of drains are commonly used:
 Open drains are channels covered with steel grating strong enough to handle the
weight of trolleys. These drains are less expensive but are not as hygienic as they are
open and often more difficult to maintain and keep clean, especially the area between
the floor channel and the steel grating
 Closed drains with drain traps and catchment baskets strategically positioned in every
room are more hygienic as they are closed and debris is caught up in the drain traps
before flowing into the drainage system. They do have the disadvantage in that water
often does not flow readily into the drain traps, especially when foaming agents are
used
 Slot drains are more costly but ideal for hatchery floors. They do have a disadvantage
in that if not kept clean, especially just under the slot, such drains could be a source of
unhygienic conditions

Example of a slot drain in a setter lobby

Whatever the drainage system used, it is essential that they are able to be cleaned easily, they
should contain sufficient traps and debris catchments areas, especially in the hatcher, chick
rooms and wash bay area were much shell and other debris get washed into the drains. The
drains should also be constructed in such a way that drainage is towards the "dirty" end of the
building.

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1.4 Ventilation
Although most hatchery machines may be able to cope with fairly large differences in
environmental conditions, for optimum results it is advisable to ensure that the conditions
within the hatchery building are controlled within reasonably narrow limits.
Ventilation is required to:
 Supply oxygen to the developing embryos
 Remove carbon dioxide from the machines and chick rooms
 Remove heat from incubators as well as from the hatcher and chick rooms
 Provide incubators with sufficient fresh air at the correct temperature and humidity
 Provide chick take off and handling rooms with sufficient fresh air at the correct
temperature and humidity
Consideration in the ventilation of a hatchery building includes environmental requirement,
conditioning of the air, air supply, airflow and air exhaust.

1.4.1 Environmental Requirement

Except for the egg holding and storage rooms the temperature and relative humidity
requirements of the different hatchery rooms are generally very similar. The volume of air
required in the various rooms will however differ, depending on the biological requirement
and activity (egg and chick numbers).
Particular machine types may have slightly different air supply requirements but in general
the data presented in Table 1.1 can be used as a guide for the air supply requirement in the
hatchery rooms. This data should be verified with specific machine requirements.
Table 1.1: Air supply requirement
Room Air Relative Fresh Air Supply Remarks
Temperature Humidity M3/min
°C %
Egg Storage 15 to 18 75 0.06/1000 eggs Very little fresh air is required and
normally opening and closing of
doors will supply sufficient air
from passages
Setter Room 25 to 26 55 to 60 0.14/1000 eggs Air must be ducted into the room
and the room ventilated in such a
manner that the machines are not
over pressurised
Hatcher Room 25 to 26 55 to 60 0.28/1000 eggs Air must be ducted into the room
and the room ventilated in such a
manner that the machines are not
over pressurised
Transfer Room 25 to 26 55 to 60 0.33/1000 chicks
Chick Take-off 25 to 26 55 to 60 0.33/1000 chicks
and Holding
Room

1.4.2 Air Supply and Flow

The airflow through the hatchery building should be designed in such a manner that the air
moves in a positive manner through the building in the direction of product flow. That is
from "clean" to "dirty" areas within the building. Consideration should also be given to the
fact that no excessive negative or positive air pressure should be placed on the machines and

18
they should be able to call for air from setter or hatcher rooms or lobbies as required by the
respective machines. Exhaust air from the machines should be removed in a positive manner
from the respective rooms, again without placing undue negative pressure on the machines.
Rooms and lobbies to which the air is to be moved should therefore have a lower static
pressure than those from which the air is to be moved. Most hatcheries utilize a positive
airflow with air entering the building via air ducts from the air conditioning plant into the
various setter and hatcher lobbies. By controlling the outlets from these ducts into the
various rooms, the airflow within the building can be controlled to move in the desired
direction. For this reason doors should seal in a positive fashion against the door frame and
floor. The amount of air (as well as the pressure) entering the respective rooms should be
checked against the machine requirements. Exhaust fans which are balanced to the incoming
amount of air are then strategically positioned so as to move air from within the room in the
desired direction though creation of a slight negative pressure.
Incubator rooms may be designed in such a manner that a separate closed lobby is created in
front of the machines into which the required air volume is ducted. The air intake of the
machines draws air from the lobby and escape louvers placed between the lobby and the area
behind the machines allow for air escape to ensure that no excessive air pressure is placed on
the machines. Any excess air moves through the louvers and out via balanced exhaust fans in
the area behind the lobby. Exhausting of air should be done from this area to ensure that the
air moves in a positive manner from the lobby, into the area on top of and behind the
machines and then out the exhaust area. The advantage of creating lobbies in front of the
machines is that this smaller area is kept clean more easily and it is isolated from the exhaust
end (dirty) of the machines.
An alternate way is to simply place the machines in the room, supply air through ducting into
the room and create exhaust ducts and fans from the room. The exhausting fans should be
matched to the incoming air to ensure that the setter room is under a slight positive pressure
(over pressure) so that air always moves out of the setter room and not into the setter room
from other rooms, especially the hatcher room and lobby.
Some systems will incorporate pressure sensors in the lobby in front of and the area behind
the machines and through variable speed controlled fans create a constant slight positive
pressure in the lobby area. When doors are opened the fans will increase in supply to
compensate for the drop in pressure and likewise the fans behind the machines will increase
in speed to compensate.
Due to the cost of heating air, the exhaust air from the setter machines is often ducted back to
the air supply unit where, with the use of heat exchangers the heat from the setter machines is
recovered and used to heat the fresh air being supplied back to the machines.
Whatever system is applied, the key objective should be to ensure correct volume of air
supply at the required temperature and humidity. The setter lobby should be at a slight
positive pressure to ensure that airflow within the building is away from the setter lobby.
Machines should also not be subjected to undue high negative or positive air pressure.

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 Installation of an air supply unit

1.4.3 Exhaust Airflow

Areas such as the hatcher, chick take-off and chick handling and holding rooms have the
added problem of producing large amounts of fluff. Unlike the exhausted air from the setter
rooms the exhaust air from these rooms contains high amount of fluff, which should be taken
care of and not simply exhausted to the outside. Outside air movement (wind) could blow
such fluff in the direction of the air intake system of the building and thereby back into the
building.
As much as possible of the fluff should be removed from the air. This may be done by
creating a plenum chamber behind the hatchers into which the airflow from the machine is
exhausted, allowing the fluff to settle in this chamber and air is then removed from the top of
the chamber.
An alternate method is to blow the exhaust air over water baths.

Example of an exhaust plenum behind hatcher machines

By allowing for a slight negative pressure in these areas, fluff will always be moved in the
direction of the exhaust system.

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The exhaust outlets of machines should never be connected direct to exhaust ducts as this will
result in possible pressurizing of the machines air. Air escape vents should ensure that the air
pressure on the intake and outlet side of the machines is continually being balanced.

1.4.4 Conditioning of the Air

It is advisable to provide for conditioning of the air temperature and humidity being
introduced into the setter and hatcher lobbies as well as the chick holding room. The most
economical way of cooling air, especially in dry climates such as South Africa, is through
evaporative cooling where vaporization of water, either through pad coolers or a high-
pressure spray (mist), is used to cool the air.
Evaporative cooling of air is based on the fact that heat is required to evaporate water vapour
in air. Hot outside air is drawn over a wet pad and as water is evaporated into the air, heat is
removed from the air, causing a reduction in the air temperature. The same effect is obtained
when mist is sprayed into the air where the fine mist (water vapour) takes up heat from the
air. If the air is dry, the extent to which water can be evaporated is increased. Wet bulb
temperatures tell us to what extent evaporative cooling can cool air. The larger the difference
between wet and dry bulb temperature, the lower the relative humidity and the more cooling
is possible. Evaporative cooling does however increase the relative humidity and in certain
climatic conditions this could result in excessive humidity in the building. Under such
conditions air conditioning through the use of heat exchangers would be more appropriate but
more costly.

Air conditioning unit

Heating of the air is usually done by electrical heater coils within the air ducts, which may be
supplemented by heaters in areas such as chick take off and holding rooms. Heat
exchangers, fired by coal, diesel, oil or gas are also commonly used to heat the air being
ventilated into the hatchery building.
When evaporation of water is used to cool the air, the humidity will automatically be
increased but if the relative humidity is still below 55% after cooling, humidification is
corrected by fine mist spray into the ducted warm air. This mist will again cool the air and
the initial air should therefore be at a temperature slightly higher than required to allow for
this cooling effect.
Hot steam is very effective for humidification as steam will not cool the air but assist in
maintaining the desired temperature. It is however more costly to install and operate.

21
Cooling of the egg holding room is normally done by conventional cooling units using gas
filled high-pressure heat exchangers.
The sizing and calculation of the required cooling and heating capacity is best left in the
hands of competent engineers.

1.5 Incubators
Through the years many types of forced-draft incubators have been developed, utilizing
lighter yet more effective cabinet materials, machines without floors so as to allow for
buggies to be wheeled in and for easier cleaning, improved temperature and humidity control
through electronic control and automatic egg turning in the setters. Single-stage incubation
systems preceded the larger more efficient multi-stage, walk-in systems introduced in the
1950's. During the last decade there has been a move back to single-stage setters mainly as a
result of concern for food safety and control of diseases such as salmonellosis.
In most modern chick hatcheries the incubation process consists of the first 18 days in the
setter and the last days in the hatcher, requiring eggs to be transferred from setter trays to
hatcher baskets during the 18th or 19th day of incubation. Most large hatcheries will hatch 4
times per week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). In such operations, two sets of
hatchers are utilized, one set for the Monday and Thursday hatches and the second for the
Tuesday and Friday hatches. Where twice a week hatching is practised only one set of
hatchers will suffice for Monday and Thursday hatching.

1.5.1 Multi-Stage Setters

Multi-stage setter machines utilize the system of eggs being set on a regular basis. In these
machines, the heat being generated by the older embryos in the setter cabinet is used to assist
in heating the newly placed eggs that require heat. Eggs of different placements are therefore
evenly scattered and intermingled so as to ensure even spread of the heating of newly placed
eggs by older eggs in the cabinet.
Due the heat generated by older embryos being used to heat young embryos, multi-stage
setters are effective in utilization of heating requirement and heating and cooling capacity is
therefore lower compared to single stage setters. As a result these machines are therefore less
costly to install and operate. Multi-stage setters are normally operated on fixed temperature
and humidity settings, which could be altered to a degree to suite particular circumstances but
the different requirement for young and older embryos cannot be catered for.
Two types of single-stage setters are commonly found:
Fixed-rack machines are machines in which the racks, into which the setter trays are placed,
are fixtures in the machine cabinet.
Trolley machines utilize a system in which the trolleys that the carry the racks onto which the
setter trays are placed, are pushed into the cabinet.

1.5.1.1 Fixed Rack Setters

In these machines the racks onto which the setter trays are placed are fixed to the side walls
of the cabinet and cannot be removed other than dismantling the racks. Fixed rack machines
have the disadvantage that they are difficult to clean, as the racks are a fixture to the cabinet.
They are also very labour intensive as eggs cannot be placed by trolley into the machine.
Each setter tray has to be manhandled at setting and again at transfer from and into transfer
trolleys.

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The 6 settings over a three week period are placed in a set configuration to ensure that the
newly placed setting is closest to the oldest egg in the machine. Various types of fixed rack
machines have distinct setting patterns which must be adhered to when setting eggs.
The advantage of fixed rack machines is that due to old and fresh eggs being dispersed
through the cabinet by a particular setting pattern in a very uniform manner, there is more
even distribution of hot and cold areas. Results therefore tend to be better compared to
trolley machines as in the latter, different setting are done by trolley which results in larger
areas of cold and hot eggs close to one another.

A fixed rack setter

1.5.1.2 Trolley Setter

Trolley machines are normally operated on the basis of placing entire settings on trolleys
which are then intermingled in the cabinet to have newly placed eggs (cold) adjacent to older
embryos (warm). This setting pattern does however lead to greater temperature differences
within the cabinet compared to a fixed rack incubator. In addition, during the stages when a
particular placement position is empty (between transfer and a new setting) a large open area
is created where the trolley would normally stand and this leads to interference of air
movement through the eggs being incubated.
For this reason, trolley machines are often operated as fixed rack machines in terms of
placing of eggs. Due to the advantage of the eggs being on trolleys, such trolleys may be
removed from time to time to clean the setter cabinet.
Trolley setters may also have a tunnel configuration where the trolleys are moved into the
cabinet from one end and over the incubation period are moved forward with each setting,
eventually being removed at the other end for transfer to the hatcher.

23
 Example of trolley setters

1.5.2 Single-stage Setters

Single-stage setters are operated on the principle of the machine being set on an all-in, all-out
basis. This gives opportunity for the entire machine to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
between settings, thereby breaking the cycle of whatever bacteria or disease that may be
present. The operation of the these machines is more complex but more effective in that
temperature and humidity setting during incubation are changed according to the requirement
being demanded at the particular stage of development of the embryos.

Single stage setter

Single-stage machines are also less efficient on energy utilization. Compared to multi-stage
machines, additional heating capacity has to be provided during the early stages of
development of the setting, while heat has to be removed from the setting in increasing
amounts toward the latter part of embryonic development which requires additional cooling
capacity. They are therefore much more costly to install as well as operate.

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These systems are particularly advantageous in breeder hatcheries where control of vertically
transmitted diseases is more critical. With increased emphasis on food safety as well as
increased evidence that it is beneficial to set cabinet conditions more closely to the desired
requirements during the various stages of embryonic development, single stage incubation is
becoming more popular in commercial layer and broiler hatcheries.

1.5.3 Hatchers Machines

In the incubation process of chickens, eggs are normally transferred from setter machines in
which eggs are able to be turned through 90° (45° either way) into hatcher machines in which
the fully developed wet chick will emerge from the shell.
The hatcher machines therefore have specially designed "baskets" in which eggs are placed at
transfer from the setter trays.
It is essential that hatchers are operated on the basis of all-in, all-out placement of eggs and
removal of chicks to ensure proper cleaning and disinfecting between hatches thereby
reducing the risk of any disease developing and spreading between hatches. For the same
reason it is advisable to ensure that hatchers being used on different days in the week are
placed in separated rooms.

Hatcher machines

1.6 Ancillary Equipment

Other equipment will be found in hatcheries depending on the extent of automation.

1.6.1 Egg Transfer Machine

Eggs need to be transferred from the setter trays into the hatcher baskets before the chicks
hatch. This could be manually or by semi-automated or completely automated systems in
larger hatcheries and could include a candling device enabling clear eggs not to be transferred
to the hatcher.

25
 Example of a small egg transfer machine

1.6.2 Chick Take-off

These systems that are used during chick take-off and handling would normally comprise a
combination of carousel table with chick transfer belt transferring chicks from one carousel to
the next for sexing, vaccination and grading before the chicks being counted and boxed.

Chick Take-off

1.6.3 Infrared Beak Trimming

Hatcheries are increasingly making use of day-old beak trimming with the infrared beak
trimming machine. Traditional beak trimming with a hot blade cuts off approximately one
third of the upper and lower beak and cauterization seals the blood vessels and prevents
bleeding. Infrared beak trimming results in heat coagulation in the tissue culture and the
necrosis involves about a third of the upper beak and a quarter of the lower beak in chicks.
An important welfare advantage of this method is that research has shown that no neuromas
develop, which are relevant in connection with phantom pain after amputation.
With infrared beak trimming at the hatchery the beak is morphologically left intact until the
dead tissue drops off at around two weeks of age. A further advantage is that the beak
treatment machine is fitted to carry out Mareks vaccination as well. An additional handling
on the rearing farm to carry out the 10-day beak trimming is eliminated and chicks do not
undergo the stress of the beak treatment at 10 days.
Many hatcheries are offering this procedure and it is preferred by those involved in the
welfare of poultry. These machines are also capable of applying sub-coetaneous Mareks
vaccination.

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1.6.4 Other Ancillary Equipment
Other ancillary equipment in a chick hatchery would include high pressure wash bay
equipment, electric standby plant in case of power failure, vacuum and air pressure pumps.
In very large hatcheries the extent to which the chick take-off can be automated is
considerable requiring limited labour in such hatcheries. Such equipment could include chick
separators, chick counters, boxing and spray vaccination as well as automated cleaning and
re-stacking of baskets and setter trays. These systems are only economically viable in very
large hatcheries where labour costs may be high.

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2 Biosecurity and Hygiene Control
It is desirable that the chick hatchery should apply strict biosecurity rules to reduce the
chances of diseases spreading from parent farms to commercial rearing farms as well as from
commercial rearing farms back to the parent farms. Day old chicks have very little immunity
to most common diseases and should not be subjected to poultry diseases prior to being
inoculated against such diseases. It is furthermore essential that the hatchery insures that no
disease develops within the premises which may be spread via the chicks to farms with which
contact is made.
The hatchery therefore plays a significant part in combating spreading of diseases within the
poultry industry.

2.1 Biosecurity Program

A good biosecurity program at the hatchery would depend on the following key
considerations:
 Isolation of the hatchery from other poultry activity
 Control of movement of traffic entering the premises
 Control of movement of staff, visitors and equipment within the hatchery building
 Strict hygiene and cleaning measures
 Sourcing hatching egg supply from disease free farms
It is not possible to subscribe a single program that will suite all conditions. Each
circumstance needs to be evaluated separately and the necessary measures developed
accordingly. Precaution and risk measures will be stricter for hatcheries producing chicks
intended to be used as breeding material compared to hatcheries producing commercial
chicks for the broiler and egg production industries.
The eventual program should be well documented and known to all members of staff working
in the hatchery.
In developing such programs, some pertinent questions need to be posed:
 To what extent is the hatchery well separated from other poultry activity and if not,
what measures are in place to address such shortcoming?
 Is there a sound cleaning and disinfecting control program in place and followed?
 Are staff and visitors controlled in respect of movement into the hatchery?
 Are there strict procedures in place controlling movement of staff and equipment
within the building?
 Are the premises properly fenced off and free of movement of stray animals onto the
premises?
 What control is there on the movement of outside people such as electricians, outside
contractors, especially in respect of tools?
 Are eggs purchased from a reliable source that is known to be free of diseases that are
spread via the egg to the chick?
 How is hatchery waste disposed of?

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  Is water available from a reliable source and is the quality thereof known and tested
regularly?

2.2 Disease Risk

Heat, humidity, flow of air and damp surfaces which occur in a hatchery create and ideal
media for growth of organisms such as bacteria and fungi. The content of eggs also provides
an ideal growth medium for these organisms and the potential disease risk in a hatchery, is
therefore significant.
Diseases which pose a risk in day old chick production include bacterial infection, fungal
infection and vertical transmitted disease.

2.2.1 Bacterial Infection

Bacteria are micro-organisms, which are larger than viruses, and many are pathogenic
(disease causing) to other micro-organisms and to plants and animals.

2.2.1.1 Omphalitis
Omphalitis is an infection associated with improper closure of the navel and subsequent
bacterial infection. The cause of this is poor hatchery sanitation, excessive incubator
humidity, as well as chilling and overheating of the newly hatched chick. The navel closure
is incomplete, causing the entry of a variety of bacteria should they be present. Poor shell
quality will also permit easy bacterial penetration into the egg.
Incubation period for the bacteria is 8 to 24 hours and the disease could last for 6 to 7 days
after incubation. Most common bacteria isolated with an omphalitis infection could include
E Coli, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Salmonella and Clostridia.
Chicks are weak, have large abdomens, moist and inflamed navels, pasted vents and lack
body tone. Chicks will huddle and those severely infected will die within the first week. The
mortality rate will vary but could be as high as 20 percent in severe cases.
There is usually no treatment as non-infected chicks need no treatment. Treatment of
infected chicks has very little positive effect. Treatment started early in anticipated cases
could be considered. Severely infected chicks should be culled out early. The control of this
condition is through effective hatchery sanitation, hatchery hygiene procedures, breeder flock
surveillance and proper pre-incubation handling of eggs.

2.2.1.2 Salmonella Infection

Salmonella organisms are found in the digestive tract of breeding birds which contaminate
the shell surface when the egg is laid. Multiplication and transmission of the organisms to
other chicks occurs rapidly at hatching and during sexing and handling of chicks. The
organisms could result in high chick mortality and certain salmonella are dangerous to human
health as well.
A control program will include testing and possible vaccination of breeder flocks. It is also
advisable to have staff working with chicks certified salmonella free on a regular basis.

2.2.2 Fungal Infection

Fungi produce spores and infection is usually associated with respiratory problems. The most
common fungus associated with chick hatcheries is Aspergilloses.

29
The symptoms are gasping, emaciation, bluish dark skin and high mortality. All birds are
susceptible but chicks in particular are highly susceptible. Mortality will vary and could be
20 percent and higher.
Diagnosis will involve the isolation of the fungus.
The source of the fungal infection could be the breeder farm as well as the hatchery and in
some instances the rearing house could be the cause of the fungal infection. In the hatchery
the areas of possible cause will include especially the ventilation ducts which are difficult to
clean. Air into ventilation ducts should be filtered and clear of dust particles and from time to
time the ventilation ducts are to be fogged with a fungicide. Infected eggs and generally poor
hatchery hygiene may also be the cause of a fungal infection.

2.2.3 Vertical Transmitted Disease

Certain diseases are carried vertically from the parent flock via the egg and chick to the
rearing farm. Some of these diseases could be disastrous to the producer and the industry as a
whole. Examples of disease which are vertically transmitted include:
 Salmonella
 Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG)
 Mycoplasma Synoviae (MS)
 Lymphoid Leukosis
 Avian Encephalomyetitis (AE)
 Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS)
 Chicken Aneamia Virus (CAV)
 Reo Virus
The chick hatchery is to ensure that parent farms from where eggs are purchased are regularly
tested and certified free of these diseases.

2.3 Chemical Disinfectants

A variety of chemicals which are suited for hatchery cleaning and sanitation are available. It
is best to establish suitable products with the assistance of a qualified veterinarian. All
products on the market have advantages and disadvantages. Effectiveness is greatly improved
if equipment, surfaces and floor and other areas are clean. For this reason, thorough cleaning
is the first and probably the most vital step in sanitizing buildings and equipment. Organic
matter seriously interferes with the action of the disinfectant.
Many disinfectants have a selective action on different types of microbes depending on the
structure of the organisms and on the environmental pH. For example, fungi are extremely
acid resistant, whereas most viruses are highly susceptible to acid disinfectants. Some
disinfectants which are called "broad-spectrum" are almost equally active against most
species of micro-organisms, while others show specificity and are only active against a
restricted number of species. Most cleaning and sanitizing programs will incorporate a
process of cleaning by using a detergent, followed by sanitizing with a disinfectant. Dirt is
removed by high pressure spray assisted by use of a detergent and disinfectant is then applied
to the cleaned surfaces. Areas which cannot be cleaned by high-pressure spray should be
hand cleaned prior to disinfecting.

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Disinfectants must be given time to inactivate the micro-organisms. Also important is the fact
that surfaces are only disinfected while they are wet or moist. The concentration of
disinfectants influences the rate of death of micro-organisms.
The following factors affect to a lesser or greater extent the successful use of chemicals:
 It is important that the prescribed concentration is used, since a lower concentration
means it takes longer for micro-organisms to die off and the long-term effect of this is
that some bacteria will become resistant
 Generally speaking, disinfectants act on micro-organisms more quickly at higher
temperatures. Formalin has no effect at temperatures below 15°C. An exception is
caustic soda, which at a minimum concentration of 2% is more effective at 5°C than
at 15°C
 Different chemicals may require different water pH and it is essential to ensure that
the water pH is suited for what is being used
 When disinfecting, it is not only the micro-organisms that need to be considered but
also with organic material that may be involved. Proteins especially have an
unfavourable influence on the disinfecting process
 It is essential that the chemical in question is suited to combat the particular organism
involved. Differentiation should be made between viruses, moulds and bacteria and
whether the bacteria involved is Gram- positive (includes Enterococci and
Staphylococcl), Gram- negative (includes E.coli, Salmonella, Proteus and
Pseudomonas) or Spore-producing bacteria (includes Bacillus and Clostridium)

2.3.1 Phenols
Phenols are coal-tar derivatives and include a large number of compounds. Synthetic phenols
are more germicidal and less toxic than natural phenols to animal tissues and have generally
replaced the natural phenols as general disinfectants. Many of the synthetic compounds are
combined with soap during manufacture. The cleansing action enhances their germicidal
contact and effectiveness.
Phenols have a characteristic odour, turn milky when added to water, and are effective
germicides especially against bacteria and fungi. By certain additions their veridical activity
is increased. Organic materials have a diluting effect but do not inactivate phenols. Phenols
have high dilution coefficients i.e. small changes in concentration give rise to large
differences in their killing rates and they are always more effective as the temperature rises.

2.3.2 Oxidising Agents

Hydrogen peroxide and other oxidizing agents include per acetic and propionic acids and acid
per oxygen systems are emerging as increasingly popular disinfectants. At quite low
concentrations they are active against bacteria, bacterial spores, viruses and fungi. Several
new and very safe forms are available for use in poultry houses and hatcheries.
Ozone (03) is also a powerful oxidizing agent attacking almost all organic compounds. It has
been shown to preferentially destroy gram-negative rod-type organisms (e.g. E. coli,
Pseudomas). Ozone is a natural gas formed when oxygen (02) takes on an extra molecule and
becomes Ozone (03). A big advantage is that ozone reverts to oxygen, leaving no harmful
residual chlorides or other by-products as is common with chemicals.

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Oxidizing agents are safe, biodegradable; corrosive, readily soluble, severely inhibited by
organic material, relatively expensive, wide spectrum, have no or very little cleaning power
and all application methods such as spraying and fogging can be used.

2.3.3 Iodine
Iodophors are mainly effective against bacteria and fungi but with a long contact time, some
viruses will also be killed. Iodophors are not used widely in hatcheries. When the
characteristic iodine colour fades, effectiveness is gone.
Iodine, the active chemical in iodophors is a member of the halogen group (includes Cl and
Br) of chemical elements. Iodine vaporizes (passes off a vapour) very rapidly after
application. It is widely used in dairy and food processing. All halogens are rapidly
destroyed in the presence of organic material, so the areas to be disinfected must be clean.
The iodophors are good disinfectants in acidic situation (pH 2 to 4), but activity diminishes in
an alkaline pH.
These solutions are used for egg dipping, hatchery and poultry house disinfecting and for
sanitizing processing plants, footpaths and poultry drinking water.

2.3.4 Chlorine
Chlorine is an effective constituent of certain disinfectants. Included are the powder/liquid
forms of sodium or calcium hypochlorite combined with other chemicals. One major use of
chlorine is in purification of water. Various types are available. Common household bleach
contains 5 percent available chlorine; products manufactured for use in swimming-pool
sanitation contain 15 percent available chlorine.
It is also used for washing and dipping eggs but mainly in disinfecting of water.

2.3.5 Quaternary Ammonium

The quaternaries are called "quats", short for quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC).
Quats vary in composition and a trade formulation may be a mixture of two or three.
Quats are clear, odourless and non-irritating to the skin. They provide deodorizing as well as
detergent activity. They are to be used with care, as soaps, detergents, and organic materials
will destroy their germicidal properties.
Quats are used for egg washing and dipping and disinfecting hatcheries, poultry houses and
equipment.

2.3.6 Formaldehyde
Effective fumigation of hatching eggs is a proven means of reducing the burden of shell
bacteria provided the eggs are correctly fumigated soon after lay. It will help to ensure that
eggs do not contaminate the hatchery with potential pathogens such as Salmonellae.
It is advantageous to fumigate hatching eggs on the farm as soon as possible after lay and
again before setting in the hatchery. The first fumigation is designed to kill shell bacteria
before they penetrate the shell; the second is designed to reduce shell contamination that
occurs between the farm and setting.
For effective fumigation, the following concentrations are commonly used:
 45 ml of 40% formalin and 30 g of potassium permanganate per m3 of fumigation
chamber. Water is produced during this reaction and provision of extra moisture is

32
 unnecessary. At 21°C there is no significant variation in efficiency when fumigation
is carried out between 60 and 80% RH.
 Heating 10 g of paraformaldehyde per m3 in a pan, assuming the prills are 91 %
paraformaldehyde. Some moisture should be provided and the addition of a few
millilitres water to the evaporator is satisfactory.
Poor fumigation is often due to:
 Leaks in the chamber
 Insufficient time of exposure to the gas (20 minutes)
 Absorption of the gas by chamber surfaces
 Excessive or too little moisture
 Inadequate gas circulation
 Insufficient chemicals
 Absorption of gas by pulp trays
Eggs are often fumigated at half strength immediately after transfer into the hatchers.
Caution should be taken when applying this practice as chicks should not have started
pipping.
Trickle fumigation is often applied in the hatcher cabinets to reduce the cross contamination
by chick fluff. This is done by using a 40% aqueous solution of formalin at a rate of 15 ml
per m of hatcher space, placed in enamel pans at transfer. Very low concentration of
formaldehyde is achieved but the effectiveness lies in the long exposure time.

2.4 Monitoring Hatchery Hygiene

The hatchery hygiene program should be regularly monitored. This is done by regular
sampling (twice per month) of air and hatchery surfaces.
Nutrient-agar contact plates, which may be obtained from veterinary laboratories are used for
all surfaces and nutrient-agar exposure plates (30 second exposure) for testing of air in the
hatchery. The agar plates are then incubated at 37°C for 18 to 48 hours and the amount of
bacterial growth evaluated.

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3 Development of the Chick Embryo
The chick embryo derives its nutrients from the egg itself and not from nutrients supplied via
the blood from the mother as is the case with mammals. Although some embryonic
development takes place while the egg passes through the oviduct in the body of the hen,
most of the development occurs outside of the mother's body in the egg itself.
The process of incubating chicken eggs should be prefaced by knowledge and understanding
of the makeup and structure of the egg and how fertilization of the egg cell takes place.
Embryonic development in the chicken egg may be classified into two phases. The first
phase being the development of the blastodisc which occurs in the hens body prior to the egg
being laid, where after development ceases if egg temperature is maintained below a certain
threshold. Embryonic development will again commence when egg temperature increases
above this threshold. This unique phenomenon allows for large volumes of eggs to be stored
and then incubated at the same time.

3.1 The Chicken Egg

3.1.1 The Shell

The shell consists almost entirely of calcium carbonate (90 to 95%) and comprises 10 to 12%
of the weight of the whole egg. The shell consists of an inner mammilliary layer and an outer
spongy layer.
The cuticle is a thin layer on the outside of the shell which gives the freshly laid egg a glossy-
like appearance (bloom). The function of the cuticle is not clear but it may be speculated that
it helps repel water, it may assist in increasing shell strength and it could also play a role in
preventing microbial penetration.
Pigments in the eggshell are confined to the cuticle and outer part of the calcified layer. The
only commercial importance of shell colour is that certain geographic regions (markets) have
preference for brown-shelled eggs as opposed to white shelled eggs. The brown pigment in
brown egg layer strains are porphyrin derivatives of haemoglobin metabolism and are
deposited during the last two hours of shell formation. The three main pigments are
protoporphyrin, biliverdin IX and its zinc chelate. Protoporphyrin tends to give a more
brownish shell colour and the biliverdins blues and greens. Breeders of brown shell layers
are continuously selecting for more uniform and intense brown shell colour. The brown
pigmentation declines towards the end of lay. White eggshells contain a very small amount
of pigment.
The calcified part of the shell is also known as the spongy or crystalline layer and is the main
part of the avian shell and is largely responsible for its mechanical strength. It consists of
elongated structures that are perpendicular to the shell surface. Pores through the calcified
layer permit diffusion of gases and water vapour.
Chemically the calcified layer is mainly calcium carbonate.

3.1.2 The Shell Membranes

Two shell membranes, the inner and outer membranes are found just below the shell. They
are adjacent except for the broad end where they are separated by the air cell. The
membranes retain the fluid of the albumin and other biological functions include the
anchoring of the embryo and resistance to penetration of micro-organisms.

34
The two shell membranes are separated at the round end of the egg to form the air cell. In a
fresh egg, the cell is approximately 15 to 20 mm in diameter and 3 to 4 mm in depth. As the
egg ages, the diameter and depth of the cell will increase and the speed at which this happens
will depend primarily on the temperature at which the egg is kept. At colder temperatures,
the increase in size will be retarded while it is enhanced at higher temperatures.
The air cell can be seen when candling and enlarges during the process of incubation. This is
also the area into which the beak of the developed chick will move during hatching when the
process of respiration starts towards the end of the incubation process. This is the reason why
embryonic development must occur in the correct position to ensure that pipping is in the
correct place of the egg and that the chick is properly orientated in respect of the air cell,
when hatching.

3.1.3 The Albumen

The albumen makes up the larger portion (58%) of the avian egg and may be described as a
transparent gelatinous mass surrounding the yolk, consisting of 88% water and 12% dry
matter. The functions of the albumen include:
 Prevention of growth of micro-organisms
 Provide water, proteins and other nutrients for the developing embryo
 The Chelazae holds the inner thick and yolk to the centre of the egg
The albumen consists of different layers of outer and inner thin white, the percentage of
which could vary but in general would be found in the following proportion:
Outer thin 23%
Outer thick 55%
Inner thin 20
Inner thick 2%
Chelazae (< 0.5%)
On a flat surface the albumin of a fresh egg has a heaped jellylike appearance. By contrast,
the albumin of an old egg, especially when stored under poor conditions is more fluid and
less viscous. A fluid like albumen is indication of an old egg, although some birds will
produce eggs with watery whites, especially when certain diseases are present.
This firmness of the albumen is used as an indicator of freshness of or interior quality of the
egg and the measure is generally known as the Haugh Unit Measure.

3.1.4 The Yolk

The proteins and lipoproteins of the yolk are not synthesized by the ovarian tissue but in the
liver of the hen from where they are transported by the blood system to the ovaries. The liver
undergoes major changes during the few weeks prior to commencement of production in
which anabolic activity intensifies and this activity ceases completely once lay no longer
occurs. Liver disorders are often associated with egg layers and commonly referred to as
fatty liver syndrome.
Yolk comprises mainly of water, lipids and protein. It makes up roughly 31% of the whole
egg and contains 48% water and 52% dry matter.

35
The main function of yolk material is to provide metabolic energy and nutrients to the
developing embryo.

3.1.5 Egg Shell Strength

Selection for improved shell strength, especially towards the latter part of the production
cycle remains a priority for most layer breeders. This poses particular difficulties in the
hatching of egg originating from layer breeds as the improved shell quality affects the
moisture loss during incubation. Hatching of these eggs would therefore require different
incubator settings compared to broiler hatching eggs since egg shell strength is not such an
important trait in broiler breeding but is nevertheless not ignored in these breeding programs.

3.1.6 Microbial Contamination

In large scale production hatching egg production micro-organisms associated with the
production could pose major problems, especially when eggs are handled and stored under
poor hygienic conditions.
Contamination may occur even before the egg is laid but the incidence thereof is very low.
It is important that flocks are regularly tested for bacterial infections such as salmonella that
may be passed on to the progeny.
Most contamination occurs immediately after the egg has been laid and the main sources of
microbial infestation include:
 The cloaca
 The atmosphere
 Dirty equipment
 Dirty hands of staff handling eggs
 Poor handling resulting in hairline cracks causing easy penetration of the micro-
organisms.
Contamination during handling and storage could also occur and are due to:
 Poor environmental conditions
 Poor storage
 Rough handling causing hairline cracks
 Poor washing of eggs if this is practiced.

3.2 Early Embryonic Development

Fertilization occurs within 15 minutes following ovulation and this occurs while the ovum is
in the infundibulum. As the egg moves through the reproductive tract of the female, the
albumen, and shell membranes are added and eventually the shell itself. At the time that the
egg enters the uterus (5 hours after ovulation), the zygote is at the first stage of first cell
division. The egg will remain in the uterus for approximately 20 hours during which the shell
is formed and in this period, approximately 16 cell divisions will occur to produce the
blastoderm containing 50 000 to 60 000 cells. It is therefore important to regard fertile eggs
as being at a reasonable advanced stage of embryonic development.
At this point the blastoderm consists of three distinct layers of cells from which all the organs
and parts of the body will develop.

36
The ectoderm is the uppermost layer of cells and gives rise to the nervous system, parts of the
eyes, feathers, beak, claws and skin.
The endoderm is the lower layer of cells from which the respiratory system and secretary
organs as well as the digestive track develop.
The mesoderm is the third layer between the two mentioned above and forms the skeleton,
muscles, blood system, reproductive organs and the excretory system.
The embryo in the newly laid egg will cease development and cell division when temperature
drops below 24°C. Hatching eggs are therefore generally stored at 18°C when kept for short
periods of time. A colder temperature is applied (12°C) when eggs are stored for longer than
7 days.
The cessation of embryonic development is reversed when egg temperature is increased again
to levels above 24°C and the development will be sustained at temperatures of approximately
37°C.
Parthenogenesis is a process where cell division occurs in an unfertilized ova. It is rare but
does occur in chicken. Most of the development found will have ceased before oviposition or
during the first few hours of incubation.

3.3 Fertility
It is possible to distinguish between fertile and infertile eggs prior to placement in the
incubators. It does however require practise and the egg has to be broken to evaluate the
content. The egg is broken out on a white plate or flat surface and the germinal disc
(blastoderm) must be found. This is often the more difficult part as the germinal disc could
have landed under the broken out yolk material.
Prior to hatching a fertile egg will show a large germinal disk (3 to 4 mm in diameter) with a
light centre and a thick, white perimeter. It appears like a doughnut, with the thick, white
circle around the outer perimeter of the disc. An infertile egg will show a smaller germinal
disk with a solid, bright white centre, which may or may not be in the centre of the disc. The
white centre of the infertile egg is much brighter than the white centre of the fertile egg. The
germinal disk of an infertile egg could in the odd occasion be large but the centre will be
solid and bright and the perimeter will be irregular.

Typical infertile egg on the left and a fertile germinal disc on the right
Fresh egg breakout has the advantage that it is the quickest way of determining fertility (even
before incubation starts) but it does have the disadvantage that it is a slow process and
valuable eggs have to be broken.

37
It is however a good practice at the start of a new flock to know in advance what the fertility
would be like as well as when disease and fertility problems are being encountered. Fertility
can be determined on the day that the egg is laid rather than having to wait for 3 weeks until
final hatching.
Because of the value of hatching eggs, sample size of 100 eggs should suffice but results
could be variable as a result of the small sample size. This practise is generally only followed
when specific problems are being investigated.

3.3.1 Male Fertility

Since half the germ plasma of the developing embryo originates from the male, the few males
in the breeder pen play a significant role in the reproductive performance of the flock. The
role of males therefore cannot be over emphasized.
Too many as well as too little males will affect fertility. No fixed rules exist and the mating
ratio will depend on the breed as well as other factors affecting male activity. In general
however light commercial layers (Leghorns) will be mated at a lower ratio (7 to 8 males per
female) than heavy meat type breeders (10 to 11 males per female). Brown egg layers are
mated at a ratio of 8 to 10 males per 100 females. Aspects such as the pressure on culling
peck outs, general culling of males, and housing systems (ie. slatted floors) will all play a role
in the ideal ratio of males in the poultry shed.
Too often the importance of male body weight, especially in broiler breeders is neglected.
Excessive male body mass at point of lay as well as excessive weight gain in the breeder
house will lead to obese and inactive males. Separate male feeders have been developed for
broiler breeder males, which ensure that the males can be fed a different regime (rates and
often ration as well).
Wire grids are placed over the normal feed troughs that are designed in such a manner that
the males are unable to get their larger heads and combs through. Separate feeders are then
suspended at a higher height to stop females feeding from these male feeders. There is
however a critical period at onset of production just after the flock is mated up, when males
are still able to feed from the female feeders. Close supervision and management is required
in this period to ensure that all the effort to produce the correct body mass and uniformity at
20 weeks is not undone. For a period the flock may have to be fed as one so that males and
females can feed from either system. Once it is noticed that a larger proportion of the males
are no longer feeding from the female feeders, the male feeders are then lifted to a higher
height.
Culling of males would also play a role in fertility. There is a tendency for males to mate
with certain females and should a particular male not be active a tendency may exist where
his particular females are not being mated with. On the other hand culling of males should be
approached with care. In some breeds, should a male which could be at the lower end of the
pecking order be removed, the flock will merely find the next bird in the peck order. This
aspect should be carefully managed. Should males be dying off or having to be culled at a
higher rate than females, then the reasons have to be found and corrected in order to maintain
a satisfactory rate of fertility towards the end of the flock's productive life.
Exercising of males through the introduction of grain feeding on the litter in the afternoon
could also assist in keeping males active and stimulating mating behaviour. The amount of
scratch feed would be in the order of 5 kg per 1000 per day. The grain of choice is whole
wheat or oats.

38
Often males will develop enlarged footpads and hock joints caused by injury and resulting in
an infection (staphylococcus) in the joints. This condition could also have a nutritional
background as excessive protein consumption could be the cause of urate deposits in the foot
pad area.
Spiking of males is sometimes used to overcome the problem of reduced fertility towards the
end of the breeding cycle. This is done by replacing the old males with young males. It is
however costly and should be approached with care. It is usually done at night and all males
in the breeding pen should be removed and replaced. When only a part of the males are
removed and replaced by younger males, the younger males do not only then have to contend
with dealing with older and more dominant females but also with a number of older and
generally heavier males. If partial spiking is to be done then it is best to split the pen in two,
leaving older males with part of the females and the younger males with a separate number of
females.

3.3.2 Other Factors affecting Fertility

Other factors that will affect fertility include:
 Disease - The mating activity of a diseased flock will be reduced and when diseases
such as IB, NCD, etc. occur it is normal to expect a reduction in fertility
 Temperature - Both extreme cold and hot environmental temperatures, especially
when such temperatures prevail over a couple of days will affect mating behaviour
and hence fertility
 Nutrition - Although nutrition also plays a role in fertility (vitamins and minerals)
under normal circumstances breeder diets are adequately fortified with these nutrients.
Practical conditions such as long storage time of feed under very hot conditions and
allowing feed to get wet and become mouldy could destroy certain vitamins or create
chemical reactions within the feed that make the vitamins and minerals indigestible to
the bird. Where feed is to be kept for longer than a week the use of anti-oxidants and
higher fortification of vitamins and minerals should be considered

3.4 Embryonic Development during Incubation

The chicken embryo is not connected to the hen but certain membranes are present in the egg
that will ensure utilization of the nutrients within the egg by the developing embryo.

3.4.1 Yolk Sac

The membrane that envelops the yolk sac secretes enzymes that change the nutrient contents
of the yolk into a soluble form that will be used by the embryo. During the latter part of
embryonic development just prior to hatching, the remaining content is drawn into the
abdominal cavity of the chick and serves as the initial source of nutrients for the newly
hatched chick.

3.4.2 Amnion
The amniotic sac is filled with a transparent fluid in which the embryo floats and prevents the
embryo from injury during its development.

39
3.4.3 Allantois
This membrane serves as the circulatory system in the egg. It starts to develop on the 3rd day
of incubation and is fully developed by the 12th day covering the complete inside of the shell
and has the following functions:
 It supplies oxygen to the blood of the embryo and removes carbon dioxide
 The excretions from the embryonic kidney is held in the allantoic cavity
 It aids in the transportation of albumin and absorption of calcium from the eggshell

3.4.4 Chorion
This membrane fuses the inner shell membrane with the allantois and in so doing assists the
allantois in its metabolic function.

3.4.5 Development of the Embryo

During incubation, moisture is lost from the egg through the shell and by the 19th day the air
cell would occupy about one-third of the egg and is deeper on one side compared to the other.
Although much more detail will be visible microscopically, the following is a summary of
what can be seen at various stages of development of the chick embryo.
Day 1
After one day of incubation the blastoderm will be seen as being whitish and saucer-shaped.
The outer area opaca and the centre area pellucida which is raised from the yolk surface by
the segmentation cavity, can be seen as a darker ring. Within the area opaca, blood islands
will be formed resulting in the area vasculosa.

Embryonic development day 1 and day 2

Day 2
After two days of incubation the primitive streak will be visible. This is seen as an elongated
darker line in the centre of the blastoderm from which the chick will develop. Fine red lines
on the yolk sac are the start of the circulatory system. The yolk sac plays a key role in the
nutrition of the developing embryo. Together with the amniotic sac and the allantois, they
are collectively called the extra embryonic membranes.
Day 3
After three days of incubation the heart will be visible along with further development of the
blood system that will carry nutrients to the developing embryo. The embryo has completed
turning onto its left side. The tail bud has formed and primary division of the brain is evident
as a transparent bubble on the left side of the embryo. The amnion covers the entire embryo

40
and is filled with amniotic fluid which protects the embryo from shock and allows the
embryo to move.
Day 4
During the fourth day the brain divides into three parts - the forebrain, the midbrain and the
hindbrain and can be seen at the top. One of the eyes will be visible from the top as a dark
spot. The heart has enlarged and the vascular system of the yolk sac membrane shows up
very well as it increases over the yolk area.

Embryonic development day 3 and day 4

Day 5
During the 5th day the embryo shows a marked increase in size. Elbows and knees (limb
buds) start to be visible and the head and knee area move towards one another causing the
embryo to take the shape of a letter C. The allantois (seen here as the darker fluid around the
embryo) covers approximately one third of the embryo and acts as a container for excretory
waste. The complete four chamber heart will be present.
Day 6
The shape of the embryo is becoming typical that of a bird. The thoracic cavity is starting to
envelope the enlarged heart and the brain and eyes are very prominent. The maximilla and
mandible of the beak are also prominent. Rhythmic amniotic contraction is evident. The
amnion and allantois are very clearly defined and the yolk sac covers well over 50% of the
yolk.

Embryonic development day 5 and day 6

Day 7

41
The beak is forming as a dark spot at the bottom of the head and the egg tooth is evident at
the end of the maxilla. The embryo will also respond to touch. The neck starts to separate
the head from the thorax. The heart will be completely enclosed and the yolk sac surrounds
the yolk almost completely.

Day 8
If the embryo is removed, the upper and lower beak will be clearly distinguishable. The neck
is longer and wings and legs will be clearly defined. The brain is completely enclosed.

Embryonic development day 7 and day 8

Day 9
By the ninth day the yolk sac has enveloped the yolk area and it becomes increasingly folded
and vascular in appearance. The transparent allantois is enlarging. Toe digits will now be
noticeable if the embryo is removed.
Day 10
If the embryo is removed, a clear distinction can be seen between wing and feet digits and the
egg tooth also becomes more visible. Flight feather follicles will be conspicuous along the
margin of the wings.

Embryonic development day 9 and day 10

Day 11
At this point the embryo will be looking like a chick. Feathers become evident and tail
feathers become prominent. The embryo is able to move independent of the amnion. The
chorion and allantois membrane have fused with the eggshell membrane and the allantois is
at maximum size.
Day 12

42
Toes will be clearly defined and the embryo will be sinking deep into the yolk material due to
its weight. Down feathers will also begin to appear. The amniotic connection opens and the
embryo begins to swallow albumen. White uric acid precipitates may be noticed within the
allantoic sac as the pH decreases.

Embryonic development day 11 and day 12

Day 13
The only noticeable external changes seen will be in the growth of down and production of
feathers. Toenails and leg scales are more noticeable.
Day 14
Feather growth is rapid and down feathers will almost cover the entire body. The embryo
will be orientated along the long axis of the eggshell and beak clapping movements may be
observed.

Embryonic development day 13 and day14

Day 15
Other than a fairly rapid increase in size at this point there is very little other evidence of
change. The head starts to move toward its shell-pipping position under the right wing. This
is the normal embryonic position for breaking the shell. The yolk has become thick and
dense and has decreased in size.
Day 16
The yolk sac will be positioned ventrally in front of the embryo and becomes the important
source of nutrients as the albumen has been absorbed almost completely. The beak will be
tucked under the right wing.

43
 Embryonic development day 15 and day 16
Day 17
Some white urate waste material can be seen in the allantois fluid. The air cell is enlarged
and in the proper incubation position, it should be above the chick. The beak which is under
the right wing will be pointing towards the air cell. The albumen will have been almost
completely utilized and some yolk sac contraction may be observed.
Day 18
During day 18 the chick will start preparing to hatch. The yolk sac has started to be
incorporated into the abdominal cavity. This is the stage during which the eggs are
transferred to the hatcher baskets.

Embryonic development day 17 and day 18

Day 19
On day 19 the beak pierces through the inner shell membrane into the greatly enlarged air
sack (internal pipping) and the embryo starts with pulmonary respiration. The yolk is almost
entirely absorbed into the abdominal cavity and the allantoic fluid is completely reabsorbed.
Day 20
The yolk is completely absorbed into the abdominal cavity but the naval will not have healed
completely. The allantois is drying up and allantoic circulation and respiration ceases as
pulmonary respiration has taken over and the chick is utilizing the yolk material absorbed
into the abdominal cavity. External pipping starts with the chick using its wings to move in a
circular fashion around in the egg, breaking the shell from the inside.

44
 Embryonic development day 19 and day 20

Day 21
The chick will immerge from the shell and dry and fluff out for take-off 21 days plus 6 to 12
hours after setting.

45
4 Chick Incubation
The incubation of chicken eggs comprises the process of storage of eggs destined for
incubation, preparation of such eggs for incubation and the incubation process itself.
The actual process of incubation is complicated and there are many factors that will affect the
process and eventual hatch results and chick quality. To a large extent the optimum
incubation temperature, humidity and air supply requirements have been well documented
but in many instances hatch results and chick quality often remain poor.
It is necessary to distinguish between poor hatching performance as a result of farm related
problems, egg storage and transport conditions and those factors that can be ascribed to the
hatchery and incubation conditions.
A good record and analytical system is required on an ongoing basis to analyse the causes of
varying hatch results and chick quality. It is also advisable to do the analyses regularly to
ensure that when any abnormal results do emerge, a historical picture is available to which
the abnormal results can be compared.

4.1 Hatching Eggs

Hatching eggs should at all times be sourced from a reliable source to ensure good disease
control measures and supply of eggs of known quality.
Prior to incubation various aspects will impact on hatch results and chick quality and include
transportation of hatching, egg size, shell quality, shell contamination and egg age.

4.1.1 Transportation of Hatching Eggs

Ideally the temperature of the vehicle transporting hatching eggs should be controlled to the
temperatures at which the eggs have been stored to eliminate possible condensation of
moisture on the shell, commonly referred to as “sweating” of eggs. Condensation of moisture
on the egg shell will occur when the air immediately around the egg is cooled due to the
colder temperature of the shell, causing the moisture in the air to condense at this lower
temperature commonly referred to as the dew point. The dew point is the temperature at
which the water vapour in the air condenses into liquid.
The excessive moisture will in turn enhance bacterial growth and should be avoided.
Eggs destined for hatcheries are transported on either plastic or pulp egg trays on farm
trolleys or direct in the setter trays on trolleys. When transporting eggs over distances, it is
advisable to place the eggs on pulp egg trays in carton containers for added protection.

Moisture condensation on the shell

46
Hatching eggs should at all times be handled as gently as possible and allowed to settle for a
couple of hours after transport prior to setting. When handled properly there is little
evidence to indicate that transportation of hatching eggs over large distances is harmful.
On farm traying of hatching eggs onto setter trays is often practised to save labour costs as
the eggs are then not re-handled at the hatchery. On farm traying does however pose a
potential biosecurity risk when setter trays are not properly cleaned and disinfected prior to
being moved back from the hatchery to the farm.
When pulp trays are used it is advisable that they be used once only and not returned to the
breeder farms. Fumigation of pulp trays is not effective in disposing of pathogens and micro-
organisms.
When transporting eggs it should always be done with the round ends up and sharp end to the
bottom. Transporting eggs with small ends up could result in damage to the chalazae which
hold the yolk to the centre of the egg and the blastodisc could then move into an incorrect
position in the egg, which in turn will result in the chick hatching in an incorrect position.

4.1.2 Egg Size

Chick size is related to egg size as well as the incubation temperature and relative humidity of
the air during incubation. Whilst aspects such as nutrition, environmental temperatures,
breed, etc. influence egg size within a given set of circumstances, flock age has the major
influence on egg size and hence size of the chick. Extremely large and small eggs should not
be set. Small eggs will produce small chicks which will be of poor quality and more difficult
to rear. Very large eggs will have the tendency to break in the setter trays and could in fact
be double yolk eggs. Large egg size is a particular problem with some meat type breeds that
produce excessive number large eggs towards the end of the production cycle, especially
under poor management conditions.
As a rule of thumb the chick mass will be 66 to 67% of the initial egg mass at setting. This
does depend on the initial egg size as chick size of a 52 g egg is roughly 66.5% of egg mass
and 67.5% of a 60 gram egg under normal hatching conditions. A 52 g hatching egg should
therefore produce a 34.5 g chick under normal and ideal hatching conditions. The minimum
weight for broiler hatching eggs is generally 52 g.
In layer strains chick size may be of less importance, especially in integrated operations
where higher chick mortality experienced with chicks hatched from small eggs is justified by
improved utilization of hatchable eggs. Most modern rearing farms use battery cage systems
where small groups of chicks are housed (17 to 40 per cage) and if separated from larger
chicks, the chicks from such small hatching eggs or young parent flocks may be tended to
with more care. A lower limit of 50 g egg size producing a 32.5 g chick is normally accepted
for layer strains.
Normally eggs will be saved for hatching purposes two to three weeks after commencement
of production which will be 25 to 26 weeks of age for broiler parents and 23 to 24 weeks of
age for commercial egg laying parents. Breeds will however differ in this respect and it is
best to seek the input of the supplier of such stock.

4.1.3 Egg Shell Quality

Many eggs have shell imperfections, some of which are inherited and such eggs should
therefore not be set as hatching eggs, especially in commercial egg layer production. Most
eggs with shell imperfections are poor in shell quality causing eggs to break easily during
transportation and incubation or to lose excessive moisture during the incubation process.

47
These imperfections would include:
 Misshapen eggs
 Round eggs
 Wrinkled eggs
 Rough shells
 Banded eggs
 Thin shells
Cracked eggs may be seen as:
 Open toe cracks
 Impact cracks
 Hairline cracks

4.1.4 Shell Contamination

Soiled eggs are a major source of microbial contamination and should not be used for
hatching purposes. Even when washed under good conditions they pose a potential risk of
microbial contamination into the hatchery. Dirty eggs should preferably be removed during
the collection and selection process on the farm and should not be stored in the same room as
eggs intended to be used for hatching purpose.
It is also advisable that floor eggs not be used for hatching. There is uncertainty as to how
long such eggs have been lying on the breeder house floor and litter is generally
contaminated very highly with microbes.
Should it be required that soiled and floor eggs be used for hatching purposes they must be
washed by proper egg washing machines. The wash water and rinse water temperatures must
be properly controlled to reduce the risk of microbial contamination on the surface being
drawn into the egg via the porous shell. Water temperature should be 10 °C higher than egg
temperature and rinse water 2 to 3 °C higher than the wash water. Washed and floor eggs
when used, should preferably be placed in separate machines.

4.1.5 Egg Age

Due to scheduling of hatches, especially in commercial layer chick and parent chick
hatcheries, where the weekly production could be erratic, eggs may be held over for longer
than ideal periods of time to fit the setting requirements. The conditions under which eggs are
held will affect hatching results.
Hatching eggs held under optimum conditions for less than 5 days show very little
deterioration in hatchability. As a rule of thumb hatching time will be delayed by 30 minutes
and hatchability reduced by 1 to 2% for every day that eggs are stored for more than 5 days.
The rate of deterioration is less between 5 and 10 days but could accelerate to 3 to 4% for
every day after 10 days of storage.

4.2 Hatching Egg Storage

Hatching eggs will normally be a couple of days old by the time they reach the hatchery. In
addition, hatching schedules may required eggs to be stored for longer periods to enable egg

48
availability to match chick requirement. Conditions in which eggs are held prior the
incubation will impact on hatching performance.

4.2.1 Egg Holding Room Temperature

Although the incubation temperatures of chicken eggs is in the order of 37.5°C the embryo
will show development at temperatures above 24°C, generally referred to as the embryonic
threshold. At lower temperatures embryonic development will cease. The embryo will
tolerate temperature fluctuations above and below this point before it dies, but every time the
temperature goes beyond this point the embryo is weakened and its chance of hatching is
reduced. Eggs are therefore to be held at even an temperature.
Eggs are stored below this threshold of 24°C and if for a short period (5 to 7 days prior to
setting) then temperatures of 17 to 18°C are common. It is also preferable to have the farm
egg storage temperature a degree or two above the hatchery storage temperature to ensure a
declining egg temperature from the farm to hatchery with the transport temperature in
between.
When eggs are to be stored for periods in excess of 10 days then colder temperatures may be
used (12 to 15°C). In parent hatcheries this is often the case and a second cold room being
kept at a lower temperature would be beneficial.
The internal egg temperature of 18°C will be reached in roughly 20 to 24 hours after being
laid and placed at a room temperature of 18°C on setter trays on trolleys. When placed in
boxes it will take much longer (up to 4 days). It is important to allow hatching eggs to cool
down before placing them in corrugated boxes for shipment.

4.2.2 Egg Holding Room Humidity

The moisture content in the egg is continuously being lost to the environment through the
porous shell. A high relative humidity in the air will reduce the rate of loss and when
humidity is low the rate of loss is increased due to a higher rate of vaporization.
The relative humidity of 70 to 75 % is commonly used in egg holding rooms and this is
measured by reading the wet-bulb and dry-bulb temperatures and reading the relative
humidity from a chart. Higher relative humidity will not harm eggs but will result in any
fibrous egg-cartons becoming soft. High relative humidity would also enhance mould
growth.

49
The Psychrometrics and the relationship between dry bulb temperature, wet bulb temperature
and the moisture content of air may be illustrated in the Psychrometric Chart above.
In order to understand what is meant by relative humidity, it is important to understand the
relationship between temperature and the amount of moisture in the air.
At a dry bulb temperature of 16 to 18 °C (read on the bottom axis of the chart) the wet bulb
temperature should be in the order of 14 to 15 °C (diagonal lines and read on the top red
slanting axis) for the relative humidity to be 70% (red slanting lines). Good management of
an egg holding room would consist of regular checks of the daily maximum and minimum
dry bulb temperature as well as the wet bulb temperature reading or reading the relative
humidity.

4.2.3 Moisture Condensation on Shell Surface

"Sweating” of eggs occurs when the air immediately around the shell is cooled due to the
colder temperature of the shell causing the moisture in the air to condense at this lower
temperature. “Sweating” of eggs will enhance bacterial growth and should be avoided.
Should condensation of moisture on the shell surfaces be noticed then it is advisable to
increase the holding temperatures slightly or reduce the holding room relative humidity or
ensure good air movement over the eggs to ensure that the air temperature immediately
surrounding the egg does not cool down to the point of condensation. For this reason egg
transport trucks should also be cooled down to the egg storage temperature and cooled eggs
not be allowed to stand around in passages during transfer. The danger of moisture
condensation and the shell is also of importance when fumigating cold eggs.

4.2.4 Positioning and Turning of Hatching Eggs during Storage

Eggs are to be stored rounded ends up as this is the position in which they are to be placed in
the setter machines. The rounded end is the end in which the air cell of the egg is situated
and if incubation occurs with sharp ends up, there will be a tendency for the chicks to hatch
in the wrong position. Chicks hatching in the wrong position will not be able to start with
pulmonary respiration prior to pipping.
When eggs are to be stored for a long period of time, there is evidence that storing them with
sharp ends up will assist in reducing the decline in hatchability caused by the long storage
time. When such eggs are stored in closed cartons the loss of moisture from the eggs will
be further reduced and hence hatching results improved. It is necessary to revert back to the
normal setting position of rounded ends towards the top at least 6 hours prior to setting.
Turning of eggs through 90° similar to what occurs in the setter machines has also been
shown to assist in the negative effect of storage time on hatching results.

4.2.5 Pre-storage Incubation

Pre-storage incubation is a practice whereby the initial development of the embryo is in a
controlled manner, taken beyond the cell divisions that have occurred while the egg was
passing through the hen’s body. The controlled development of the germinal disc to an
estimated 80,000 cells, results in an embryo that is less susceptible to cell death occurring
during the storage period.
In practice this is achieved by controlled heating of the eggs for 3 to 6 hours at a temperature
of 37.7 °C. The eggs need to be fresh (< 4 days) and the heat-up time would depend on the
time the incubator takes to heat the set eggs to 37.7 °C. If it takes longer than 6 hours for the

50
incubator to heat the eggs to normal incubation temperature, the time that eggs are kept at
37.7 °C in the pre-incubation process should be reduced.
Pre-incubation will not improve hatch results but could be a consideration to assist in
maintaining hatch results which deteriorate with longer storage time.

4.2.6 Pre-heating and fumigation of hatching eggs

When eggs are set direct from the cold holding room some setters may not be able to cope
with the heating that is required. This will result in a prolonged time for the newly set eggs to
reach incubation temperature (delay in hatching time) and it also lowers the hatchability of
eggs already in multi stage machines as the temperature of these eggs will decline, resulting
in embryonic death.
The warming process of the eggs at temperatures of 24 to 26 °C will be 4 to 6 hours if eggs
have been kept at normal storage temperatures of 16 to 18 °C.
When pre-heating of eggs is considered it should be done in properly designed pre-heating
chambers. By simply transferring eggs into hatchery lobbies more damage could be done.
The eggs will not heat up uniformly because eggs to the centre will take longer to reach lobby
temperature compared to eggs on the outside of the trolley. This will result in uneven
hatching. Poor air movement over the eggs will also result in the tendency for moisture to
condense on the cold egg surface. Should no pre-heating chamber be available, large
movable fans placed between trolleys could assist in increasing the air movement over the
eggs placed in the hatchery lobbies prior to transferring the eggs into the machines. It is
however also to be noted that such large volumes of cold eggs in the setter lobby will affect
the lobby temperature and consequently the machine temperatures.
A well constructed pre-heating chamber should be capable of maintaining a temperature of
25 to 26 °C at a relative humidity of 50 to 55 % with very good air movement over the eggs,
very much the same way in which air is moved over the eggs in the setter machines. The
eggs should be uniformly heated to 25 to 26 °C within a period of 6 hours.
In some instances condensation of moisture on the shell surface may occur when eggs are
moved from the egg holding room. This should however not pose a problem if the eggs are
moved into the fumigation room and air circulating fans switched on immediately. Rapid
movement of air over the eggs will assist in moving the moist air away from the eggs and
hence reducing the risk of condensation of moisture on the cold shell surface of the eggs.
The pre-heating room may then also be used to fumigate the eggs prior to setting. Effective
fumigation of hatching eggs is a proven means of reducing the burden of shell bacteria. It will
help to ensure that eggs do not contaminate the hatchery with potential pathogens such as
Salmonellae. Although eggs may have been sanitized at the farm they may have become re-
contaminated, especially after longer periods of storage and it is advantageous to sanitize the
eggs prior to setting.
For effective fumigation the following concentrations are commonly used:
 45 ml of 40% formalin and 30 g of potassium permanganate per cubic meter of
fumigation chamber. Water is produced during this reaction and provision of extra
moisture is therefore not necessary.
 Heating 10 g of paraformaldehyde per cubic meter of room area in a pan, assuming
the prills are 91 % paraformaldehyde. Some moisture should be provided, the addition
of a few millilitres water to the evaporator is satisfactory.

51
Note that fumigation should only be done once the chamber temperature has reached 26 °C.
The fumigant should be allowed to be circulated over all the eggs for 20 minutes in the
chamber before being extracted via an exhaust fan. It is important to ensure that all of the
fumigant has removed before setting of the eggs in the machine. In multi-stage machines
especially the embryos that were set in the previous setting will be very susceptible to be
killed by the fumigant if carried into the machine. Having removed all fumigant the eggs are
then allowed to remain in the chamber for up to 6 hours for pre-heating before being set.
In single stage setters the process of pre-heating and fumigation is carried out in the cabinet.

4.3 Incubation Process

The process of chick incubation in essence requires the correct embryonic temperature to be
maintained at the correct relative humidity, supplying the correct amount of fresh air and
ensuring that eggs are turned through 90° during especially the initial stage of embryonic
development.

4.3.1 Temperature Requirement

Embryonic growth may be divided into three phases in respect of temperature:
 When the embryo is still in the hens body cell divisions take place during the first 23
hours prior to the egg being laid. This temperature is at 41.5 °C or body temperature
(106 °F)
 During the first 18 to 19 days of incubation where in most forced draught multi-stage
machines the required incubation temperature is 37.2 to 37.6 °C (98.9 to 99.7 °F).
 During the last 2 to 3 days where in most machines the incubation temperature is
lowered to around 36.8 °C (98.3 °F)
Many modern machines operate with Fahrenheit thermometer control since the larger
Fahrenheit scale gives finer adjustment to incubation temperature.
The optimum incubation temperature will differ between machines and each manufacturer
has established temperatures best for particular circumstances. When temperatures deviate
from the optimum, hatchability and chick quality are affected. High incubation temperatures
would shorten the incubation period and low incubation temperature will lengthen the period
of incubation. Temperatures above and below the optimum will also influence chick quality.
The normal incubation time from setting to chick take off should be around 21 days and 6
hours from setting (excluding pre-heating time). Standard control temperatures of 37.5 to
37.6 °C (99.5 to 99.7 °F) in a multi-stage setter may be too high for modern broiler breeds.
These temperatures could force the modern high yielding embryo to develop more rapidly
than required resulting in an increased number of small pale chicks with short down and
black navel buttons. Lowering the setter temperatures by as little as 0.1 to 0.2 degree could
solve this problem.
The following factors influence optimum incubation temperatures:
 Size of the egg
 Shell quality
 Strain of bird
 Humidity of the air

52
  Age of the Embryo
The air temperature in the incubator cabinet is only an indirect measure of knowing what the
egg (embryo) temperature is. Air velocity and humidity around the egg will also influence
the heat exchange between the air and the egg and hence the embryo temperature.
It is advisable to know what the actual egg (embryo) temperature is as the norm is to ensure
that embryo temperature remains within the narrow limits of 37.5 to 38.0 °C (99.5 to 100.5
°F). Adjustment to machine settings should only be based on knowledge of the egg
temperatures.
Temperatures of eggs within the cabinet may vary a great deal and a wide spread of
temperatures should be taken in establishing the mean egg temperature within the cabinet.
Hand held infra red digital thermometers sold by chemists may be used for this as they enable
egg temperatures to be taken without having to break the shell. In multi-stage setters a
compromise must be found to suite all eggs from day 1 to 19 of incubation. In single stage
setters, the incubation temperatures may be reduced as the incubation time progresses,
thereby maintaining egg temperatures as close as possible to the ideal of 37.5 to 38.6 °C (99.5
to 101.5 °F). In these machines the initial temperature would be in the order of 37.75 °C (100
°F) to ensure an egg temperature of 37.75 °C (100 °F). The machine temperature is then
gradually reduced in line with the developing embryo and the consequent increase in heat
output by the embryo itself in such a manner that the egg temperature remains as close as
possible to the ideal of 37.75 °C (100 °F).

4.3.2 Relative Humidity Requirement

For the embryo to develop at the required rate the egg contents (water) must be evaporated at
the desired rate. Should the egg be allowed to dry out too rapidly, the chicks will be smaller
and should this be too slow, the chicks will be larger. In both instances chicks are weaker and
of reduced quality. In order to regulate the rate of moisture loss from the egg, the humidity is
to be controlled together with the incubation temperatures.
The measurement of humidity is done by temperature recording of wet- and dry-bulb
thermometer readings. The dry bulb records the normally known temperature of the air. The
wet-bulb thermometer is a normal thermometer to which a wet water-wick has been added.
The water from the wet-wick evaporates to the surrounding air and as a result of this
evaporation the temperature of the wick (and hence the thermometer) is reduced measuring a
lower temperature than of the normal thermometer. The drier the air, the more water can be
evaporated and vice versa. The temperature of the air therefore determines the amount of

53
moisture the air will hold, increasing as temperature increases and decreasing as the
temperature decreases. A graphic relationship between dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures,
moisture content and relative humidity as well at heat content of the air is known as the
Psychrometric Chart.
The importance of relative humidity is to ensure the correct rate of loss of water from the egg.
Depending on the type of machine these limits are between 50 to 60 % but it is advisable to
experiment under local conditions to find the optimum.
Generally excessive relative humidity during the first 19 days will cause chicks to hatch later
than normal and they will be larger and soft in the abdomen. Too little humidity will shorten
the incubation period and chicks will be smaller and show signs of dehydration.
Large eggs have less shell aria per unit of egg mass than do small eggs. As evaporation of
moisture depends mainly on the shell area, smaller eggs will lose a greater proportion of their
mass than will larger eggs at given relative humidity. Furthermore smaller eggs will produce
smaller chicks and chicks from such eggs have a double disadvantage in respect of producing
smaller chicks. The reverse is true for larger eggs producing larger chicks as a result of egg
size per se as well as the result of lower moisture evaporation.
An egg with a mass of 56-57 g should lose in the order of 12% of weight through evaporation
during incubation to 19 days. Eggs vary in mass and the ideal relative humidity should be
adjusted to suite the majority of eggs in the machine.
Older flocks have a greater egg mass and usually shell quality deteriorates with age. The
relative humidity for eggs from older flocks therefore has to be adjusted in the setter to ensure
the correct moisture loss. The same may apply to modern layer breeds with very good shell
quality. A balance needs to be found between moisture loss and heat transfer to and from the
egg.
The chicken, be it in the shell or out of the shell cannot withstand conditions of high
temperatures and relative humidity. During the last two days of incubation, when the eggs
spend time in the hatcher, the relative humidity has to be increased but only within certain
limits. Correct moisture will prevent the beak of the chick from sticking to the newly pipped
shell and allows freer movement of the chick's head at the time of pipping. The relative
humidity in the hatcher is therefore increased compared to that of the setter. A temperature
reduction of 0.3 to 1.0 °C (0.5 to 2.0 °F) is necessary at the same time and it must be
remembered that this temperature reduction will automatically result in an increase in relative
humidity as colder air holds less moisture. A temperature reduction of 0.6 °C at this point
will increase the relative humidity by 2.5%.
There is also a natural increase in relative humidity once chicks emerge from the egg and
begin to dry. No fixed guide is possible as each circumstance will require particular setting
for best results.

4.3.3 Air Supply Requirement

The more important components of air with respect to incubation are oxygen, carbon dioxide
and water vapour. At sea level, approximately 21% of the air is oxygen and it is generally
impossible to increase this other than the introduction of oxygen.
As the embryo advances in age its oxygen requirement increases and more carbon dioxide is
produced. By the 18th day of incubation, 1000 eggs will require 4.1 m3 of fresh air per 24
hours at sea level. A 90000 capacity machine will therefore require 369 m3 of fresh air per
day or 15.3 m3 per hour. During the initial stages of embryonic development far less air

54
volume is required. Single stage machines are set to introduce increased volumes of air as
the incubation process advances while multi-stage machines are set at a level which is a
compromise between the requirement of older and embryos at the early stages of
development.
It should be noted that with most machines, opening and closing of air inlet dampers
(allowing more or less air into the cabinet) serves as the first stage of temperature correction.
Carbon dioxide levels of 0.3% during the first 4 days will be tolerated and this increases
linearly with age and a upper maximum level of 0.75% in the hatcher is advisable. In fact
many single stage setter programs will introduce no fresh air for the first couple of days to
ensure a uniform cabinet temperature.
Ventilation and fans within the machine cabinet has two important components:
 Controlling and distributing the fresh air introduced into the machine to provide
sufficient oxygen and dispose of carbon dioxide and moisture
 Maintain proper internal circulation of air to prevent uneven temperatures and
concentration of gas and moisture around the eggs.
This is normally achieved by the fans circulating the air over the eggs within the cabinet and
a damper system controlling the volume of fresh air flow into and exhaust air from the
machine.
Several factors may impact on machine ventilation resulting in decrease hatch results and
chick quality.
 Inlet and exhaust openings not functioning or balanced properly
 Obstruction of inlet and exhaust ducts
 Cold winter conditions causing decreased airflow into lobbies
 Excessive humidity in summer
 Loose fitting gaskets and seals resulting in temperature loss
 Incorrect fan motors and fan blades
 Dirty fan blades
 Lobbies excessively pressurized on intake side
 Excessive negative pressure on exhaust systems

4.3.4 Hatching at Altitude

As altitude increase air becomes less dense thereby containing less oxygen per unit of
volume. The effect of altitude on hatchability is curvilinear causing limited effects up to 700
to 1000 meter above sea level. This negative effect however accelerates as altitude increases
above 1000 meter.
Increasing the air pressure on the machines may be used to correct the negative effects of
high altitude on hatchability. The incubator room however has to be air tight to enable the
increased air pressure to be maintained.
It has also been shown that by increasing the level of oxygen in the setter and hatchers to 23
to 23.5% will assist in improving hatch results at altitude. The oxygen is introduced by a
tube from oxygen supply cylinders and the level of oxygen needs to be monitored regularly to

55
adjust for the changing ventilation and embryo needs. This is however costly and not
practiced under normal circumstances.
Research has shown that eggs produced at altitude hatch better at altitude compared to eggs
produced at sea level and hatched at altitude. Eggs produced at altitude and hatched at sea
level will hatch at the same rate as eggs produced at sea level and hatched at sea level.

4.3.5 Turning
The yolk of the newly laid egg has a specific gravity that causes it to settle in the thin
albumen. Once the embryo starts to develop, the specific gravity reduces and the yolk in a
stationary position will rise to come into contact with the outer thick albumen resulting in
embryonic death.
For this reason eggs are turned through 90 degrees (45 degrees to either side). It is important
to ensure that turning at least achieves 40° as it has been proven that less will affect hatch
results.

Eggs turned in the setter

Under normal circumstances it is sufficient to turn eggs 6 times per day and most machines
provide for turning the eggs automatically every 1 to 3 hours. Turning is most important
during the first week, less important during the second and there is no need to turn eggs
during the third week of incubation.

4.3.6 Egg Transfer to Hatchers

Eggs are to be transferred from the setter to the hatcher after 17 to 19 days of incubation.
This process should be done as gently and as quickly as possible and is generally referred as
“tray-over”.
This process can be done manually by placing the hatcher basket over the setter tray and two
people then turning the setter tray and hatcher basket together. The hatcher basket ends up
below with the eggs in it and the setter tray on top for it to be removed and placed back into
the setter trolley. This process must be carried out as gently as possible.

56
 Manual transfer on the left and a small transfer machine on the right
Transfer machines are available and these machines can be either semi-automatic or fully
automated. The semi-automated machine will lift the eggs from the setter tray by vacuum
suction cups, allowing the setter tray to be removed and replaced by a hatcher basket into
which the eggs are then gently placed. The placing and removal of setter trays and hatcher
baskets is done manually. With fully automated machines the feeding and removal of setter
trays and hatcher baskets is fully automated requiring very little labour.
Although smaller transfer machines may not save labour, the process is done much more
gently and pneumatic tray over will reduce the percentage of cracked eggs, resulting in
improved hatch results.

4.4 Candling of eggs at transfer

Candling is the process of placing eggs over a bright light. Eggs with no embryonic
development (infertile and early death) will show much lighter than eggs with embryonic
development.
This can be done manually by placing the setter tray over lights to identify and remove eggs
showing no embryonic development at transfer. Some transfer machines are equipped with
automatic candling allowing for clear eggs to be removed.
The advantage of candling eggs at transfer (removal of clear eggs) includes:
 Clear eggs are usually the eggs that will be contaminated and inclined to explode,
resulting in the rest of the chicks and eggs being smeared with egg content
 Due to removal of 5 to 7 % of the egg mass, there will be fewer eggs to keep warm
 Hatcher space could be utilized more effectively if the trouble is taken to replace the
clear eggs removed with eggs showing embryo development

4.5 Analyses of Hatch Results

There are various factors that will influence hatchability but first it is important to know what
is meant by hatchability. Hatchability may be measured in two ways:
 The number of chicks hatched as a percentage of all eggs set, or
 The number of chicks hatched as a percentage of fertile eggs.
Example of various performance measures in a hatchery may include:
Infertility % = (Number of infertile eggs ÷ Total number of eggs or sample) x 100
Hatchability % of all eggs = Number of chicks hatched ÷ Number of eggs set x 100

57
Hatch % of fertile eggs = (Number of chicks hatched ÷ (Number of eggs set – number of
infertile eggs)) x 100
Pullet yield % = (Number of 1st grade pullet chicks ÷ Total number of chicks) x 100
Second grade chick % = (Number of non saleable chicks ÷ Total number of chick) x 100

4.5.1 Determination of Fertility and Embryo Mortality

When hatchability is expressed as a percentage of fertile eggs then the number of infertile
eggs must be known. It is difficult to distinguish between infertile eggs and early embryonic
death, especially after 21 days of incubation. Candling of eggs after a couple of days of
incubation (often done at transfer to hatcher trays) is a crude yet practical and quick way of
determining the incidence of non-fertile eggs. So called “clear eggs” detected via the process
of candling does however not distinguish between infertile eggs and early embryonic death.
The only true way of determining infertility is to break open eggs and visually observe
whether the egg is fertile or not.

4.5.1.1 Fresh Egg Breakout

It is possible to distinguish between fertile and infertile eggs prior to placement in the
incubators. It does however require practise. The egg must be broken out on a white plate or
flat surface and the germinal disc found. This is often the more difficult part as the germinal
disc could be under the broken out yolk and often some would prefer to break the egg into the
hand and by rotation of the egg content in the hands, find the germinal disc.
Prior to hatching, a fertile egg will show a large germinal disk with a light centre and a thick,
white perimeter. It appears like a doughnut, with the thick, white circle around the outer
perimeter of the disc. An infertile egg will show a small germinal disk with a solid, bright
white centre, which may or may not be in the centre. The white centre of the infertile egg is
much brighter than the white centre of the fertile egg. The germinal disk could also be large
but the centre will be solid and bright and the perimeter will be irregular.
Fresh egg breakout has the advantage that it is the quickest way of determining fertility but it
does have the disadvantage that it is a slow process and valuable eggs have to be broken. It
is however a good practice at the start of a new flock to know in advance what the fertility
would be like as well as when disease and fertility problems are being encountered. Fertility
can be determined on the day that the egg is laid rather than having to wait for 4 weeks until
final hatching.
Because of the value of hatching eggs, sample size of 100 eggs should suffice but results
could be variable as a result of the small sample size. This practice is generally only
followed when specific problems are being investigated.

4.5.1.2 Candling Breakout

Breaking out candled eggs offers accuracy in terms of determining fertility and it is useful in
determining other sources of breeder flock or hatchery failures such as cracked eggs, eggs set
upside down and early death of embryos. Although candling can be done as early as five
days of incubation, generally the best earliest age to perform candling is at 10 days. Very
few errors will occur when performed at this stage of incubation.
The fastest way to candle eggs is to place the setter tray on a set of lights for all eggs to be
inspected. Clear eggs will then consist of infertile as well as eggs that have early dead
embryos and these eggs emit more light than eggs with viable embryos. The clear eggs are
then removed and counted, and expressed as a percentage of all the eggs candled. During the
58
process the number of eggs set wrong way round as well as cracked eggs may be recorded.
The sample size should be 3 to 4 trays per flock.

Candling of eggs with a single light (left) and set of lights (right)
Spot candling is more accurate as cracked eggs are more easily seen and eggs set wrong way
up are seen more readily. The process is however more time consuming.
Embryos that have shown at least some development to the point where the embryo is
noticeable under the light when quickly rotating the egg under inspection may also be
detected and separated from absolutely clear eggs. The former is then classified as being
early death. The only way to distinguish between infertile eggs and embryos that have died
at a very early stage is to break open the egg.
This is done by breaking and pealing the round end of the eggs. Whatever development
could have taken place would normally occur there. Should the germinal disc not be
noticeable, then rotate the egg and pour off some of the albumen so that the germinal disc
may be noticed. If still no development is found the contents may be poured into an empty
pan and examined more closely.

Ten day egg breakout

The data is then classified into:
 Infertility (eggs showing no sign of development). If the blastodisc is found it will
appear as per the infertile disc described above. The yolk of infertile eggs appear well
defined, have the normal yolk colour and will generally be set towards the centre of
the egg
 Early embryonic death (eggs that show some development). Embryos that have died
during the first day will show paler and not so well defined yolk, with whitish
material on the yolk. However do not confuse the chalazae with embryonic

59
 development. Be on the lookout for signs of development of blood vessels around the
area of the air cell. Should some development of blood vessels be noted this would
indicate embryonic death during the second to third day of incubation. Embryos that
have died during the fourth day will be distinctly visible as an embryo
 Mid embryonic death are eggs classified as having died between day 8 and 14 of
incubation
 Cracked eggs
 Eggs set upside down
 Other such as rotten or microbial contaminated eggs

4.5.1.3 Hatch Debris Breakout

This involves sampling of unhatched eggs from the various breeder flocks, and classifying
them into various causes of reproductive failure. This should be performed regularly and
even on good performing flocks to obtain a sound picture of hatching results.
Eggs from at least four trays are taken. Data required for good assessment of hatch debris
would include:
 Infertile
 Early embryonic death (1 to 6 days)
 Mid Term embryonic death 8 to 14 days
 Late embryonic death 15 to 19 days
 Pipped but not hatched
 Cull Chicks
 Cracked eggs
 Eggs that are contaminated
 Other
It is more difficult to distinguish between very early death (day one) and infertility after the
eggs have spent 21 days in the machines. It is however possible by looking for any sign of
development and examining the yolk colour and albumen consistency.
 Generally an infertile yolk will have a brighter yellow than a fertile yolk
 The albumen of infertile eggs is thicker than that of fertile eggs
 An infertile egg is held in the centre of the egg while in a fertile egg the yolk would
tend to sink to the pointed end
The eggs are opened by breaking and pealing the large end of the eggs. Whatever
development could have taken place would normally occur there. The dead embryo can also
be removed and inspected for further classification into stage of embryonic death and
position of the embryo.

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 21-day egg breakout

4.5.2 Weight Loss during Incubation

An egg is about 70% water. As the embryo utilizes nutrients from the within the egg, carbon
dioxide and water is produced. For the embryo to survive and later hatch, this water must be
lost by diffusion through the shell in order to maintain the same relative percentage of water
throughout the development process.
Inadequate moisture loss results in residual albumen, increased late death (at the start of
pipping), an increase in the number of chicks pipped but not out of the shell because they are
slower to hatch and an increase in the incidence of button navels and red hocks.
Throughout the incubation process the egg looses weight at a rate of 11.5 to 12% over the 19
day period (or 0.61 to 0.63 % per day) that the eggs remain in the setters. This loss is affected
by egg size and is also slightly greater at the end of the incubation period. The relative
humidity should be in the order of 50 to 60% and most types of machines have
recommendations in this regard.
In single stage machines this weight loss will not be linear as these machines are kept
relatively closed in term of ventilation for the first couple of days, often up to a week. The
daily weight loss from the time of opening dampers in these machines then needs to be
accelerated in order to achieve the 11.5 to 12.0% loss by 18 day transfer.
Various factors such as breed, flock age, shell quality, etc. will affect the eggshell
conductance of moisture and the weight loss must be manipulated to maximize chick quality.
Should the weight loss be insufficient, the relative humidity should be decreased.
Moisture loss during incubation is a topic of special importance in modern egg laying strains
with very good shell quality and a smaller egg size. Conventional incubator conditions may
result in insufficient weight (moisture) loss, resulting in smaller chicks with poor naval
healing. A reduction in moisture levels may be considered but this should only be done with
knowledge of the effect on embryonic temperature. Reducing the moisture will reduce the
ability of air to exchange the heat requirement or loss to and from the embryo and a
simultaneous minor reduction in air incubation temperature may be necessary.
Some makes of machines use continual determination of the weight loss in sample areas for
the machine to make adjustment to temperature and humidity control. Hygrometers and other
recording devices register relative humidity and are used as measure of conditions within the
setter machines.
The practice of determining weight loss during incubation should be made part of the
hatchery control program.

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The most practical way of determining weight loss during incubation is as follows:
 Determine the weight of an empty setter tray and fill and weigh it with eggs from the
designated breeder flock
 Subtract the weight of the setter tray from the total to determine the weight of the eggs
and divide this by the number of eggs to determine the mean egg mass
 After several days of incubation replace any cracked or broken eggs with similar eggs
from another tray and obtain the new mean egg mass as above
 Calculate the loss as a percentage of the original egg mass and divide this by the
number of days of incubation
 Check the calculation against the recommended percentage daily weight loss

4.5.3 Embryonic Temperature during Incubation

Embryonic temperature as opposed to incubator temperature has been shown to be of
importance in modern high yielding broiler breeds. Embryos of modern broiler breeds may
easily become overheated when incubated at conventional temperature, resulting in high
embryonic temperature and consequent poor development and early hatching. The embryo
temperature has to be maintained as close as possible to 37.75°C (100 °F).
During the initial stages of embryonic development, the embryo requires heat in order to
maintain the correct temperature, while from 10 days of incubation, the embryo will start to
dispose of heat in order to maintain the correct temperature.
The embryo temperature within the egg is determined by:
 Temperature of the air surrounding the egg
 Moisture content of the air as moisture is the vehicle by which heat is exchanged
 Air flow around the egg
Conditions within the cabinet may not always be uniform and air temperature, airflow and
moisture content of the air in particular positions within the cabinet will influence the
embryonic temperature of the eggs in that position.
Embryo temperature may be measured by using infrared digital thermometers. By
establishing the variation of temperature within an incubator cabinet, alterations and
adjustment could be made to ensure that the majority of embryo temperatures are correct and
finding a compromise for machine settings. Factors to be considered include:
 Seasonal effects (environmental temperature and humidity)
 Lobby conditions and the ability of air conditioning equipment to cope with seasonal
changes
 Machine maintenance (poor air circulation, poor humidification nozzles, poor heater
maintenance)
 Breed
For this reason embryonic temperature should be measured frequently and minor adjustment
made to machine setting in accordance with observations seen.

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5 Chick handling and Quality
The process of chick hatching in commercial hatcheries involves the removal of large
numbers of chicks from the incubators and separating the chicks from the hatch debris.
Chicks should not be subjected to stress in any way and the fact that in many instances the
process of hatching and chick handling may call for sexing and vaccination, makes it
essential that chick handling and storage facilities should be good.
In commercial layer chick and breeder hatcheries, unwanted chicks need to be disposed of in
a humane manner. This applies to the disposal of second grade chicks in broiler hatcheries as
well.
Chick hatcheries play an important role within the poultry industry which is regarded as a
small margin, high volume business. Large volumes of chicks are handled and the quality of
chicks originating from such large commercial hatcheries will impact significantly on the
success or failure of the industry.

5.1 Removal of Chicks from the Machines

The process of removing chicks from the hatcher is generally referred to as pulling of chicks
or chick take-off. Excessive dehydration by holding chicks for too long in the hatchers
should be avoided. They should be removed from the hatcher at a point when all have
hatched and they are about 95% dry, which normally would be 21 days and 6 hours after
setting. Since the process of chick take-off takes time, especially in layer and breeder
hatcheries where chicks are sexed and vaccinated for Mareks, it is advisable to make
adjustments to the original setting times.
With broiler chicks it is advisable to get the chicks to the farm on the same day as hatching as
they are to start feeding and drinking as soon as possible after hatching. In layer pullet
hatcheries it is not all that essential to have chicks on the farm on day of hatching provided
the chick holding room temperature and ventilation is controlled. This does however not
mean that the process of pulling could be done over a period of a nine hour shift as this places
stress on the chicks remaining in the hatchers for too long. As a rule the process should be
completed within 5 to 6 hours.
In broiler hatcheries, chicks are removed from the hatcher trays, selected for second grade
chicks and boxed in the same process. This could be done manually in smaller hatcheries or
the process could be automated in larger hatcheries requiring staff to load the system, do the
selection for removal of second grade chicks and the final stacking of chick boxes.

Carousels in chick take-off and handling

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In layer and breeder hatcheries the chicks have to be sexed and vaccinated and they are
therefore transferred onto a conveyer system of some sort on which they would go through
the process of being sexed, vaccinated and boxed. A system of round revolving tables is
usually preferred as such a system acts as a reservoir for the various tasks being performed.

5.2 Chick Quality

The characteristics of first grade chicks will include:
 They are clean and free from any contamination and egg residue
 Have down that is be soft, dry and covers all parts of the body
 Down on the head and neck should be long and fluffy not short and hard.
 Have eyes that are clear and bright
 Have no sign of deformed beaks or any other deformities
 Navels are completely healed, clean and dry with no dried membranes protruding
 The chick is firm and stands easily
 The chick should not show signs of distress such as panting
 The chick should be alert and interested in its environment
 The body temperature of chicks should be maintained within the range of 39.5 to
40°C (103 to 104°F) from point of take-off to delivery to the farms
 The chick should not have excessive quantity of yolk material left (10% of chick
weight or 4 g for a 40 g chick)
 Chick size (weight and length) in relation to eggs size is important
Conditions in the chick take-off and holding rooms should be 24 to 26°C with a relative
humidity of no less than 55% to avoid excessive dehydration. Particular conditions should
always be monitored against the body temperature of chicks. If body temperature drops or
increases, adjustment to holding conditions must be made.
Day old chicks should not be subjected to draughty areas. The Wind Chill will result in
chicks chilling, despite normal temperature conditions.
Chick boxes of varying sizes and configurations exist but in most cases the compartments
hold 25 chicks in two or four compartments per box (25 cm per chick). Boxes without
compartments are used successfully over short deliveries.
Materials used on the base of boxes consist of clean wood-wool (especially when chicks are
to be dispatched over long distances) or rough paper pads with a high moisture absorption
capacity. Smooth paper should be avoided as this results in chicks slipping and being
injured. Especially with heavier broiler chicks and increased incidence of splayed legs would
be noted.
More detail on reasons for poor chick quality is dealt with in the section on Trouble Shooting

5.3 Sexing of chicks

Broiler chicks are normally dispatched as hatched although some broiler breeds do exist
where sex can be determined by feather sexing. In the case of commercial layer breeds, the

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sex may be determined by either feather sexing or colour sexing, depending on the breed.
Colour sexing is obviously a lot easier than feather sexing and may be performed direct on
the hatcher tray. Feather sexing requires individual chicks to be handled and therefore
requires the chicks to be placed as hatched onto an accumulating table from where the sexer
may handle them.

5.3.1 Vent Sexing

In breeder hatcheries vent sexing is done by specially trained people. This comprises a
special technique of voiding the cloacae of its contents, opening the cloacae and visually
distinguishing between the male and female chick. This is by distinguishing between the
presence or absence of a very small rudimentary copulatory organ.

Vent sexing of chicks

It is a slow process and a good sexer will handle between 700 and 800 chicks per hour (350
female chicks). Normal sexing errors with vent sexing should be in the order of 2 %.
Some breeds are more difficult to vent sex than others and chicks from young flocks are also
more difficult to vent sex.

5.3.2 Feather Sexing

Slow feathering in young chicks is due to a qualitative sex-linked dominant gene "K". It's
allele, rapid feathering, is the result of the recessive gene, "k". The predominant feature of the
recessive gene is to cause feathers to develop slower during the initial 6 to 8 weeks of the
birds live. The difference between slow and fast feathering can already be detected at day old
by the difference in length of the primary wing feathers in relation to the length of the
primary wing coverts, which are the small downy feathers covering the base of the primary
feather shafts.

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The genetic background of feather sexing is explained in the Breeder Management Book.
Feather sexing is much easier to perform that vent sexing and less training is required. Good
sexers will handle 1500 chicks per hour. In the slow feathering males the coverts are the
same length or longer than the primaries. In the fast feathering female chick the primaries
will be longer than the coverts.

5.3.3 Colour Sexing

Another sex linked gene S which produces silver feather colour (a certain type of white) is
dominant over the recessive allelomorphs s, which produces gold feather colour. Since this
gene is sex linked the makeup of birds can be fixed genetically. This is explained in the
Breeder Management Book.
Colour sexing is much easier to perform and up to 3000 chicks per hour can be handled.
Male chicks have light down and possibly one faint brown stripe down the centre of the back.
Some male chicks may be light brown with two darker stripes on the back the middle part of
the back being pale. Female chicks are dark brown with a possible light stripe on the back.
Some females are a lighter brown with a single dark back in the centre and two lighter stripes
to the side of the back.

Colour sexing

5.4 Vaccination of Chicks

Chick vaccination in the hatchery could consist of spray vaccination, eye drop vaccination as
well as sub coetaneous injection. Spray vaccination is often called for to protect chicks
against early challenges of diseases such as Infectious Bronchitis and Newcastle Disease. It
could be performed by hand held sprays after boxing of chicks. In larger hatcheries
automatic spray vaccinators are used. In this system, the boxed chicks move through a
chamber, which sprays the vaccine onto the chicks as the box passes through.
Breeder and commercial layer chicks are to be protected against Mareks disease. This is
performed manually by injecting the vaccine sub coetaneous in the neck or on the inside of
the thigh. The vaccine could consist of as freeze dried product kept under frozen condition at
below 0°C. Cell associated vaccines are kept at much colder temperatures in liquid nitrogen
containers (-196 °C).
Mareks vaccination could be administered by handheld syringes or semi-automatic197
vaccinators. Vaccination of the embryo before hatching (In Ovo Vaccination) is also
practised but the cost of the machines makes them viable only in very large commercial
hatcheries

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With automatic vaccinators, the area of vaccination is held against a trigger plate and the
needle is inserted by the machine, under the skin. If not serviced and properly maintained,
these machines could damage the chicks.

Hand vaccination of chicks

In all circumstances, the vaccine is to be handled strictly in accordance with manufacturer
and veterinary recommendations. Vaccines could be destroyed be incorrect storage,
handling, thawing and administration. Especially with Mareks vaccination, should the
procedure not be correct a large number of chicks could be susceptible due to the disease
manifesting itself and diagnosed only very much later in the birds life.
Vaccination equipment should be thoroughly sterilized before and after use, as the diluent is
an ideal medium for bacterial growth. Acute pseudomonas infection is often associated with
poor cleaning and sterilization of vaccine equipment.

5.5 Morphological Alteration of Chicks

5.5.1 Dubbing of Breeder Males

Some breeds of males are very aggressive and tend to fight causing damage to large combs.
To overcome this, males are dubbed by cutting the comb with a sharp rounded manicure
scissors at day old.

This is a specialized procedure and should only be carried out by trained staff and also only if
it necessary to do so due to males damaging one another during fighting. Seek veterinary
advice before carrying out such procedure. The chick is held in one hand with the head held
firmly between the thumb and first finger. A sharp scissors is then used to cut the comb as
close to the head as possible, following the round shape of the head against the scull from
front to back. Mentholated spirits or alcohol should be used to disinfect the scissors after
every cut. This process is normally not followed in broiler parent stock as the intact comb is
required to keep males out of female feeders.

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5.5.2 De-Spurring and Toe Cutting of Breeder Males
Females are often injured unduly by the males during mating and could call for the males to
be de-spurred as well as toe clipped. This procedure is to be performed by specially trained
staff and veterinary advice should be sought before carrying out the procedure. Special hand
held machines are used for this purpose. The de-spurring machine consists of an apparatus
that is very similar to a small electric soldering iron with a heated wire point at the end. A
transformer controls the heat at the wire end, which should have a red glow when in use. The
chick is held in one hand with one leg stretched forward and the spur knob is touched with
the hot iron. The process is then repeated with the second leg. A small burned spot should
be all that is noticed.

Toe trimming is performed by a similar looking hand held machine but with this apparatus,
two hot wires are mounted on a pliers-like pincher which cuts and cauterizes the toe end. The
chick is again held in one hand with toes extended and the innermost toe trimmed at the last
joint, just behind the toe nail. The process is then repeated with the second leg.
The toes as well as the de-spurred area are disinfected by dabbing cotton wool soaked in
alcohol or mentholated spirits on the cut and cauterized areas.

5.6 Chick Holding and Transport

Conditions in the chick take-off and holding rooms should be 24 to 26 °C with a RH of no
less than 55% to avoid excessive dehydration. The chick holding room should also be free of
draughts and the minimum ventilation supplied should be 0.33 to 0.35 m3/1000
chicks/minute. Stacks of chick boxes should allow for sufficient ventilation between
stacks/trolleys. When stacked too close to one another, ventilation in the middle will not be
sufficient and these chicks will soon overheat.
Carton chick boxes of varying sizes and configurations exist but in most cases the
compartments hold 25 chicks in two or four compartments per box. Returnable plastic
containers holding 100 chicks are used successfully over short deliveries. Materials used on
the base of boxes should be clean wood-wool (especially when chicks are to be dispatched
over long distances) or rough paper pads with a high moisture absorption capacity. Smooth
paper should be avoided as this result in chicks slipping and being injured.
In most cases chick delivery would take place on the day of hatch but also not too late in the
afternoon so as allow the farm staff to get chicks settled prior to the evening. In broiler
operations it is especially important to get chicks started as soon as possible.

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 Fully air conditioned chick truck
Some pullet customers would however prefer to receive chicks the following morning, to
have sufficient time for staff to get the chicks settled into the cage systems. Whatever the
preference, the driver should be aware that there are live chicks on the truck generating much
heat and moisture in a confined space and especially when stationary, the heat build up in the
vehicle could be very rapid and harmful.
The type of truck to be used for delivery of chicks to the farm will depend on the distances
involved. For short distances and mild temperature conditions, it is sufficient to provide for
adequate ventilation only with avoidance of excessive draughts in the truck body. When the
distances to be travelled involve diverse conditions (such as travelling over long periods or
when environmental conditions are bound to vary) it would be advisable to consider a tailor
made fully air-conditioned vehicle.
With chick trucks the load is confined to a very small space and ventilation and movement of
air throughout the entire load is of utmost importance. Specially designed vehicles are
equipped with air conditioning units to heat or cool a minimum amount of fresh air
introduced into the truck body while a larger amount of air is circulated within the truck to
remove heat from the chicks in a similar fashion as air movement in a hatcher cabinet.

5.7 Chick Temperature

Chick body temperature is an important tool in evaluating whether the condition in which
chicks are held and transported is adequate. The body temperature of chicks should remain
within the range of 40 to 40.5°C (104 to 105°F). Chicks however react as if they are "cold
blooded" during the first 4 -5 days (poikilotherm). This means that they have limited ability
to regulate their body temperature and the body temperature would depend largely on
temperature conditions surrounding the body.
Chick body temperature is measured by determining the cloacal temperature. This is done
by means of a hand held infrared digital thermometer obtainable from chemists. Sampling
chicks at various points within the holding area as well as immediately upon arrival on a farm
will soon indicate whether chicks have been handled without undue stress.
Some variation due to flock age (chicks from young parent flocks tend to have lower body
temperature) may occur but by evaluating the differences in air movement and varying
temperature conditions within the room, the variation can to a large degree be reduced.

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Measuring chick temperature

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6 Trouble Shooting
Embryonic mortality and chick quality are influenced by various aspects including nutrition,
diseases, management of the breeder flock, hatching egg handling as well as management of
the hatchery and hatchery conditions. In order to effectively analyze poor hatching results, it
is important to know the normal pattern of embryonic death so as to compare results to this.
The procedure to determine the stage at which embryonic mortality occurred as well as the
procedure to identify between early embryonic death and infertility is described in the section
on Chick Incubation.

6.1 Normal Embryonic Mortality

With normal hatch results of between 80 and 90 % chicks of all eggs set, eggs that fail to
hatch (10 to 20% of all eggs set with a mean of 15%) can be classified as per Table 6.1.
Table 6.1: Classification of eggs that do not hatch
Classification Normal Low Range High Range
% % %
Infertility 5.5 3.0 8.0
Embryonic death 1 to 7 days 2.5 2.0 3.0
Embryonic death 8 to 14 days 1.0 0.8 1.2
Embryonic death 15 to 21 days 4.0 3.0 5.0
Eggs piped but not hatched 2.0 1.2 2.8
Total 15.0 10.0 20.0

It is advisable to regularly break open eggs to establish the normal pattern for the hatchery.
Embryonic mortality should normally show a peak in the first seven days (30% of total
embryonic mortality), where after it declines in the second week of incubation (10% of the
total embryonic mortality). Sixty percent of the total embryonic mortality will occur during
the last week but especially during the last 3 to 4 days of incubation.
The initial peak mortality should always be lower than the latter peak (30 to 50% thereof).
Pre-oviposital mortality could also occur which is normally as a result of eggs which are in
the hen too long or when the period that the egg spends in the hen is too short. Several
factors will affect the time that the egg spends in the oviduct and include size of the egg
(large eggs move slower), eggs with thick shells move slower, disease often cause eggs to be
laid prematurely and eggs move slower down the oviduct of poorer producing hens.

6.2 Embryonic Mortality during First Week of Incubation

Embryos show a high rate of mortality during the first 3 to 4 days of incubation and during
the first 7 days it should be between 2 to 3 %. Factors normally contributing to high rate
mortality in this period would include:
 Poor flock health
 Infrequent egg collection
 Poor handling of eggs prior to storage
 Poor transportation of eggs

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  Poor holding conditions of hatching eggs
 Long storage time
 Improper fumigation of eggs prior to setting
 Incorrect incubation temperature
 Poor pre-heating
 Insufficient turning

6.3 Embryonic Mortality during Second Week of Incubation

The mortality during the period 8 to 14 days should be very low and not exceed 10% of total
embryonic mortality.
Should mortality be high during this period it usually would imply nutritional deficiencies in
the breeder feed.
Other causes of embryonic mortality during this period could be due to poor incubation
temperature control (setting cold eggs that affect embryos already developed) as well as poor
turning and infected eggs (poor egg sanitation).

6.4 Embryonic Mortality during the Third Week of Incubation

The last seven days are very critical in the development of the embryo and it can therefore be
expected that embryonic mortality will increase during this period. Mortality in this period
should be about 50% greater than the mortality in the first week. The main causes of
mortality in the last three to four days of incubation include:
 Malposition
 Dehydration due to low humidity
 Dehydration due to poor shell quality
 Suffocation due to lack of oxygen
 Low moisture loss
 Excessive temperature leading to overheating
 Low incubation temperature
 Insufficient turning during incubation
 Rough transfer

6.5 Malposition
The normal position of chick development at 19 days is for the head to be at the round end of
the egg (close to the air cell) with the head to the right and tucked in under the right wing, the
beak facing toward the air cell and feet toward the head. Many eggs do not develop in this
position, some of which will hatch and others not.
The reasons for chicks developing in the wrong position could be:
 Eggs set wrong way round (small ends up)
 Old breeder flocks tend to have more malpositioned embryos

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  Eggs that are very round and difficult to assess blunt end could have been set wrong
way round
 Inadequate turning (frequency and angle)
 High incubation temperature

6.6 Specific Problems

Analyzing problems that affect hatch results is complicated and numerous interacting factors
could be involved. When investigating specific problems it is advisable to endeavour to
firstly establish whether the egg was in fact fertile and secondly the stage at which embryonic
death occurred. Listed here is a series of identifiable signs together with possible causes
that may be used to assist in resolving problems.

Observation Possible Cause

High number of clears under candling lights Infertility
 Immature males
 Poor mating ratio
 Poor male body weight
 Extreme temperature
 Flock age
 Disease
 Breed
Early embryonic death
Eggs are fertile but no blood ring noted Egg collection
(> 3 days)  Infrequent collection
Egg transport
 Jarring and rough handling
 Poor temperature during transport
 Eggs not allowed to settle after transport
Egg storage
 Eggs stored too long
 Incorrect storage temperature
 Fluctuating storage temperature

Other
 Diseased flock
 Feed toxins
 Pesticides in feed
 Egg wash temperature
 Incorrect use of drugs in the flock

Embryo died after blood ring was formed Pre-incubation

(< 3 days)  Poor egg transport
 Poor egg storage temperature control
 Poor fumigation
 Old breeder flock
Poor setting of eggs
 Low setter temperature
 Setter looses excessive temperature at setting
Other
 Feed toxins
 Pesticides in feed
 Incorrect use of drugs in the feed

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  Severe vitamin deficiency in feed
 Investigate setter ventilation
Embryonic mortality in second week of Setter problems
incubation  Turning infrequent and not enough angel
 Poor ventilation supply and air circulation
 Temperature high, low or fluctuating
 Machine has hot and cold spots
 Excessive temperature drops
Other
 Nutritional deficiencies
 Microbial contamination
Embryonic mortality in third week of Setter problems
incubation  Poor lobby conditions
 Temperature high, low or fluctuating
 Poor humidity control
 Poor turning
 Poor ventilation supply and air circulation
 Machine hot and cold spots
Transfer problems
 Eggs loosing excessive temperature
 Rough handling of eggs
 Transfer too late
Hatcher problems
 Poor control on lobby conditions
 Temperature high, low or fluctuating
 Poor ventilation supply and air circulation
 Poor humidity control
 Excessive trickle fumigation
 Malposition
 Hatcher being opened too often
Embryos pipped but dead in shell Setter problems
 Eggs set small ends up
 Old eggs (long storage time)
 Poor machine temperature control
 Insufficient turning
Transfer problems
 Rough handling of eggs
Hatcher problems
 High temperature causing small pipping area
 Low humidity
 Excessive trickle fumigation
 Poor ventilation
Chicks hatching early Breeder flock
 Young flock
Machines
 High temperatures
 Low humidity
 Poor lobby temperature and humidity
 Poor lobby ventilation and air pressure
Chick hatching late Breeder flock
 Old flock
Egg storage
 Eggs stored long
Machines
 Low temperatures
 Poor lobby temperature and humidity
 Poor lobby ventilation and air pressure

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Drawn out hatch Pre-incubation
 Mixed egg age
 Mixed breeder flock age
 Varying egg size
 Poor egg handling
Machines
 Uneven cabinet temperature
 Poor lobby temperature and humidity
 Poor lobby ventilation and air pressure
Dirty chicks with smeared egg content Pre-incubation
 Old eggs
 Poor shell quality
 Poor egg sanitation
 Very large eggs breaking
Incubation
 Pops causing egg content to smear chicks
 Low incubator temperature
 High incubator humidity
Small dehydrated chicks Pre-Incubation
 Young breeder flock
 Small eggs
 Low humidity during storage
 Poor shell quality
Incubation
 High machine temperature
 Low machine humidity
Unhealed navels, dry with rough down Incubation
 High incubation temperature
 Fluctuating incubator temperature
 Hot spots in incubators
 High or low hatcher humidity
Unhealed navels with infection, chicks Poor sanitation
lethargic  Dirty eggs
 Poor egg fumigation
 Setting floor eggs
 Dirty trays and baskets
 Poor sanitation of machines
Weak chicks lying in hatcher basket Incubation
 High hatcher temperature
 Chicks too long in hatcher
 Excessive trickle fumigation
 Contamination
Crooked beaks and other head and facial Incubation
abnormalities often also brain hernia  High temperature
 Hot spots in machines
 Poor control on lobby temperature and humidity
causing uneven machine temperature
 Poor control on lobby ventilation causing uneven
machine temperature
Spraddled legs and crooked toes Pre-incubation
 Inadequate nutrition
Incubation
 Smooth hatcher baskets
 High hatcher temperature
Post hatching
 Smooth paper in chick handling systems and boxes
Short and wiry down Pre-incubation

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  Inadequate nutrition especially riboflavin
 Mycotoxins causing nutritional deficiency
Incubation
 High machine temperature
Red hocks and beaks are indicative that Incubation
chicks have struggled to break out of the  High temperatures
shell  Hot spots in machines
 Low humidity
 Small pipping area
Small pipping area different to the normal Incubation
pipping of almost one third from the  High temperature
rounded end of the egg  Uneven cabinet temperature with hot spots
 Poor lobby conditions creating uneven machine
temperature
Rots and smelly egg content Pre-incubation
 Dirty eggs set
 Floor eggs set
 Poor egg sanitation
 Unhygienic egg storage
 Moisture condensation on shell
 Poor washing of eggs if practiced
 Eggs being wiped with dirty cloth
 Re-contamination by dirty hands and equipment
Incubation
 Egg and chick contaminated by other eggs exploding
 Re-contamination by dirty equipment
 Poor water quality in spray nozzles
Chicks gasping and showing sign of Poor sanitation of lobbies, machines and ducting
aspergillus infection

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