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Hatching - Incubation

Hatching of eggs refers to the production of baby chicks. In early days eggs were hatched by placing them under broody hens. Desi hens proved to be ideal for this purpose. Only 10 to 12 eggs can be put under 1 hen. This method of hatching is highly unsatisfactory for large-scale production of baby chicks. Incubators, which provide similar environment as that of broody hens, but more efficiently, are used at present for hatching of eggs. The incubation period for chicken eggs is 20 to 21 days, and increases up to 30 days for other poultry. After sitting for some days, a broody hen can be given some newly hatched chicks and, if they are accepted, the original eggs can be removed and replaced with more chicks. Thus hens with a better record of mothering can be better utilised for their abilities. Eggs initially need a very controlled heat input to maintain the optimum temperature of 38°C, because the embryo is microscopic in size.
Keith Bramwell
University of Arkansas (USA)
University of Arkansas (USA)
Although there have been great improvements in the breeder house, egg transportation and the hatchery, on-farm hatching egg storage has been largely ignored. The lack of improvement might be traced to a lack of information about the optimum environment to maintain viability of hatching eggs stored at the farm level. Meeting chick placement needs and ensuring the full utilization of incubation equipment have made hatching egg storage inevitable in the commercial broiler industry. While...
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The most important step in egg sanitation is the production of nest-clean eggs. This requires a carefully planned management system. The following practices have proved useful in producing clean hatching eggs and in keeping the eggs clean until they are set in incubators.      • Maintain birds on wire, plastic, or wooden slatted floors whenever possible. However, some commercial         strains of chickens and turkeys do not produce well in this environment and must have litter floors...
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There are many factors which affect chick quality and percent hatchability from hatching eggs. As a general rule, other than fertility, conditions in the hatchery are considered to be more important to successfully hatching quality chicks than conditions on the farm. However, providing the proper temperature and environmental conditions for hatching eggs prior to incubation can be nearly as important as during incubation. As midday summer temperatures continue to rise both in, and around...
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Hendrix Genetics
Hendrix Genetics
In the production as well as the rearing periods, the lighting programme greatly influences the feed consumption. In addition, during all its life, a chicken remains sensitive to changes in the duration of illumination. The objective of the lighting programmes during production period...
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Hatchability Problems Hatching egg quality parameters have become increasingly important as commercial broiler breeder producers attempt to maximize hatchability. The egg pack can be easily monitored and growers held responsible for sending too many poor quality eggs to the hatchery. However, even good quality eggs can be mishandled. When care is not taken the incidence of otherwise good hatching eggs sent to the hatchery in the form of...
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Hendrix Genetics
Hendrix Genetics
The period from one day old to the point of first egg production is a critical time in the life of the laying hen. It is during this time that the physiological capability of the hen is developed. Success in the rearing period leads to the success in the laying house and start from chick arrival. All...
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Pas Reform and prominent Brazilian poultry businessman José Antonio Campos Fracasso, president of Hygen Genética Avícola Ltda., have announced a new venture to manufacture Pas Reform’s full suite of Hatchery Technologies outside The Netherlands for the first time in the Dutch company’s history. Pas Reform do Brasil is being launched as a subsidiary of the Dutch company at Rio Claro city/SP and will, says Bouke Hamminga, Pas Reform’s International sales and business development director,...
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Petersime R&D is pleased to announce the addition of Luc Gabriël to its R&D team. Mr Gabriël, 45, joins Petersime as an experienced designer. Most recently, he was employed by Eliet, where he was involved in developing professional gardening machines for garden waste treatment, lawn maintenance, and waste clearance. His skills and experience range from mechanical design to hardware design, software design and mathematical modelling. Between his interest...
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Hubbard is very pleased to announce that Jiggs Killgore has been named Director of Hatcheries for Hubbard LLC. In his new role, Jiggs will be responsible for overseeing and managing all of the Hubbard LLC hatcheries. Jiggs’ focus will be to guarantee the supply of quality products from Hubbard’s hatcheries to its growing customer base. Jiggs is one of the foremost experts in incubation in the country and his knowledge is widely respected worldwide. He has spent 21 years in supervision,...
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Producing a profitable broiler requires that certain standards be met, some even before the chicks are placed on the farm and during the grow-out. The most important principle is to set the best quality fertile eggs in the machines and ensure that all eggs have been handled properly. It is preferred not to hold the eggs more than three days and the egg room must have the right temperature and humidity during storage to avoid killing or weakening the blastoderm. The longer the eggs are kept in...
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Jamesway is pleased to invite you to our Hatchery Management Seminar being held in Raleigh, NC, April 8th - 10th, 2008. This seminar is designed for everyone associated with hatching and all aspects of hatchery operations and management. Included in the seminar will be presentations and interactive discussions by industry specialists, university professors and other industry related guest speakers. Our program will cover the following topics: •...
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In a commercial broiler integration, the objective is to provide the best quality hatching eggs that produce the greatest number of quality chicks per hen housed. A properly managed hen can produce more than 180 eggs, which potentially can result in approximately 600 pounds of broiler meat. However, there exists great variation in the amount of meat produced per hen among integrations. Much of this difference can be traced back to how the eggs were managed during collection, storage, and...
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Economic losses associated with the incidence of egg shell defects are important when evaluating the profitability of a layer operation (Bell, 1998; Gomez- Basauri, 1997; Roland, 1988; Hamilton et al., 1979). Worldwide estimates of reduced shell quality leading to egg breakage have been found to range from 6 to 8% (Anderson and Carter, 1976; Folkerts, 1976; Roland, 1977; Hamilton et al., 1979). In the USA alone this has been estimated to be around 8% (Roland, 1988). Shell defects are not...
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Numerous estimates have been made concerning the total economic losses associated with accidental egg breakage in the table egg industry of the US. Estimates as high as $478 million per year have been published (Roland, 1988). The many estimates vary due to differences in methods of estimating the percentage of eggs cracked or lost and the relative prices used by the authors to establish values. A number of excellent research papers and reviews of the subject have been published...
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Richard Balander
Egg Industry Center
Egg Industry Center
IMPORTANCE AND PREVIOUS WORK Less than one-third of the phosphorus (P) contained in feed ingredients of plant origin is biologically available to monogastric animals (NRC, 1994). The remainder of the phosphorus is tied up as phytate (phytic acid or myoinositol hexaphosphate) and monogastrics as a general rule lack the enzyme(s) necessary to hydrolyze phytate down to phosphorus and inositol (Peeler, 1972; Lynch, 1996). Therefore, inorganic...
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The number of laying hens in the different systems of egg production in Spain were in 2005: (Source: Spanish Ministry of Agriculture– MAPA – Official Registration of laying hen farms) The main production system is the battery cage. Most of them are traditional cages,...
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We expect a lot from modern broiler breeders. These highly growth-selected birds must pass the genetics for fast and efficient growth to as many offspring as possible. While crossbreeding and selection programs have resulted in annual improvements in broiler growth, breast muscle yield, feed efficiency and disease resistance, there is a negative relationship between body weight and egg production in broiler breeders (Robinson et al., 1993). While specialized genetic selection has meant that egg...
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The modern breeder female is a genetic compromise between two very different selection criteria. This parent must have the genetics for rapid and efficient growth, and yet exhibit a high rate of egg production to supply the next generation of broiler chicks. Reproductive problems arising from decades of genetic selection for meat production traits have impaired the reproductive ability of both broiler parents (Siegel and Dunnington, 1985). Managing the ovary of the broiler breeder is...
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Discovered by Berzelius (1818) in 1817, selenium (Se) is a required nutrient in the diets of poultry (NRC, 1994). Rotruck et al. (1973) identified the element as being required for the functioning of the enzyme Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), which has a major role in antioxidant metabolism. Although Se itself is not an antioxidant, as the functional part of the GSH-Px enzyme, Se plays a major role in membrane protection by preventing peroxidation. Provision of Se in commercial...
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What are the incubation needs of the developing embryo? To achieve the best results from commercial incubation we should focus on temperature in the setter, the most critical factor of embryonic development. ...
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