Chick Quality breeder and hatchery influences. Daniel B Pearson Veterinary Health Director Aviagen UK Ltd

Transcription

1 Chick Quality breeder and hatchery influences Daniel B Pearson Veterinary Health Director Aviagen UK Ltd

2 Outline Definition of chick quality Nutrition Health Inputs Egg Hatchery Chick handling, storage and transport Influence on broiler performance Summary

3 Definitions of Chick Quality? No deformities? Active and vigorous? Dead-on-arrival? 7-day mortality Day 7 body weight? Broiler liveability? Chick weight?

4 Chick Weight Good chick weight does not always mean good chick Quality! Good chick quality does not always mean good broiler performance!

5 Inputs Transport Appetite Water Environment Nutrition Health Fertility Nutrition Genetics Health Temp Weight loss Contamination Hatch time Processing Quality Weight Contamination Handling Storage

6 Inputs

7 . Breeder Nutrition and Chick Quality

8 Importance of the egg When a mammalian embryo develops in the womb it can be influenced by the quality of nutrition of the mother In an egg that is complete by the time the egg starts incubation

9 Nutrition At lay an egg must contain all it requires to hatch and produce a healthy chick protein, energy (fats); vitamins and minerals. The embryo is particularly sensitive to vitamin deficiencies Breeder nutrition affects the health of the embryo and the day old chick

10 Egg Production (%) Understanding the importance of each phase Maximize Hatching Eggs and Chick Quality Maximize Egg Shell Quality 26% 14% 13% 12% 11% 10% 9% 5% Age (week)

11 Weight (g) Percentage Yolk: Egg Ratio and Age Lower Reserves Age (weeks) Chick Egg % Yolk

12 Early Nutrition Lack of feed early in lay can result is poorer chick quality without having any major affect on egg production Low peak feed = higher mortality with non-starters

13 Late Nutrition Ca grit Calcium in feed is given at wrong time of day (morning not evening) Level of calcium from feed varies according to feeding level Use grit (oyster shell or granular limestone) to maintain 5g Ca/day Care for biosecurity with shells

14 Calcium or Grits (g) Egg Production Rate (%) 7 6 Single Stage Feeding Programme Breeder 1 (3,0% Ca) Calcium from Feed, grams/day Ca required from Grit, g/day Grit required, grams/bird/day EGG Production Age (weeks)

15 Calcium or Grits (g) Egg Production Rate (%) Two Stage Feeding Programme Breeder 1 (3,2% Ca) Breeder 2 (3,4% Ca) Calcium from Feed, grams/day Ca required from Grit, g/day Grit required, grams/bird/day EGG Production Age (weeks)

16 Later Egg Weight Weight of hen at POL influences later egg weight Evenness of flock Slower at Feeding into Production peak at 75% prod instead of 60%

17 Breeder Health affect on chick quality Bacterial diseases salmonella (pullorum, gallinarum, enteritidis, typhimurium) Viral Respiratory Diseases IB, ND, ART etc Other viruses CAV (chicken anaemia virus), AE (avian encephalomyelitis), IBH (adenoviruses), Reoviruses (stunting), CAstV (white chick disease), Control: Biosecurity and Vaccination

18 Inputs

19 Inputs 60 days

20 Inputs 21 days 35 %

21 Inputs Eaglesfield trials : Days to 2.2 Kg days 35 %

22 Inputs Eaglesfield trials : Days to 2.2 Kg days 39 %

23 Inputs

24 Inputs Size Quality Contamination Storage External Internal Temperature Humidity

25 Inputs Size Chick weight approx 67-68% of egg size

26 Inputs Size Quality Contamination Storage External Internal Temperature Humidity

27 Consequences of egg contamination Depressed hatchability due to embryonic mortality Risk of cross-contamination in the hatchery Chick quality suffers, and first week mortalities are high

28 Inputs Size Quality Contamination Storage External Internal Temperature Humidity

29 Storage Normal cell division will continue above 27 o C Some cell division will continue above 24 o C Physiological zero Normal cell division is not a problem provided it does not continue too long before the egg is cooled 24 hours incubation Satisfactory Germinal disc < 3mm Too long germinal disc > 5mm

30 Recommended Storage conditions Egg age at set (days) Egg store Temperature ( o C) Eggs store Humidity (%RH) > Longer you store the eggs the lower the storage temperature 13 o C

31 Inputs

32 Hatchery Influences Pre-warm Correct temperature and humidity Correct incubation time Correct chick holding conditions

33 Room temp (24 o ) 12 hrs Why? Pre-Warming Avoid condensation when bringing eggs from a cold egg store Help the eggs warm evenly otherwise hatch spread will be widened

34 Correct Incubation Temperature Chick quality and hatch are best when embryo temperatures are held between o F through the whole of incubation Correlation between percentage hatch, culls and FWM

35 Measuring Incubation Temperature Temperature reading on incubator screen does not = incubation temperature Incubation temperature = embryo temperature. Shell temperature ~ embryo temperature

36 Temperature C Relationship between incubator air, eggshell and internal egg temperatures. (French, 1997) Air Internal Surface Day of Incubation

37 Shell Temperature (F) Acceptable Bounds? Decrease Temp Okay Increase Temp Day of Incubation

38 Humidity Level of humidity controls the water loss from the egg during incubation. Typically 11 12% of the fresh egg weight is lost by transfer through water loss Rate of water loss depends on: Incubator humidity Eggshell porosity (conductance) Conductance can vary between different egg types

39 Optimum Chick Yield > 68% High Lazy and not ready to feed and drink when placed on farm 67 68% Optimum Active and ready to feed and drink when placed on farm <67% Low dehydrated with little yolk reserve. Often very active and noisy.

40 Correct Hatch Timing Chick hatching too close to take-off = chicks too soft Longer in the hatchers = Too dehydrated Improves broiler performance Influenced by variability of temperature in the setters Hatch window ( spread of hatch ) Ideally 30 hrs (1% - 99%)

41 Visual Clues Good Hatch Timing Clean Debris 5% Wet Necks Feather development

42 Chick holding / storage How can we assess if chicks are comfortable? Mechanical measurements Simple observation based on biology Too hot Gular fluttering / panting Too cold Noisy, huddling, cold legs If they are not panting and legs are warm they are within their thermo-neutral zone

43 Visual Assessment Chicks too cold start huddling Chicks at correct temperature are quiet and sleeping Chicks too hot start gasping

44 Visual Assessment Vent temperature < 38.9 o C (102 o F) Vent temperature o C ( o F) Vent temperature > 40.6 o C (105 o F)

45 Temperature Variation Photographs courtesy of Dr. M.Czarick University of Georgia

46 Chick Weight (g) Holding Chicks at the Correct Temperature Reduces Weight Loss Chick Vent Temperature o C Holding Time (h) Until they are fed, chicks will lose about 4g every 24 hours, due to moisture loss and yolk utilisation

47 Influence on broiler performance?

48 Influence on broiler performance?

49 Influence on broiler performance?

50 On Farm Hygiene Set up make it easy for the chicks To find water & food Establish appetite Develop a healthy gut function To feel comfortable Avoid stress Allow them to do what their biological potential wants them to

51 Body weight, g Delayed chicks do not catch-up! g delay=0 delay=24h 110g Age, days (Pinchasov & Noy, 1993)

52 Summary Feed quality, feed volumes and feed distribution all combine to determine the nutritional package of an egg. Therefore all impact on chick quality Breeder health is fundamentally important for chick quality Egg storage conditions are critical for hatch performance and can affect chick quality Incubation can be 40% of the total time required to produce a 2 Kg broiler Temperature; humidity (ventilation) and time Chick holding and transport - monitoring chick temperatures is an important tool Chick Quality is an very important foundation but does not guarantee good broiler performance

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