Chick Quality breeder and hatchery influences Daniel B Pearson Veterinary Health Director Aviagen UK Ltd
Outline Definition of chick quality Nutrition Health Inputs Egg Hatchery Chick handling, storage and transport Influence on broiler performance Summary
Definitions of Chick Quality? No deformities? Active and vigorous? Dead-on-arrival? 7-day mortality Day 7 body weight? Broiler liveability? Chick weight?
Chick Weight Good chick weight does not always mean good chick Quality! Good chick quality does not always mean good broiler performance!
Inputs Transport Appetite Water Environment Nutrition Health Fertility Nutrition Genetics Health Temp Weight loss Contamination Hatch time Processing Quality Weight Contamination Handling Storage
Inputs
. Breeder Nutrition and Chick Quality
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
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
Egg Production (%) Understanding the importance of each phase 100 80 60 40 20 0 Maximize Hatching Eggs and Chick Quality Maximize Egg Shell Quality 26% 14% 13% 12% 11% 10% 9% 5% Age (week)
Weight (g) Percentage Yolk: Egg Ratio and Age 70 32 65 60 55 50 Lower Reserves 30 28 26 45 40 35 30 20 30 40 50 60 Age (weeks) Chick Egg % Yolk 24 22 20
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
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
Calcium or Grits (g) Egg Production Rate (%) 7 6 Single Stage Feeding Programme Breeder 1 (3,0% Ca) 100 90 80 5 4.950 4.920 4.860 4.470 70 4 60 50 3 2 Calcium from Feed, grams/day Ca required from Grit, g/day Grit required, grams/bird/day EGG Production 40 30 1 0 22 2324 25 2627 28 2930 0.1 31 3233 34 3536 37 3839 0.3 40 4142 0.4 43 4445 0.5 0.6 46 4748 0.7 49 5051 0.9 52 5354 0.9 1.0 55 5657 1.2 58 5960 1.3 61 6263 1.4 1.4 64 20 10 0 Age (weeks)
Calcium or Grits (g) Egg Production Rate (%) 7 6 5 Two Stage Feeding Programme Breeder 1 (3,2% Ca) Breeder 2 (3,4% Ca) 5.248 5.184 5.280 5.066 100 90 80 70 4 60 50 3 40 2 1 Calcium from Feed, grams/day Ca required from Grit, g/day Grit required, grams/bird/day EGG Production 30 20 10 0 22 2324 25 2627 28 2930 31 3233 34 3536 37 3839 40 4142 43 4445 46 4748 49 5051 52 5354 55 5657 58 5960 61 6263 64 0 Age (weeks)
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%
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
Inputs
Inputs 60 days
Inputs 21 days 35 %
Inputs Eaglesfield trials : Days to 2.2 Kg 45 40 35 30 21 days 35 % 25 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Inputs Eaglesfield trials : Days to 2.2 Kg 45 40 35 30 21 days 39 % 25 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Inputs
Inputs Size Quality Contamination Storage External Internal Temperature Humidity
Inputs Size Chick weight approx 67-68% of egg size
Inputs Size Quality Contamination Storage External Internal Temperature Humidity
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
Inputs Size Quality Contamination Storage External Internal Temperature Humidity
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
Recommended Storage conditions Egg age at set (days) Egg store Temperature ( o C) Eggs store Humidity (%RH) 1-3 19 70-75 >4 16-18 70-75 Longer you store the eggs the lower the storage temperature 13 o C
Inputs
Hatchery Influences Pre-warm Correct temperature and humidity Correct incubation time Correct chick holding conditions
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
Correct Incubation Temperature Chick quality and hatch are best when embryo temperatures are held between 100-101 o F through the whole of incubation Correlation between percentage hatch, culls and FWM
Measuring Incubation Temperature Temperature reading on incubator screen does not = incubation temperature Incubation temperature = embryo temperature. Shell temperature ~ embryo temperature
Temperature C Relationship between incubator air, eggshell and internal egg temperatures. (French, 1997) Air Internal Surface 38.4 38.2 38.0 37.8 37.6 37.4 0 10 20 30 Day of Incubation
Shell Temperature (F) Acceptable Bounds? 103 102 101 100 99 98 Decrease Temp Okay Increase Temp 97 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Day of Incubation
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
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.
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%)
Visual Clues Good Hatch Timing Clean Debris 5% Wet Necks Feather development
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
Visual Assessment Chicks too cold start huddling Chicks at correct temperature are quiet and sleeping Chicks too hot start gasping
Visual Assessment Vent temperature < 38.9 o C (102 o F) Vent temperature 38.9 40.6 o C (102-105 o F) Vent temperature > 40.6 o C (105 o F)
Temperature Variation Photographs courtesy of Dr. M.Czarick University of Georgia
Chick Weight (g) Holding Chicks at the Correct Temperature Reduces Weight Loss 39.5 39.0 38.5 38.0 37.5 37.0 36.5 Chick Vent Temperature o C 38.3 39.4 40.8 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Holding Time (h) Until they are fed, chicks will lose about 4g every 24 hours, due to moisture loss and yolk utilisation
Influence on broiler performance?
Influence on broiler performance?
Influence on broiler performance?
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
Body weight, g Delayed chicks do not catch-up! 350 300 250 200 150 100 50-13.2g delay=0 delay=24h 110g 0 0 5 10 15 Age, days (Pinchasov & Noy, 1993)
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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