Contents Variation in the hatch moment 139 Pull time 140 141 Unhatched eggs/dead in shell Count and assess unhatched eggs 142 143 Hatching systems and early feeding On-farm hatching 145 10. Chick quality 148 149 Signals from empty eggshells Pipping height and pipping line 151 152 Infection pressure Meconium 153 154 Chick temperature Chick yield 155 156 Drying off or dehydrating? Residual yolk 157 158 Absorption of residual yolk 159 Chick weight and length The signals given by chick length 160 161 Working at the take-off table Selection criteria 162 Navel and cloaca 163 Belly 164 Feathering 165 Legs 166 Beak 167 Serious abnormalities 168 169 Scoring systems Abnormalities and their causes 171 172 Downgraded chicks Sex determination 173 174 Sexing and sex-linked genetic traits Vaccination at the hatchery 176 11. Chick transport and delivery 178 179 Chick storage Preparation for chick transport 180 181 Cargo area climate Ventilation during transport 182 183 International transport Transport to and from airports 184 185 Feed and water during long transport Chick delivery 186 Hygiene during delivery 187 On the poultry farm 188 House conditions inspection 189 First week mortality 190 Index 191
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6. Egg transport and storage 76 77 Condensation point = dew point Transition moments 78 78 Dry bulb and wet bulb thermometer Climate during transport 80 81 Jolts and vibrations Egg transport and logistics 82 83 Inspection of incoming eggs Storage at the hatchery 84 85 Climate conditions during storage Storage duration 86 87 Longer storage Turning during storage 88 SPIDES 89 Disinfecting eggs 90 91 Dry (fumigation) and wet disinfection After disinfection 92 Disinfectants for eggs 93 7. Setting 94 95 Do not mix Origin 96 97 Parent stock age Laying date 97 98 Preparing the incubator Setting eggs 99 100 Pre-warming (single-stage) Pre-warming (multi-stage) 100 Climate conditions during setting 101 Transition from warming to cooling 102 103 Humidification during setting First few days: ventilation inlets closed 104 105 Day 4 to 11: regulate based on RH Heat distribution in the incubator 106 107 Egg turning during setting The importance of turning 108 109 Monitor turning Monitoring setter conditions 110 111 Constantly improved measurement Candling 112 8. Transfer 114 115 Which egg has a live embryo? Infertile eggs, bangers, late mortalities, and living embryos 116 What do key indicators tell you? 118 In-ovo vaccination 120 The optimal timing 121 Suitability of the egg 122 Hygiene is extremely important 122 In-ovo sexing 123 Transfer 126 Hygiene at transfer 128 Breakout analysis on day 18 129 Eggs in a clean hatcher 130 Hatcher baskets 131 9. Hatching 132 Air temperature in the hatcher 133 Humidity in the hatcher 134 Position in the egg 135 Internal pipping 136 External pipping 137 The hatch window 138
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1. Introduction 4 Key link 5 6 How the chain works Incubation is interaction 7 8 Each incubator is different Hatchery management 9 10 The role of the hatchery manager Information exchange 11 13 The signals concept Critical batches, locations and moments 15 2. The incubation process 18 19 The anatomy of the hatching egg Development of an embryo 20 From natural brooding to artificial incubation 22 The environment of the egg 24 Heat and temperature 25 26 Gas exchange of the embryo The importance of uniformity 27 3. Principles of artificial incubation 28 28 Broilers and laying hens Eggshell temperature is key 30 31 Incubation temperature Temperature settings 32 33 Heat production by the embryo Ventilation 34 Carbon dioxide 35 Relative humidity 36 37 Weight loss and machine settings Measuring moisture loss 38 39 Purpose of ventilation Water cooling 40 41 Air velocity Multi-stage or single-stage 42 43 Minor differences, major implications 4. Egg handling and quality 44 Embryonic development during egg formation 45 Cooling to physiological zero 46 47 Cooling at the breeder farm Grading and on-farm traying 48 49 Hatching egg quality Unsuitable for hatching 50 Size and uniformity 51 Hairline cracks 52 Dirty eggs 53 How should you deal with floor eggs? 55 Storage at the breeder farm 58 Humidity during storage 59 Store eggs pointed end down 60 Track and trace 61 5. Biosecurity 62 Process steps in the hatchery 63 Biosecurity zones at the hatchery 64 65 Routing at the hatchery Clean floors and walls 67 Biosecurity measures 68 Personnel and hygiene 69 Cleaning 73 Disinfection of the hatchery 75
