HATCHERY ▶▶▶
Benefits of early access to feed and water
Hatching systems that enable access to feed immediately after hatching come in two forms. One provides feed and water in the hatcher, while in the other eggs hatch in the barn on farm and the chicks have direct access to feed and water there.
BY ROOS MOLENAAR, INGRID DE JONG, MONA GIERSBERG, BAS RODENBURG, IRIS VAN DOSSELAER, KRIS DE BAERE AND HENRY VAN DEN BRAND.
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The on-farm hatching system used in the study was the X-Treck from Vencomatic.
cientific research and practical results from hatching broiler chicks in the barn often show better technical results while animal welfare is increased. However, better technical results are not always seen until the
end of the production cycle. This may be caused by variables such as management factors, or the age of the parent flock. Chicks from breeders that, generally speaking, are more vulnerable, may benefit more from hatching systems that provide immediate feed and water. In this study, which was part of the European-Chinese ‘Healthy Livestock’ project, the researchers looked at the effect of hatching systems on the technical performance, as well as early and later life welfare of broiler chickens from parent stock flocks in a semi-commercial environment setting.
Three systems examined The research into the effect of different hatching systems on early and later life performance of broiler chickens was con- ducted at an experimental poultry farm in Belgium where three systems were studied in detail. In the conventional hatching system the chicks hatched in the hatchery, were given no food or water and then transported to the experi- mental farm. This conventional system – which is the stand- ard used all around the world – was compared with a hatcher system where feed and water were provided in the hatchery (HatchCare by HatchTech) and where the chicks remained in the same hatching tray during processing and transport to the experimental farm. The third system studied was an in-barn hatching system where the chicks hatch in the shed. In this system, 18 day in- cubated eggs were transported from the hatchery to the ex- perimental farm and placed in a Vencomatic X-Treck system. The standard procedures associated with each system were followed. For example, the eggs were disinfected during hatching in both the conventional treatment and the treat- ment in which the chicks were fed in the hatchery. This was not the case for the eggs hatched in the barn. Substandard chicks were also removed from both the hatchery and the on-farm hatching system.
22 ▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 1, 2022
PHOTO: ROOS MOLENAAR
PHOTO: ROOS MOLENAAR
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