The document discusses hatchery and brooding management. It defines key terminology like hatchery, incubator, hatching egg. It explains that the goals of hatchery management are to mimic a broody hen's conditions by controlling temperature, moisture, ventilation and egg turning. It describes selecting good quality eggs and assessing fertility. It emphasizes the importance of sanitation, hygiene, and maintaining optimal humidity levels in the incubator. The document provides guidelines for hatchery building layout and managing the incubation process.

1. Supported by:
Soy Excellence Center
SEC Américas Poultry Track Basic Level

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Statement on Intellectual Property
The materials in this lecture fall under the protection of all intellectual property,
copyright and trademark laws of the U.S. The digital materials included here come
with the legal permissions of the copyright holders. These course materials should
be used for educational purposes only; the videos should not be distributed
electronically or otherwise beyond the confines of this online course. Any usage of
the videos or course materials outside of USSEC’s SEC Digital Platform, should be
previously authorized by USSEC, Kansas State University, and the lecture’s authors.
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Hatchery and Brooding Management
Part 1

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Terminology
• Hatchery – Building used to incubate and hatch the eggs
• Incubate – Provide heat, ventilation, humidity, and turning in a fertile egg to
develop the embryo
• Incubator – mechanical device used to incubate eggs
• Hatcher – mechanical device where eggs are placed the last 3 days of
incubation for hatching purposes

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Terminology
• Hatching egg - egg intended to produce
offspring
– Collected as quickly as possible and handled
with care to prevent contamination
• Fertile egg – Egg that contains a
developing embryo
– Fertilization occurs around 24 hours prior
oviposition
• Infertile egg - contains only the hen's
genetic material, which means a chick
can never hatch from that egg
– Supermarket eggs from commercial layers
are infertile
Germinal disc – If mating has
occurred (sperm has fertilized
the egg), embryo will start
developing here

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Terminology
• Setting – Placing an egg or a
group of eggs in the appropriate
environment for incubation to begin
– Under a broody hen or inside an
incubator
• Pipping – The acts of a chick
penetrating the shell membranes
and shell with its beak

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When and Where Did Incubation Start?
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Egyptian fire powered incubators!

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Hatchery Management Goals
• Mimic similar conditions to the broody hen
• Manage temperature, moisture and ventilation to provide oxygen, and remove
CO2
• Provide egg turning and rotation protect the embryo
• The incubation process:
– Frees up the breeders to continue producing eggs
– Allows the incubation a large number of eggs at the same time
– Control the hatching time and number of chicks hatched
– Better planning for brooding ang grow out
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Interior View of Bird’s Egg
Yolk – provides the embryo with nutrients and water
Albumen – protect the embryo from damage or bacterial infection, provides protein
Chalazae – Stabilizes the yolk in the center of the egg
Shell and shell membranes – protect the embryo and maintain the albumen in the correct position and allow
for gas exchange
Air cell – provides the embryo with the first breath of air

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Hatchery Management
Healthy Breeder
Proper Egg Handling
Clean Hatchery
Healthy Chick

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Incubation Duration
• Varies among species
– Chicken 21 days
– Duck 28 – 35 days
– Pheasant 24 days
– Quail 18 – 24 days
– Turkey 28 days
– Emu 48-52 days
– Budgie 14 days

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Quality of the Hatching Eggs
• Collect eggs frequently
• Use clean flat containers
• Wash your hands before and after
handling eggs
• Use enough nesting boxes with clean
nesting material
– Low number of nesting boxes will result in
more floor eggs
• Don’t incubate dirty eggs
– Remove remove organic material by hand,
but never wash the eggs
– Dirty eggs can contaminate the incubator

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Selecting Eggs Prior to Incubation
• Eggs unsuitable for hatching:
– Dirty
– Cracked
– Small eggs = small chicks
• Chick weight is ~65% of egg weight
– Large or double yolk
• These eggs won’t hatch and can be a
potential source of contamination
– Poor shell quality
• Can increase embryos’ moisture losses
during incubation

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Assessing Fertility: Infertile Egg
• After fertilization, an egg spends about a
full day moving down the oviduct
• During this time, the number of cells in
the blastoderm increases
• The organization of these cells
immediately below the yolk membrane
makes it possible to determine an infertile
blastodisc and a fertile blastoderm
• When fresh unincubated eggs are broken,
the infertile blastodisc is a small white
region about 2 mm long
• The white part is irregular in shape

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Assessing Fertility: Fertile Egg
• The blastoderm in a fertile egg is
larger (usually 4 to 5 mm in
diameter)
• It is always round and uniform like
a white ring with a transparent
center

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Egg Hygiene
• The exterior of the eggs is not sterile
– There is a bacterial load in the egg coming from the breeder/chicken house
• Any microorganism coming in the egg will growth during incubation temperatures
– Bigger initial bacterial load in the eggs = higher likelihood of problems during the
incubation
• Contaminated hatching eggs result in:
– Increased embryonic mortality
– Exploders  further contamination
– Infected day-old-chicks (increased 1st week mortality)

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Sanitation
• Start with clean eggs and clean equipment
– Eliminate clutter and foreign material (e.g., egg flats, hatching boxes –
bacteria can hide and persists)
• The incubation area should be washable
– Concrete – porous and should be sealed
– Cracks in floor should be sealed
• The hatcher is the dirties area in the hatchery
– It must be cleaned after every hatch
– Reduction in hatchability can be associated with poor cleaning
• Ventilation
– Air coming in and going out should be filtered if possible

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Hatchability Influenced By
• Breeder nutrition
– Each nutrient has to be present in the egg for a successful hatch
• Mating activity
– Lower mating = lower fertility
• Egg damage
• Correct male/female
– Obese males or females reduce mating activity and egg fertility
– Correct ratio = 1 male to 10 females
• Too many males – fighting
• Egg sanitation
– Don’t incubate floor or dirty eggs
• Egg storage
– Long storage or high temperature will start the incubation process even before the eggs are set

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Hatchery Building Plan
• Each activity within the hatchery must be physically separated from
other areas
• Operations must be integrated, but not centralized in a single unit
• If possible, movement of eggs/chicks should be in one direction only
• Office rooms should be separated

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Fumigation Room
• The fumigation room or cabinet should be
airtight, and should be equipped with a fan
to circulate the formaldehyde gas during
fumigation and expel the gas from the
building when fumigation is completed
• To produce the fumigant, potassium
permanganate should be mixed with
formalin in a ratio (w/v) of 2:3
• An application rate of 53 ml formalin and 35
g potassium permanganate per m3 of space
is recommended
• Fumigate for 20 min at the temperature
range of 24 to 38°C

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Egg Holding Room (Pre-incubation Room)
• Hatch and chick quality can be affected if eggs are
not pre-warmed before they are set
• Eggshell temperature changes in part-incubated
eggs immediately after more eggs are set either
from the cold store or after pre-warming

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Incubator
• Device used to simulate avian incubation by the mother hen
• Goal: Keep the eggs warm at a particular temperature range and at the
correct humidity, with a turning mechanism to hatch high-quality chicks
– Ventilation system to remove CO2 and heat (moisture) and provide oxygen to the developing embryo
• Fully automated incubators can have hatching rates of ~95%, but are more expensive
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Incubator Management
• Set the temperature and humidity one day
before setting the eggs
• Incubators should be away from windows, air
conditioners, or heating vents to avoid
temperature variations
• Developing embryos use oxygen and generate
carbon dioxide
• Incubators:
– Need good airflow to remove carbon dioxide and
replenish oxygen
– Vents allow the entrance of fresh air and expel
carbon dioxide
– Fans are used to steadily circulate warm air and
maintain a uniform temperature and adequate
oxygen level inside the incubator
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Optimum Humidity
• As the embryo develops, the egg loses moisture
• Weight loss up to day 18 before transfer should be ~12%
• To avoid excessive moisture loss, the relative humidity of the incubator should be ~60%

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Adjusting Humidity
• In the incubator moisture must evaporate from eggs correctly to ensure
hatchability and chick quality
• Low humidity:
– Greater moisture evaporation from the eggs
– Embryos may adhere to the shell membrane and die or be too weak to pip the membrane
• High humidity:
– Embryos might grow too large and are unable to move into hatching position
– Causes: Insufficient ventilation or high relative humidity
– Signs: Condensation in the incubator’s windows

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Air Cell Evaluation
• Good indication of humidity
• Determined by candling
– 1 week after incubation has started
– During transfer to hatchers
– Do not candle after turning has stopped
• Chicks are positioning to hatch
• Moisture evaporating from an egg causes air cell
contents to shrink, which increases the size of the
air cell
• Prior to hatching the embryo should occupy ~2/3” of
the shell and the air cell the remaining 1/3”
Embryonic Dead

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Air Cell Evaluation
• Eggs typically lose 12-16% of their weight during incubation due to
evaporation
– Increase in size of the air cell is a sign of this moisture loss
• The air cell is where the chick breaks through when hatching begins
• If the air cell is too big:
– Chick may have lost too much moisture and can have problems hatching
• If the air cell is small:
– The egg hasn’t lost enough moisture, the chick will have problems breathing or die
when it breaks into the air cell

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Air Cell Evaluation
• Increase the humidity level in the incubator:
– If you experience problems with eggs losing weight and the air cell size is increasing
faster than normal
• Decrease the humidity level in the incubator:
– If eggs are not losing weight fast enough and the air cell is too small
• Higher humidity levels present fewer problems with egg development than lower
humidity levels

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General Recommendations for Temperature and RH
Days of
incubation
Temp. (◦C) RH (%)
0 – 18 37.5 - 37.8 60
18 - 21 36.1 - 37.2 65 - 70

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Summary
• Incubation time varies among bird species
• Breeder hen nutrition influences hatching egg quality and hatching rate
• During incubation, humidity, temperature and relative humidity should be
monitored as these factors affect the hatch rate
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31. Supported
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This concludes Part 1 of Fundamentals
of Poultry Production and Management.
Please continue to Part 2.
31
Supported
by:

32. Supported
by:
Acknowlegement
The development of this lecture was made possible through the funding
from:
• U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)
The development of this lecture was made possible through support from:
• Wilmer Pacheco, MSc., PhD. Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, Auburn
University
• International Grains Program (IGP) Institute of Kansas State University

33. Supported
by:
Disclaimer
This is a lecture intended for educational use and professional development. It is not intended nor
does it necessarily represent enforceable standards, industry consensus, mandatory requirements,
nor all possible solutions or ideas to resolve your safety and health needs. This course has been
developed to share information on potential topics associated with animal nutrition and
production. In most cases, there are many solutions or combinations of solutions to problems.
Use only those sections that apply to your operation; but first evaluate each section and
suggestion based on its economic and operational feasibility and application.
Mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations does not imply or express
endorsement by Kansas State University or USSEC, its members, employees, or cooperating
companies and individuals.

34. Supported by:
Soy Excellence Center
SEC Américas Poultry Track Basic Level

35. Supported
by:
Statement on Intellectual Property
• The materials in this lecture fall under the protection of all intellectual property,
copyright and trademark laws of the U.S. The digital materials included here
come with the legal permissions of the copyright holders. These course materials
should be used for educational purposes only; the videos should not be
distributed electronically or otherwise beyond the confines of this online course.
Any usage of the videos or course materials outside of USSEC’s SEC Digital
Platform, should be previously authorized by USSEC, Kansas State University,
and the lecture’s authors.
35

36. Supported
by:
Hatchery and Brooding Management
Part 2

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Systems of Incubation
Incubators
Multi-stage
Single-stage

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Multi-Stage
• A multi-stage incubator is usually filled with eggs of six different embryonic
ages
• Temperature, humidity and ventilation are set at a fixed point throughout the
whole incubation period
• The advantages of multi-stage incubation are:
– Its simplicity both with respect to the control system of the incubator as well as the
management of incubation
– Energy efficiency

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Single-Stage
• Single-stage means that all eggs within an incubator are set together
– All eggs are in the same embryonic stage
• The advantages of multi-stage incubation are:
– To adjust the temperature, humidity and ventilation set points according to the needs of
the embryo, possibly leading to improved hatchability and chick quality
– Improved biosecurity as provided by every all-in all-out system
• The incubator can be easily cleaned, disinfected and also maintained after each batch of eggs
– It can be more flexible if the amount of hatching eggs is not constant for each setting

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Ventilation
• Replaces the air inside the incubator with fresh air
• Ensures oxygen supply and removes carbon dioxide, moisture, and heat from
developing embryos
• Vents allow air exchange throughout incubation and control the degree of ventilation
within the incubator
• Under ventilating:
– Low oxygen
– High humidity
• Over ventilating:
– Low humidity
– More difficult control of temperature

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Ventilation
• Beginning of incubation: embryos use little oxygen and produce little
carbon dioxide
– As incubation progresses the embryos need more oxygen and produce more carbon
dioxide and heat
– The need for oxygen rapidly increases about two-thirds of the way into the incubation
period
– Proper ventilation is essential prior to hatch
• Underventilation: can cause embryos to die
• Overventilation: can reduce humidity delay or reduce hatchability

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Heat Production by Eggs During Incubation
From 1 to 11 days, the
embryo needs heat
Heat needs to be
dissipated as the
embryo produces
more heat.
Ventilation should
be increased

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Turning
• Mother hen turns the eggs
periodically beneath her
• Keep the yolk centered within the
white
• Poorly turning will cause the yolk to
stick to the shell membrane
causing embryonic death

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Egg Turning
• Automatic egg turning: every hour
• Manual egg turning: three or five times a day (highly important during the first
week of incubation)
• Stop turning eggs 3 days before hatch to give embryos time to get oriented and
begin breaking out of their shells

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Egg Transfer
• Towards the end of incubation, eggs can be vaccinated in ovo and
placed in hatching trays where they hatch by pecking their way through the large
end of the egg
45
In-ovo vaccination
In-ovo nutrition
Adapted from Bohorquez, 2014
Spray Vaccination

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Hatching/Pipping
• The optimal temperature = 0.5 to 1°F cooler (0.3–0.5°C) than incubation,
with 6 to 10% higher humidity
• During the hatch, restrict ventilation to raise humidity and prevent shell membranes from drying out
• After about half the eggs have hatched, increase ventilation and reduce the temperature to
compensate for heat generated by hatching activity
• Avoid opening the incubator during the hatch, to prevent reduction in relative humidity
• Pipping typically starts 1 to 2 days before the end of hatch
– Internal pipping
• Occurs when the embryo breaks into the air cell and begins to breathe using its lungs
– External pipping
• Occurs when the embryo breaks through the shell
• Chicks typically hatch within 24 after pipping has started

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Hatchery
• Chicken are typically vaccinated by
spray cabinet
• Vaccines are mixed in water and
spray with droplets of 100 to 150
microns
• Preening – optimizes vaccine
uptake, leave chicks in boxes for
~20 min

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Chick Quality
• High or low temperature during incubation 0.5 to 1°F
(0.3–0.5°C) will influence the hatching window and
hatchability rate
• Late hatch - incubation temperature is low
– Chicks with unhealed navels,
– Crooked toes
– Thin legs.
– Slower growth rate, weak with difficulties to eat and/or drink
• Early Hatch – Higher than normal incubation temperature
– Chicks will emerge early
– Chicks could be smaller
– Splayed legs with difficulties to walk
– High temperatures = poor utilization of yolk residue, navel
close before the yolk sac has been fully absorbed

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Chick Quality Evaluation
• Desired characteristics: strong,
standing on its legs; fluffy; active but
relaxed; clean; soft; well-closed,
invisible navel; not dehydrated; free
of injuries and deformations
• A strong, well-shaped chick will right
itself within 3 seconds if placed on its
back on a flat, non-slippery surface
• Red hocks suggest insufficient weight
loss or/and overheating
Kolariczyk, 2020

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Chick Quality Evaluation – Pasgar Score
• For each assessment the chick scores 0 or 1
• Each fault = 1
• Maximum score = 10; Minimum score = 5
• Attributes
– Reflex
• Chick turn over rapidly,
• >2seconds = 1 point
– Navel
• Clean, closed and dry
• Small swab of dried blood, string of dried yolk, leaky or yolk sac outside
abdominal cavity = 1 point
– Legs
• Strong and evenly colored
• Red hocks/swollen legs = 1 point
– Beak
• Normal colored nostrils, beak, and comb
• Blood, red dot, dirty nostrils or dirty beak = 1 point
– Belly
• Soft and smooth
• Hard belly, tense skin = 1 point

51. Supported
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Chick Quality Evaluation – Pasgar Score
Chick Reflex Navel Legs Beak Belly Total Pasgar Score
1 0 1 0 0 0 1 9
2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10
3 0 1 1 0 1 3 7
4 0 0 0 1 0 1 9
5 0 1 0 0 0 1 9
6 0 1 0 0 0 1 9
7 1 0 0 0 1 2 8
Total 1 4 1 1 2 9 61
• Average Pasgar score = 61 ÷ 7 = 8.7
• Navel problems 4 out of 7 chicks = 57%
• Higher temperatures at the end of incubation
• Chilled or cooled during processing
• Insuficient ventilation or high CO2

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Evaluate Hatchability
• Unfortunately, not all incubated eggs will hatch
• When troubleshooting in the hatchery, an accurate account of where loss is occurring
is necessary so that action can be taken to reduce loss from future hatches
• There are several key performance indicators that can provide useful information to
solve issues and optimize your hatchery protocols and settings
• Hatchery key performance indicators (KPIs) include:
– Hatch of fertile
– Eggshell temperature
– Egg moisture loss
– Hatch window
– Chick cloacal temperature

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Chicks Holding and Transportation
• Blue lights or lower light intensity will
reduce stress.
• Temperatures in boxes should be
maintained at 32°C (89.6°F)
• On arrival, face the vehicle into the
prevailing wind to prevent wind chill
on the chicks during unloading
• Only unload trolleys of chicks to meet
the pace of the staff
– Do not have trolleys of chicks waiting
on the concrete pad outside the house

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Brooding
• Chick survival and overall
performance and health is dependent
on how quickly they adjust to the
farm
• Growers need to spend more time
with the newly hatched chicks to
make sure the are comfortable and
have access to feed and water
– Brooding mistakes may be irreversible
• Similar for all types of birds and
types of production layers, breeders,
and broilers

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Brooding Temperature Management
• Make sure heat sources are working properly prior to chick arrival
– Try to maintain a temperature of 32ºC at the floor during the first night and then slowly
decrease the temp by around 2.5ºC (5ºF) per week
• The brooding are should be light and airy, without draft and have low levels of
ammonia
– Relative humidity should be maintained between 60 and 70%
– High levels of moisture can lead to poor bird health
• Check birds often to make sure they are comfortable

56. Supported
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Key Points
• Hatchery requires good planning to assist and maximize uniform
embryonic development
• Optimum bird performance starts way before the chicks arrive at the farm
• Brooding is important to allow birds to start with the right foot
– Healthy
– Productive

57. Supported
by:
¿Questions?
Wilmer Javier Pacheco, MSc., PhD.
Extension Specialist and Associate Professor
Auburn University
wjp0010@auburn.edu

58. Supported
by:
This concludes the Hatchery and
Brooding Management lecture. You
can now take the Hatchery and
Brooding Management quiz or
continue to the next lecture.
58
Supported
by:

59. Supported
by:
Acknowlegement
The development of this lecture was made possible through the funding
from:
• U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC)
The development of this lecture was made possible through support from:
• Wilmer Pacheco, MSc., PhD. Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, Auburn
University
• International Grains Program (IGP) Institute of Kansas State University

60. Supported
by:
Disclaimer
This is a lecture intended for educational use and professional development. It is not intended nor
does it necessarily represent enforceable standards, industry consensus, mandatory requirements,
nor all possible solutions or ideas to resolve your safety and health needs. This course has been
developed to share information on potential topics associated with animal nutrition and
production. In most cases, there are many solutions or combinations of solutions to problems.
Use only those sections that apply to your operation; but first evaluate each section and
suggestion based on its economic and operational feasibility and application.
Mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations does not imply or express
endorsement by Kansas State University or USSEC, its members, employees, or cooperating
companies and individuals.