Abstract: The relation between incubation, chick quality and later performance

Presented On The WPSA In Egypt 2009, By Conny Maatjens

Conny Maatjens, Roos Molenaar, Inge Reijrink and Ron Meijerhof

The goal of a hatchery is high hatchability and good chick quality, resulting in good performance. Incubation conditions need to be controlled and adapted to the requirements of the embryo to optimise embryo development during incubation. Machine temperature should be adjusted to eggshell temperature, as this reflects the temperature the embryo is experiencing. In the field, this is not always the situation.

Incubation temperature and availability of oxygen are two important factors during incubation (Lourens et al., 2007). High temperatures and low oxygen availability due to high carbon dioxode levels are quite common at the end of incubation and decrease organ and body development at hatch (Leksrisompong et al., 2007; Lourens et al., 2007), but also performance at slaughter age (Hulet et al., 2007; Joseph et al., 2006). Download the entire article via the button below.