Managing Eggs From Incubation to Transfer

Scott Martin
SCOTT MARTIN, LLC.
• Scott Martin lives in Flowery Branch, Georgia, USA. He has been a hatchery
consultant for four years and has 41 years of experience in the poultry
industry.

• He started his career at Simmons Foods where he worked for 16 years. There
his roles were Hatchery Manager, Director of Hatcheries, Broiler Manager,
Breeder Manager, and Production Manager.

• From Simmons, he moved to Cobb-Vantress. There, for 21 years, he was a

member of the World Technical Support group as Hatchery Specialist,
traveling and serving customers worldwide.
“Performance”
“Hatchery Programs”
“Hatchery Programs”

• Hatchery Information
• Sanitation
• Egg Assessment
• Preventive Maintenance
• Set and Transfer
• Moisture Loss
• Embryodiagnosis
“Hatchery Information”
 CUMULATIVE AIR VOLUME NEEDED
TO MEET O2 REQUIREMENT

8
7
CFM per 1,000 eggs

6 1500 Feet
5 Sea Level
4
3
2
1
0
-1
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21

Days of Incubation
Hatchery Layout
Hatchery Layout
 Jamesway,Pearl,41st Ventilation

100.2 100.7 100.9 100.8 99.8 99.4

100.5 F 98.0 F

0-3 DAY S 3-7 DAY S 7-10 DAY S 10-14 14-17 17-18

Vaccination Devices
“Sanitation”
 Sanitation
• Run base line studies

• Use reliable products

• Monitor hatcheries

• Fog rooms

• Fumigate inside of machines

• Keep a good air flow through the hatchery

“Egg Assessment”
 Breeder Farm – Egg Pick-Up
• Eggs should be collected several times a day
• Egg pick-up from the farm to the hatchery
– Every day
– Twice a week
• Eggs are transferred from farm to hatchery
– Plastic egg flats in boxes/crates
– Cardboard egg flats in boxes/crates
– Plastic egg flats on trolleys
 Breeder Eggs to Hatchery
• Egg handling
– Egg age
• Egg age greater than 7 days decreases hatchability
• Rule of thumb is 1% decrease in hatch for every day past
7 days of egg holding from point of lay
– Temperature fluctuations prior to set
• Temperature fluctuations of 2-4 degrees F can impact
early dead mortality (Bramwell and Martin, 2008)
– Egg sweating – increased bacterial contamination
– Rough handling
• Early cracks or hairline cracks can impact hatchability
 Egg age and storage
• Egg age is the length of time between the egg
being laid and being placed into the incubator
• 3-5 days is optimum storage
• Eggs set same day as collected from farm
– Reduced hatchability
• Increase in early dead mortality
• Increase in mal-positions
 Egg Temperature Flow Chart
104 – 106 o F
Hen house
75 - 85 o F Hen’s body Setter machine
99.5 - 100 o F
On farm egg room
72 0 F Setter hall
75 - 80 o F
Egg transportation truck
70 o F
Hatchery egg room
68 o F
 Holding Room Temperature Without Fan

AC AC
63.0 61.9 58.3 57.1 60.6

63.9 63.8 63.6 63.5 63.3

63.9 62.8 64.0 63.1 64.5 62.0 64.6 61.8 64.5 61.9

64.9 61.0 64.8 60.8 64.7 60.9 64.6 55.8 64.6 61.8

61.3 62.2 61.8 61.8 61.9 62.0 62.0 61.6 62.0 62.0

63.8 60.7 62.7 60.8 62.5 56.8 62.3 55.9 62.3 61.6

61.4 61.6 62.0 62.0 62.1

63.5 63.5 62.4 62.3 62.1

 Holding Room Temperature With Fan

AC AC
63.2 63.5 63.3 62.6 63.3

63.3 63.3 63.9 63.3 63.5

63.1 63.1 63.0 63.0 63.0 59.6 63.1 59.5 63.3 63.7

63.2 63.8 63.4 63.8 63.5 63.7 63.8 63.7 63.5 63.7

63.5 63.3 63.6 62.6 64.0 61.7 64.5 60.6 64.2 63.9

63.8 63.2 63.9 63.7 63.9 63.7 63.8 63.6 63.9 63.9

63.7 63.3 63.5 64.6 64.4

63.7 64.0 63.9 63.7 63.6

 Egg storage and hot climates
• Physiological zero is considered to be 24ºC
– Storage of eggs below 24ºC slows down the
embryonic development
– Egg storage is below this temperature
• If egg room coolers are not working correctly
many problems can arise
– Pre-incubation
– Increase in early dead
– Chicks hatching too early
– Egg sweating
 Flock Ages
• Most flocks for egg production range from 25
weeks to 65 weeks
• Flocks categorized in three age categories
– Young
– Prime
– Old
 Egg size
• Small eggs will move more in setter flat and
tend to be injected on side
– Reduce hatchability
– Increase cull or 2nd grade chicks
• Large eggs can easily break during in ovo
injection
 Cleanliness of Eggs
• Vital to in ovo vaccination
• Dirty eggs should not be set as hatching eggs
• Eggs brought to hatchery with litter should
not be used
– Brought into the incubators, blowing around
inside and cause contamination
– Transfer cups could become contaminated or
blocked preventing a good seal
– Rub off any loose debris with hands
Dirty Eggs and the Consequence
 Incubators
• Multi-stage incubators are built for a blend of young,
prime, and old hen age eggs that are in various stages of
embryonic growth inside the incubator.
– These incubators are also designed to be either water cooled or
air cooled
– Air cooled incubation have embryos transfer earlier than water
cooled incubators
– Temperature and humidity profiles do not change
• Single stage incubation is designed for all eggs to be at the
same stage of embryonic development and can has profiles
that can be set specific for flock ages, egg age, etc.
– As embryos get older, temperature and humidity profiles change
“Preventive Maintenance”
“Tools”
 Hatchery Tools

Humidity
Temperature
Magnehelic Gauge Meter
Data Logger
Digital
Thermometer

Rectal
Thermometer
Smoke Stroboscope Infrared
Air Meter
Emitters Thermometer
 Preventative Maintenance
• Calibrate machine and room equipment
• Monitor settings
• Check embryo temperatures
• Check moisture loss
• Check pipping
• Check chick temperatures

• Confirm: what you think you have is what you have

 Water
Temperature
Entering Cooling
Coil
18 ๐ C
Chiller
Inside Setter
Good Door
Gasket
Bad Door Gasket
Nozzle
Adjustment and
Leaks
 Skipped Set Profile
(Multistage)

• Temperature needs to be managed for skipped sets

• 14-day rule applies (Embryonic Age)
• Extra incubation time is needed for the 2 sets
following a skip
37.89 38.17 38.28 38.22 37.67 37.44

Days
0-3 3-7 7-10 10-14 15-17 17-19
“Ventilation”
 Proper HVAC Set-Up

RELATIVE AREA
AREAS CFM/1000 TEMP HUMIDITY PRESSURE

Egg Receiving & Holding 1 65-68 60-75% Neutral To + .01

Setter Bays 4-5 76-80 55-62% + .01 To + .015

Hatcher Bays 12-16 76-80 55-62% + .01 To + .015

Chick Holding 12-16 72-75 65-70% Neutral To Neg .01

Chick Pull & Wash 12-16 72-75 65-70% Neg .010 To Neg .015

Clean Equipment Room 0 72-75 N\A Positive

Hallways 0 75 N\A Neutral

 HVAC System
Cooling Coil Heat Exchanger

Fresh air
intake

Fresh Air
modulating
dampers which
opens and shut
25% to 75% returned
air from the fresh air room
Return Air (fresh air plenum)
modulating
dampers which
opens and shut
Cooling Coil (Dirty)
Cooling Coil (Clean)
“Egg Set and Transfer ”
 Set Times
TARGET = 504 HOURS

Adjust for breeder flock age and egg storage time

Breeder Flock Age Egg Storage Time

• Up to 28 weeks – add 6 hours
• 29 – 30 weeks – add 3 hours
• 1 to 6 days – normal target
• 7 days – add 1 hour
• 8 days – add 2 hours
• 9 days – add 3 hours
• 10 or more days – add 4 hours
 Set and Transfer

• Know your incubation time

• Set consistently (same time every day with exceptions)
• Transfer consistently (same time every day)
• Keep flock age consistent or segregate
“At Transfer”
“Moisture Loss”
 Head over Wing
(Improper Moisture Loss)
High Position Pip and Head Over Wing
 High Pip
(Improper Moisture Loss)
“Embryodiagnosis”
 Troubleshooting Hatch
• Fertility
• Hatch of fertile ( % )
• Flock age
• Egg age
• Where to look
• What to do
Hatchability Or Hatch Of Fertile?

Hatchery Hatch Fertility Hatch Of Fertile

A 86 97 88.66

B 82 91 90.11

C 84 94 89.36
 Hatch Of Fertile

• Quickly separates fertility or hatchery

problem

• Allows manager to focus on hatchery

problem

• Expedites troubleshooting
 Candle And Residue Breakouts
1 2 3 4 5 6 7*** 8 9 10 11 12 13 14*** 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Early Middle Late
• Candle eggs ( 10-12 days or transfer) residue (at hatch)
• Look for day embryonic death occurred
• Check flock and machine again
• Check same flock in a different machine
• Check different flock in same machine
• Look for mold
• Look for patterns
Embryodiagnosis Work Sheet
Infertile or Fertile ?
Infertile
Fertile
Infertile or Fertile

Infertile Fertile
 Day 1
Embryonic Development
• Appearance of tissue
development
 Day 2
Embryonic Development
• Tissue development very visible
• Appearance of blood vessels
 Day 3
Embryonic Development

• Heart beats
• Blood vessels very visible
 Day 11
Embryonic Development

• Comb serrated
• Tail feathers apparent
 Day 18
Embryonic Development
• Growth of embryo nearly complete
• Yolk sac is still on outside of embryo
• Head is under the right wing
 Day 19
Embryonic Development

• Yolk sac draws into body cavity

• Amniotic fluid gone
• Embryo occupies most of space with
in egg(not in the air cell)
 Egg Age

• Fertility doesn’t change

• Prolonged storage reduces hatch
• Always diagnose the hatch loss
 WHAT HAPPENED?

FLOCK FERTILITY EGG AGE HATCH% HOF%

999 95 4 86 90.5

999 95 9 84 88.4
“Hatchery Programs”

• Hatchery Information
• Sanitation
• Egg Assessment
• Preventive Maintenance
• Set and Transfer
• Moisture Loss
• Embryodiagnosis
Thank You
Scott Martin
SCOTT MARTIN, LLC.
scottmartinllc@att.net