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Incubation Strategies To Maximise

Hatch and Optimise Chick Quality
Chris Murrell – EU Hatcheries Manager & Hatchery
Specialist
Aims Of The Presentation

• Understand the importance of a good egg for incubation

• Incubation practices
• Embryo temperatures
• Ventilation
• Weight Loss
• Turning
• Heat treatment
The Hatching Egg
Characteristics Of A Hatching Egg

0.025
%
Characteristics Of A Hatching Egg

• Mechanical protection
• Barrier against micro-organisms
invasion
• Thermal control
• Calcium source
• Gas and water diffusion

Breeder flock and egg management plays a

large part in chick quality:
• Nest Hygiene
• Nutrition
• Cuticle integrity
• Shell quality
• Egg uniformity
• Disinfection & Washing
• Floor eggs
Incubation and Eggshell Temperature
 Egg Temperature Management
Dew Point and Condensation

Temperature of room
• Critical when moving eggs
from cold to hot
environments
• Condensation will cause
contamination and heat
loss

Temperature egg must be above

Incubator Systems

Multi-Stage

Petersime, 1932

Single Stage
Incubation Factors
Managing Eggshell Temperatures:

Investment in Incubators:

Cost: Avoid prioritizing the cheapest option.

Remember, "Your first cost is your best cost.“

Size: Match incubator sizes with flock sizes. For

breeder flocks of 8-10k females, 24 trolley
machines may be excessive

Working with Existing Machines:

Effective management of eggshell
Key Strategy: Balance embryonic heat output in the
temperatures requires : setter.
• Good investment decisions Factors to Consider:
• Understanding of the specific needs of your flocks • Fertility levels.
• Knowledge of your incubation equipment • Egg size
• Line
• Hot / Cold spots
Incubation factors – Set Patterns
Multi-Stage setter

1 4 4 1 18 8 8 18 What is wrong here?

1 4 4 1 18 8 8 18
2 5 5 2 15 4 4 15 The embryonic heat output is
2 5 5 2 15 4 4 15 swayed towards one end of
3 6 6 3 11 1 1 11 the machine
3 6 6 3 11 1 1 11

3 3 6 6 11 11 1 1
5 5 2 2 4 4 15 15 Or how about this setting?
1 1 4 4 18 18 8 8
3 3 6 6 11 11 1 1
5 5 2 2 4 4 15 15
1 1 4 4 18 18 8 8
Incubation factors – Set Patterns
Single stage setter
Incubation factors
Factors Affecting Temperature Control
1. Incorrect setting patterns

2. Over utilisation on settings (double sets ).

3. Low setting volumes ( Xmas cutbacks).

4. Variation in flock age, egg size, egg age.

5. Incorrect air volume supply, damper adjustments, exhausts,

etc.

6. Cooling problems – water flow, valves stuck, water temp

(too hot/cold), scale in pipes.

7. Outside ambient temperature.

8. Wet hatcher baskets.

9. Temperature calibrations.

10. Maintenance – door seals.

Incubation Factors
Managing Temperatures:
Incubation factors
Eggshell Temperatures - Ventilation

• Heat removal

2 m/sec. 0.5 m/sec • Humidity control

.
95% heat removed 80% heat removed • Air pressure – No
5% retained 20% retained dead spots
5% of 0.012 watts 20% of 0.012 watts
= 0.0006 watts = 0.0024 watts • Air Quality

Retained heat raises the Retained heat raises the • Uniformity

egg’s temperature; may egg’s temperature; may
Increase by 0.5°C for every Increase 1.8°C for every
0.0006 watts retained. 0.0024 watts kept

Air temp.99.7 Air temp.99.7

Embryo temp. Embryo temp.
100.2 101.5
60g egg
High vs Low Eggshell Temperatures
Field Results

Trolley 1 - Cobb (low temp) 98.5°f 4800 egg setter

Trolley 2 - Cobb (normal) 100.0°f commercial

Trolley 3 - Cobb (high temp) 101.5°f 4800 egg setter

103
All temperatures are controlled by EST and
102
not air temperature. All eggs are maintained 101
at 100.0ᵒf for the first 7 days and then 100
increased or decreased by 0.5ᵒf over the 99
next 3 days to achieve target setpoints. 98
97
96
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
98.5ᵒf 100.0ᵒf 102.0ᵒf
Effect on Hatching Times and Weight loss
Hours of Incubation
Cobb 98.5F Cobb 100F Cobb 102F
Early Less than Less than 474 Less than
490 470
Normal 494-502 478-486 474-482

Late More than More than More than

506 490 486
Weight Loss %
16.00
14.00
12.00
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
Early Late Early Late Early Late
Cobb 98.5 Cobb 98.5 Cobb 100.0 Cobb 100.0 Cobb 101.5 Cobb 101.5
Effect on Hatchability and Culls

Hatch % Cull %
91.00 2.5
90.00
2
89.00
1.5
88.00
87.00 1
86.00
0.5
85.00
0
84.00
Cobb 98.5 Cobb 100.0 Cobb 102.0
Cobb 98.5 Cobb 100.0 Cobb 102.0

Low temperatures affects both

Hatchability and Cull rates.
House No No of chicks placed 7 d Mort Culls % mort

Normal temp 31000 196 131 1.05 High temperature gives the
High temp chicks 344 70 18 25.58 same hatch, but quality suffers.
Impact of Incubation Temperatures on Performance

Criteria Low Temp Ideal Temp High Temp

Hatchability very bad very good good
Hatch window very bad very good bad
Cull rates very bad very good good
Chick yield % very bad very good bad
Early mortality (up to 21 days) very bad very good good
Late mortality (more than 21 days) very good very good very bad
FCR good very good very bad
Carcass/breast meat yield very bad very good good
Navel quality very bad very good bad/good
Heart size very good very good very bad
Broiler weight (up to 21 days) very bad very good good
Broiler weight (over 21 days) very good very good very bad
Leg culls very good very good bad
Colibacilliosis bad very good very bad
Weight Loss
Optimal Incubation For Chick Quality
Weight Loss
• Targeted weight loss before transfer: 11-13%.
• Note: This can vary based on flock age, egg age,
and altitude.
• Whether using Multi-Stage (M/S) or Single-Stage (S/S)
incubation, weight loss should be consistent.
• In practice, Single-Stage often records lower weight
loss. This can be due to prolonged damper closure or
CO2 being a dominant factor early in incubation.
Low Moisture Loss

• Small air cell

• High or multi pipping point

• Chicks with hard belly

• Chicks with dirty and sticky fluff

Low Moisture Loss

• Chick has hard time to reach the air cell and to get
out of the egg.

• Red beak

• Red hocks
Effects of Poor Weight loss

Small End Clear Equator Clear Large End Clear None Clear All Clear

Calil, 2009
Effects Of Poor Weight Loss

Clear Surface % Weight Loss % Hatch

All 12,59 a 90,00

Small end 6,21 b 7,00

Equator 5,97 bc 6,00

Large end 5,41 c 1,00

None 3,06 d 0,00

Calil, 2009
Yield and Hatch times
Effect On Performance
Though only 1.3% of chicks hatched in this
Graph showing the impact of hatching times on 7 day weights period, they displayed a high chick yield
and mortality levels. percentage and an elevated 7-day mortality
180 rate
160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
% chicks chick 7 day 7 day ADG Chick yield 7 day mort
weight weight (%) (%)
36h pre pull 19.5 43.7 169.2 17.9 67.9 1.1
24h pre pull 64.3 45.4 171.4 18.0 69.6 1.3
12h pre pull 15 47.0 164.7 16.8 71.4 2.9
pull 1.3 46.9 136.0 12.7 73 19.2
Incubation Factors
Chick Yield %

Correlation between Chick Yield % and 7 day weights

70 180 70 4

69 69 3.5
175
68 3
68
170
2.5
67 67
165 2
66 66
1.5
160
65 65
1
64 155 64 0.5
63 150 63 0
Cobb 98.5 Cobb 100.0 Cobb 101.5 Cobb 98.5 Cobb 100.0 Cobb 101.5

Chick Yield 7 day wt Chick Yield 7 day mort.

We regard yield as a good measure of chick quality. However, using antibiotics can mask the actual
results in 7-day mortality and body weights
Turning
Turning

28
Heat Treatment
Heat Treatment

• Short Periods of Incubation During Storage (SPIDES)

• Promotes embryo development for enhanced storage resistance.

• Helps counteract premature cell loss from storage.

• Improvements in hatch and quality for each treatment.

Effect Of Egg Age On Hatch Window & Cell Viability
Egg Storage
Heat Treatment

Point of no
return
Number of cells
Egg storage
Heat Treatment

• Total time betwee 32°C (89.6°F)

1.5-2.0h and 38°C (100.4°F) <12h for best
< 27°C back to
32 results
cold room
• Includes heating and cooling!

26
• Heating and cooling length does
not matter

20
• Minimum 24h before incubation

14
• Avoid placing treated eggs close to
cold eggs
 Egg Storage
Heat Treatment

• ED X – pellucid area completely formed

• Stage eggs normally arrive at the hatchery
• Embryo very sensitive to storage

• ED XII – hypoblast completely formed

• ED XII – XIII embryo more prepared for
storage

• Stage 2 – primitive streak starts

development
• Point of no return – incubation process needs
to continue

• Stage 3 – primitive streak completely

formed
14 Days Without Heat Treatment

C o p y r i g h t C o b b - V a n t r e s s , I n c . 35
14 Days With 1 Heat Treatment

C o p y r i g h t C o b b - V a n t r e s s , I n c . 36
14 Days With 2 Heat Treatments

C o p y r i g h t C o b b - V a n t r e s s , I n c . 37
 Hatch Results
% Hatchability Heat Treatment Vs None
7.00%

6,31%
6.00%

5,20%
5.00%
diference of hatchability

4.32%
4.00%
3.63%

3.00% 3.09%

2.38%
2.00%

1.43%
1.00%

0.00%
8 9 11 12 13 14 15
Egg age (days)
 Summary
• Chick quality is deeply rooted in egg quality and the health of
the breeder.

• Ensure uniform temperature throughout; avoid extremes.

• High Temperatures (> 38.8°C / 102°F) can cause early hatching,

dehydration, muscle weakness, increased deformities, and
mortality.

• Low Temperatures (< 36.8°C / 98.2°F) can delay hatching,

lower weight gain, and weaken immune function and increase
culls.
 Summary
• Monitor hot and cold spots and conduct regular EST checks.

• Ensure optimal humidity for weight loss and to prevent

dehydration or over-moisturization.

• Airspeed is just as important as air temperature

• Don’t neglect turning angles

• Extended storage can impact chick quality, hatchability, and

incubation parameters.
Thank You