Transcript Breeder, layer continued

Breeder, layer continued
Egg Candling
• Candling allows examination of embryo development
• After 10 days of incubation, use a small flashlight and
place it on the large end of the egg while in a dark
room
• Examine and determine normal embryo development
at 10 days
• Break open unhatched eggs (residue breakout) to
determine fertility or embryo death
Store bought egg
Undefined, hard to tell if
there's a chick developing
Air cell
Chick developing
Chick developing
Spots like this may
indicate bacterial
contamination
Hatchability
Controlling Factors
Farm
Hatchery
Breeder Nutrition
Sanitation
Disease
Egg Storage
Infertility
Egg Damage
Egg Damage
Incubation – management
of setters and hatchers
Egg Sanitation
Chick Handling
Egg Storage
Chick Pull and Processing
• Chicks separated, graded by quality, counted
• Vaccination
Factors Influencing
Chick Size
• Egg size
– Chick weight 66-68% of egg
weight
• Moisture loss during
incubation
• Length of time between
setting and pulling chicks
from hatchers
• Date at which incubation
began
Brooding Chicks
• Start chicks at 90 to 92oF
– Lower temp ~ 5oF each week thereafter
• Use a solid brooder guard if you have a large
area you are raising the chicks
• Feed and water chicks
immediately after they are
placed in brooding area
• Provide access to food and
fresh
water at all times!
Brooder Ideas
Just right
Too cold
Too hot
Too drafty
Importance of Water
• Water is the forgotten nutrient
• It must be clean, and cool at all
times
– Don’t create a soup of bacteria!
• Adding vitamins or electrolytes
in the water is also very helpful
Ambient Environment
• In addition to air temperature
– Don’t allow birds to be exposed to air drafts
– But. . . Birds need fresh air
• Keep birds dry
• Keep pens (floor) dry
How It Used to Be Done in 1926
Do we need to reinvent the wheel?
• NO! How it used to be done is not bad
• However, we do know much more about birds
today than anyone has ever known,
. . . We
can and should utilize this information!