Poultry Producers’ Top Priority: Hatchability

Introduction

A bird’s ability to lay the eggs that will become the production birds of tomorrow is a vital part of the global food supply chain. With this in mind, what can producers do to support and maximise hatchability?

Q1: What affects hatchability?

Hatchability is one of the prime economic indicators of a breeder operation. Increased hatchability means more chicks which results in more profit. Hatchability is a mirror wherein the health of a breeder operation is observed. Any deviation in management at the breeder house (such as improper egg collection, handling, sanitation and storage of eggs), and/or at the hatchery (irregularity in temperature, relative humidity, pre-incubation storage), and flock health can affect hatchability. Other factors in hatchability include diseases (Mycoplasma, Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, etc.), feed formulation, vitamin or mineral deficiency, and improper feeding allocation of the birds.

Q2: What should producers who want to improve hatchability take into consideration?

Any deviation in breeder management, hatchery unit, flock health and nutrition can affect hatchability. One helpful method is to list all the critical control/checkpoints of the operation and evaluate them individually to identify areas to improve or adjust. This allows corrective measures to be applied and can establish a standard operating procedure for the operation.

An easily identifiable and rectifiable area of improvement is at the feed nutrition level where adjustments can take effect immediately. Attention should be given to vitamin and trace mineral levels in feed as they are often added in lesser quantities and are very important for egg production. Therefore, underdosing and using lower quality/purity/bioavailable products can have a tremendous effect on hatchability.

Q3: How does nutrition support hatchability?

What we feed to the hen determines the quality of the chick. It is necessary to feed the birds balanced feed with an optimum amount of energy, protein, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals as per breeder recommendations. We must keep in mind that the nutrients present in the egg support chick developmental metabolism. Providing the correct amount of vitamins and trace minerals is important as these nutrients are essential to internal organ development and enzyme metabolism in the embryos. But the source of the mineral also matters. Bis-chelated trace minerals are shown to be highly bioavailable, avoiding antagonism in the gut and allowing more mineral to be utilised by the birds.

Q4: What results do you see from a broiler breeder trace mineral program?

Our research shows when breeder birds were fed MINTREX? Bis- Chelated Trace Minerals in the form of zinc, copper and manganese at 50ppm, 10ppm and 60ppm respectively, the hatchability improved by 3-5%, hen housed egg production increased by 3%, and cracked eggs were reduced by 36%. Ultimately, this mineral program fosters an improved number of quality chicks produced, in turn providing better profitability and return on investment to producers.

Conclusion

Breeders are like the central bank in any operation. Whatever we feed them or deposit to them, we should be able to withdraw with interest in terms of better hatchability and additional chicks. Providing the optimum mineral nutrition to breeders is critical to improving productivity and hatchability. Thanks to its high bioavailability and additional methionine value, breeders fed MINTREX? Bis-Chelated Trace Minerals are able to get more mineral to the site of absorption, allowing birds to optimise hatchability.

To learn more about how NOVUS is supporting the poultry industry,

visit novusint.com.