how to - aviagen | aviagenen.aviagen.com/assets/tech_center/bb_resources_tools/aviagen... · how...

How to...

01

01

Measure Egg Water Loss

•Changesineggweightduringincubationaredueentirelytothelossofwaterfromtheegg.Thereforeeggweightlosscanbeeasilymeasuredbyweighingtheegg.

• Incubatedcorrectly,eggsloseonaverage11-12%oftheireggweightbetween laying and transfer at 18 days.

Incubator Humidity Too High

Air cell too small and embryo cannot inflate lung

Action:Decrease Humidity

Incubator Humidity Too Low

Air cell too large and embryo is dehydrated

Action:Increase Humidity

Incubator Humidity Correct

No Action Required

Note: A small amount of water (typically 0.5% per week of storage) is lost from the egg during storage. Any water loss during storage should be taken off that lost during incubation, e.g. if eggs are stored for a week average water loss between set and transfer at 18 days would be 10.5 - 11.5%.

WhyMeasureeggWaTerLoss?

WHy MeAsuRe egg WAteR Loss?

•Controllingincubatorhumiditytoensurethateggweightlossisintheoptimalrangewillmaximisehatchandchickquality.

•routinemonitoringofeggwaterlossisthebestwaytocheckthatincubatorhumidityiscorrect-itusestheeggtotelluswhatisrequired.

How to...Measure Egg Water Loss

TheProCedureForMeasurIngeggWaTerLoss

tHe PRoceDuRe FoR MeAsuRINg egg WAteR Loss

• Toaccuratelymeasureeggwaterloss: -monitoreggwaterlossfrom3incubatortraysfromeachbreederflock -useabalancethatcanweighawholeincubatortrayofeggstoanaccuracyofatleast5grams(0.2oz)

step 1: Fillsettertraywiththefresheggs-excludeanycrackedorpoorshellqualityeggs.

step 2: Weighfullsettertray-recordweightandnumberofeggsontray.

step 3: Labelthetraysothatitcanberelocatedattransfer.

Note: Trays should be located in the incubator so that one is positioned near the top, one near the middle and one near the bottom of the incubator rack.

step 4: Ifeggsarefertilitytestedpriortotransfer,donotremoveanyclearornon-viableeggs.

step 5: at18-daytransfer,reweighthetrayofeggs-recordweight.rejectanytrayweightsiftherearecrackedeggsonthetray.

step 6: Weighemptysettertray-recordweight.

Step 2

Step 5

Step 3

Step 6

For example: Empty tray = 1205g;Full tray at set = 8201g; Full tray at transfer = 7382g

% WaterLoss 100

Fulltrayweight emptytray atset weight

Fulltrayweight Fulltrayweight atset attransfer-

-= x

Note: If eggs are not transferred and weighed at 18 days, calculated water loss should be corrected to 18 days to allow accurate and appropriate quality control. This is done by dividing by the actual number of days at transfer and then multiplying by 18. If eggs are transferred at 17 days then water loss corrected to 18 days would be: (11.7% ÷ 17) x 18 = 12.4%

% Water loss

% Water loss

% Water loss

=

=

=

8201-7382

8198201-1205

6996

x 100

x 100

11.7%

02

tHe PRoceDuRe FoRMeAsuRINg egg WAteR Loss

01

Thiscalculationalsoappliestoimperialmeasurements


CaLCuLaTIonoFeggWaTerLoss

cALcuLAtIoN oF egg WAteR Loss

exampleofwaterlossrecordingsheet.Thissheetalsorecordschickyieldinformationasthetwoqualitycontrolprocessescanbeeasilycombined–seeHow to... Measure chick yield

egg Weights and chick Weights

Company ACME Farming dateset 26th Oct 2009

Farm Windyhill Farm datehatched 16th Nov 2009

Age 26 weeks dateBrokenout 16th Nov 2009

setterno. 1, 2 and 3 hatcherno. 1

tray No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

No. of Eggs 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

Weight of Empty Tray 1205 1210 1205 1208 1206 1208 1212 1201 1205

Weight of Full Tray 8201 8364 8175 8191 8242 8336 8089 8263 8307

Transfer Weight 7382 7499 7324 7451 7510 7637 7113 7183 7206

No. of Chicks Hatched 120 116 123 122 115 118 109 104 106

Total Chick Weight 4268 4238 4384 4395 4193 4371 3748 3667 3724

Culls and Deads 1 0 1 1 2 1 2 3 2

Unhatched Eggs 11 16 8 9 15 13 21 25 24

Egg Weight Loss (%) 11.7 12.1 12.2 10.6 10.4 9.8 14.2 15.3 15.5

Mean Egg Weight (g) 53.0 54.2 52.8 52.9 53.3 54.0 52.1 53.5 53.8

Mean Chick Weight (g) 35.6 36.5 35.6 36.0 36.5 37.0 34.4 35.3 35.1

Chick Yield (%) 67.1 67.4 67.5 68.1 68.4 68.6 66.0 65.9 65.3

03

01


InTerPreTIngresuLTs

INteRPRetINg ResuLtsThegraphbelowshowsthewaterlossresultsfrom3differentincubators:

7

10

8

9

11

12

13

14

15

16

321

XXX

XXX

X

XX

setter Number

Wat

er L

oss

(%) Increase Humidity

Investigate

Ideal

Investigate

Decrease Humidity

• Toaltereggweightlossby1%,humidityshouldbechangedbyabout5%rhor2oF(1oC)wetbulb.

Incubator 2hasslightlylowwaterlossbutclosetotheacceptablerange.

action:Checkthewaterlossfromthisincubatoragain,makesurehumidifiersareworkingcorrectlyandifitisstilllow,decreaseincubatorhumidity.

Note: this water loss would be normal for long stored eggs.

Incubator 1haswaterlosseswithintheacceptablerange.

noactionrequired.

Incubator 3hasveryhighwaterloss.

action:Makesuretherewerenocrackedeggsonthesetrays(thesewillleadtoanartificiallyhighestimateofwaterloss),makesurehumidifiersare

workingcorrectlyandincreaseincubatorhumidity.

Note: if cracked eggs are found to be present the data for that tray should be ignored and a repeat measurement taken.

04

01

How to...

02

01

Measure Chick Yield

Wh

Y M

ea

su

re

Ch

iCk

Yie

ld?

Why Measure ChiCk yield?•Chickyield(theweightofthechickathatchasapercentageofeggsettingweight)isasimplemethodofcheckingwhetherhatchtimingandincubationparametersarecorrect.

•Chickswithalowyieldhaveeitherbeen: 1. hatchedforalongtimebeforetheywereremovedfromthehatcheror, 2. incubatedatahightemperatureoralowhumidity.

Thesechicksareatriskofbeingdehydratedandperformpoorlyonthefarm.

•Chickswithahighyieldhaveeither: 1. onlyjustfinishedhatchingwhentheywereremovedfromthehatcheror, 2. havebeenincubatedatalowtemperatureorahighhumidity.

Ifplacedonthefarmquicklythesechickswillnotbereadytoeatanddrinkandwilltendtobelazy.

OptiMuM ChiCk yield

> 68%high

Thischickwillbelazyandnotreadytofeedanddrinkwhenplacedonfarm.

> 67 - 68%ideal

Thischickwillbeactiveandreadytofeedanddrinkwhenplacedonfarm

> 67%low

Thischickwillbedehydratedandhavelittleyolkreserve.Oftenveryactiveandnoisy.

Note: If chicks are to be placed onto the farm the day after hatch 1% should be added to the above ranges, i.e. optimum chick yield would be 68-69%.If eggs are stored 0.5% should be added for each week of storage i.e. for eggs stored for 2 weeks optimum chick yield would be 68-69%.

How to...Measure Chick Yield

ThePrOCedureFOrMeasurIngChICkYIeld

02

02• Toaccuratelymeasurechickyieldandcheckthehatchtimingofaflock: -monitorthechickyieldfrom3incubatortrays -useabalancethatcanweighawholeincubatortrayofeggsoraboxofchickstoanaccuracyofatleast5grams(0.2oz)

Note: This procedure can be easily combined with the monitoring of egg water loss.

the prOCedure FOrMeasuring ChiCk yield

step 1: Weighemptysettertray–recordweight.

Note: This can be done at setting or transfer.

step 2: Fillsettertraywithfresheggs.excludeanycrackedorpoorshellqualityeggs.

step 3: Weighfullsettertray–recordweightandnumberofeggsontray.

step 4: labelthetraysothatitcanberelocatedattransfer.

Note: Trays should be located in the incubator so that one is positioned near the top, one near the middle and one near the bottom of the incubator rack.

step 5: attransferensurethehatchertrayislabelledsothatitcanbeassociatedwiththecorrecteggtray.

step 6: athatchtake-off,zerothebalancewiththeemptychickbox.

Note: If the chicks are to be vent sexed then the chicks need to be weighed before counting.

step 7: Countallthegoodchicksfromthehatcherbasketintothebox-recordnumber.

step 8: Weighthefullchickbox–recordweight.

Step 1

Step 3

Step 6

Step 8

egg Weights and Chick Weights

Company ACME Farming dateset 26th Oct 2009

Farm Windyhill Farm datehatched 16th Nov 2009

age 26 weeks dateBrokenOut 16th Nov 2009

setterno. 1, 2 and 3 hatcherno. 1

How to...Measure Chick Yield

CalCulaTIOnOFChICkYIeld

03

CalCulatiOn OF ChiCk yield

exampleofchickyieldrecordingsheet.Thissheetalsorecordseggwaterlossinformationasthetwoqualitycontrolprocessescanbeeasilycombined-seehow to... Measure egg Water loss.

tray no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

No. of Eggs 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132 132

Weight of Empty Tray 1205 1210 1205 1208 1206 1208 1212 1201 1205

Weight of Full Tray 8201 8364 8175 8191 8242 8336 8089 8263 8307

Transfer Weight 7382 7499 7324 7451 7510 7637 7113 7183 7206

No. of Chicks Hatched 120 116 123 122 115 118 109 104 106

Total Chick Weight 4268 4238 4384 4395 4193 4371 3748 3667 3724

Culls and Deads 1 0 1 1 2 1 2 3 2

Unhatched Eggs 11 16 8 9 15 13 21 25 24

Egg Weight Loss (%) 11.7 12.1 12.2 10.6 10.4 9.8 14.2 15.3 15.5

Mean Egg Weight (g) 53.0 54.2 52.8 52.9 53.3 54.0 52.1 53.5 53.8

Mean Chick Weight (g) 35.6 36.5 35.6 36.0 36.5 37.0 34.4 35.3 35.1

Chick Yield (%) 67.1 67.4 67.5 68.1 68.4 68.6 66.0 65.9 65.3

averageChickWeight

averageFresheggWeight%ChickYield=x100

02

% Chick Yield

% Chick Yield

% Chick Yield

=

=

=

4268 ÷ 120

35.6((8201-1205)÷132)

53.0

x 100

x 100

67.1%

For example:emptytray=1205g;Fulltray@set=8201g;numberofeggs=132;Fullchickbox@hatch=4268g;numberofchicks=120

Thiscalculationalsoappliestoimperialmeasurements

How to...InTerPreTIngresulTs

04

interpreting resultsThegraphbelowshowsthechickyieldresultsfrom3differentflocks:

65

67

66

68

69

70

321

XXX

XXX

X

XX

Flock id

Chi

ck y

ield

(%) investigate Cause

repeat

ideal

repeat

investigate Cause

Flock 2hasslightlyhighchickyieldbutclosetotheacceptablerange.

action:Checkthechickyieldfromthisflockagainandifitisstillhigh,usetablebelowtoinvestigatethecauseofthehighchickyield.

Note: This high chick yield would be acceptable if the chicks do not arrive on the farm on the same day as hatch.

Flock 1haschickyieldswithintheacceptablerange.

noactionrequired.

Flock 3haslowchickyieldandthesechickswillbeatriskofdehydration.

action:usethetablebelowtodeterminethecauseofthelowchickyield.

FaCtOrs aFFeCting ChiCk yieldlow Chick yield high Chick yield

1. Incubatingtheeggstoolong.

2. highincubationtemperature.

3. lowincubatorhumidity.

1. Incubationtimetooshort.Thismaybeasaconsequenceoflongeggstorage,oreggsfromveryyoungoroldbreeders.

2. lowincubationtemperature.

3. highincubatorhumidity.

02

Measure Chick Yield

How to...

03

01

Measure Eggshell Temperature

Wh

y M

Ea

su

rE

Eg

gs

hE

ll T

EM

pE

raT

ur

E?

Why Measure eggshell teMperature?•Correctsettertemperatureiscriticalforhatchinggoodqualitychicks.

•Settertemperatureiswhatisexperiencedbytheembryoinsidetheegg.Itisnottheairtemperatureofthesetter.

•Eggshellsurfacetemperatureiscloselyrelatedtointernaleggtemperature(seegraphbelow).Itisthereforeausefultoolfordeterminingwhetherornotsettertemperatureiscorrect.

•Shelltemperaturecanbeeasilymeasuredusingamedicalinfraredthermometer.

•Optimumshelltemperatureformaximumhatchandchickqualityis37.8-38.3oC(100-101oF)throughoutthewholesettingperiod.

•Knowledgeofeggshelltemperaturesallowssettertemperaturestobeadjustedtooptimizeconditionsfordifferencesinembryoheatproductionandmachinedesign.

•Measurementofeggshelltemperatureshouldbeusedtoestablishthecorrectmachinetemperaturesettingforthetypeofeggthatisbeingincubatedandforthedesignofsetter.

• Itshouldnotbeusedforcalibratingsettersorcheckingmachinetemperatureuniformity.

Measuredinternaleggandeggshelltemperatureduringtheincubationperiodwhenincubatedataconstanttemperature–basedonTazawa&Nakagawa(1985)andFrench(1997)

1

37.2 99

37.8 100

38.3 101

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Day of Incubation

Incubatoreggshell

tem

per

atur

e (°

C) tem

perature (°F)

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

How to...Measure Eggshell Temperature

ThEPrOCEdurEFOrMEaSurINgEggShEllTEMPEraTurE

02

03

Region for measuringeggshell temperature

•Theonlyequipmentrequiredformeasuringeggshelltemperatureisamedicalinfraredearthermometer.

• ItisrecommendedtouseaBraunThermoScanExacTemp(ModelIrT4520,type6022).

•Correctregionformeasuringshelltemperatureisshownbelow.

the proCeDure For MeasurIng eggshell teMperature

•Theobjectiveistosampleeggswithinthemachinefromlocationsontheleftandright,frontandbackandtop,middleandbottomofthesetter.Theexactlocationswillvarywithmachinedesignbutattempttocoverallareasofthesetter.

•donotchosetraysattheverytoporbottomofthetrolleyorrack.

•Chooseeggsinthecenteroftheincubatortraytomonitor;thoseattheedgesofthetraywillbecooler.

•Togetacompleteprofileofthesetter,eggswillneedtobemonitoredateachstageofincubation.

How to...

ThEPrOCEdurEFOrMEaSurINgEggShEllTEMPEraTurE

03


03Where anD When to CheCk eggshell teMperature

Thermal image of eggs on a setter tray. Note that the temperature of the air cells and eggs at the edge of the tray is cooler than temperature at the equator of eggs in

the center of the tray.

38.3oC/100.9oF

30.9oC/87.6oF

How to...ThEPrOCEdurEFOrMEaSurINgEggShEllTEMPEraTurE

04


step 1: Checkthatthemeasuringtipofthethermometeriscleanandthatithasanewplasticcoveron.(Someolderthermometertypesmayneedtobekeptatincubationtemperaturefor30minutespriortousetopreventanerrormessage).

step 2: Planwheretosampleeggshelltemperaturesbeforeopeningthesetterdoor,sothatitwillbepossibletoworkquicklyonceinside.Ensureeachareaofthesetterismonitored.

step 3: Ifitisnotpossibletoworkinsidethesettersafelywhileitisoperating,turnitoffandmeasureasmanyeggsaspossiblein10minutes.Ifitisnotpossibletomeasureeggsatalllocationswithin10minutes,closeandrestartthesetterandreturnafter30minutestocompletethemeasurements.

step 4: Measureshelltemperatureattheequatoroftheegg,notatthetoporbottom.Makesurethetipofthethermometerisflatagainsttheeggshellsurface.

step 5: Sample3eggsfromthecenterofeachsettertray.Foreggsinthesecondhalfofincubation,rejectanymeasurementthatissignificantlycooler(>0.4°C/0.7°F)thantheothereggsonthetrayasitislikelythereisnoembryointheegg.

step 6: recordresults.determineaverageeggshelltemperatureandspreadofeggshelltemperatures.

step 7: Compareresultsagainstgraphoppositetodetermineifincubationtemperaturecorrect.

03

How to...

INTErPrETINgrESulTS

05


InterpretIng eggshell teMperature

•Theobjectiveisformostoftheeggstobewithintheidealtemperaturerange(37.8–38.3oC/100–101oF)throughouttheincubationperiod.

• Insingle-stagesystemsthisisachievedbyadjustingthetemperatureprogramateachageofincubation.

• Inmulti-stagesystemswhereonlyonetemperaturesettingcanbeused,theremayhavetobeacompromisebetweentherequirementsforthestartandtheendofincubation.Itisprobablethatatthestartofincubationitwillbenecessarytohaveeggscoolerthanidealinordertoensurethateggsdonotbecometoohotattheendofincubation.

•highincubationtemperatureisnormallymoredamagingthanlowincubationtemperature.

• Ifthereisawidespreadofeggshelltemperaturesacrossonemachineitmayindicatethatitneedsmaintenance.

97

100

98

99

101

102

103

36.1

37.8

36.7

37.2

38.3

38.9

39.4

1 2 3 4 5 6 117 128 13 169 14 1710 15 18Day of Incubation

she

ll te

mp

erat

ure

(oC

) shell tem

perature ( oF)

Danger

risk

Ideal

risk

Delayed hatch

03

How to...INTErPrETINgrESulTS

06

sIngle-stage MaChInes MultI-stage MaChInes


Note: Prior to any alteration of setter operating temperatures, ensure that there are no

maintenance problems with the machine.

Danger risk Ideal risk Delayed hatch

Note: Prior to any alteration of setter operating temperatures, ensure that there are no

maintenance problems with the machine and multi-stage loading of the setter is correct.

Temperatureswithinidealrange:noadjustmentsrequired.

Temperatureswithinidealrange:noadjustmentsrequired.

Temperaturesfromday14onwardstoohigh:lowerincubatortemperaturetobringday14–18

temperaturesintoidealrange.

Temperaturesatthestartofincubationinlowriskareaandattheendofincubationwithinthehighriskarea:

noadjustment.

Temperaturesfromday8-10toolow:increaseincubatortemperaturetobringday8-10

temperaturesintoidealrange.

Temperaturesfromday16onwardindangerrange:lowerincubatortemperaturetobringday16onward

temperaturesintoriskrange.

36.1

37.8

36.7

37.2

38.3

38.9

39.4


she

ll te

mp

erat

ure

(oC

) shell tem

perature ( oF)

36.1

37.8

36.7

37.2

38.3

38.9

39.4


she

ll te

mp

erat

ure

(oC

) shell tem

perature ( oF)

36.1

37.8

36.7

37.2

38.3

38.9

39.4


she

ll te

mp

erat

ure

(oC

) shell tem

perature ( oF)

36.1

37.8

36.7

37.2

38.3

38.9

39.4


she

ll te

mp

erat

ure

(oC

) shell tem

perature ( oF)

36.1

37.8

36.7

37.2

38.3

38.9

39.4


she

ll te

mp

erat

ure

(oC

) shell tem

perature ( oF)

36.1

37.8

36.7

37.2

38.3

38.9

97

100

98

99

101

102

103

97

100

98

99

101

102

103

97

100

98

99

101

102

103

97

100

98

99

101

102

103

97

100

98

99

101

102

103

97

100

98

99

101

102

10339.4


she

ll te

mp

erat

ure

(oC

) shell tem

perature ( oF)

03

exaMples oF teMperature proFIles

How to...

04

01

Identify Infertile Eggs andEarly Deads

Wh

y m

Ea

su

rE

fE

rtI

lIty

an

D E

ar

ly D

Ea

Ds

lE

vE

ls?

Why measure fertility and early deads levels?

•Anunfertilisedeggcannotproduceachick.

•Flockfertilityisgovernedbymanagementofmalesandfemalesonthebreederfarmandcannotbeaffectedbyegghandling,eggstorageorincubationconditions.

•Earlyembryomortalitycanbeaffectedbyegghandling,eggstorageorincubationconditions.

•Theactionrequiredtocorrectpoorfertilityisnotthesameasthatrequiredtocorrectexcessearlydead,thereforeitisimportanttodistinguishbetweeninfertilityandearlydeads.

An individual egg being candled.

- Anearlydeadisaneggwhichhasbeenfertilisedbutinwhichthedevelopingembryodiesinthefirstweekofincubation

- Afteranembryodiesitwilldeteriorateovertime,thereforethelongereggsareincubatedthemoredifficultitbecomestodistinguishearlydeadsfrominfertiles

How to...Identify Infertile Eggs and

Early Deads

Pr

oc

ED

ur

E f

or

as

sE

ss

InG

flo

ck

fE

rtI

lIty

02

Procedure for assessinG flock fertility

•Thereare2methodsforassessingflockfertility: 1.inun-incubatedeggs 2.incleareggscandledbetween10and14daysofage

advantages disadvantages

un-incubated eggs

Quickfeedback

Canbedoneonfarm

Canseemottlingandeggqualityissues

Destroyspotentialhatchingeggs

Smallsamplesize(sothesampleresultcanbeverydifferentfromtheflockaverage)

Takespractice

clears10-14 days

Doesnotdestroypotentialhatchingeggs

Biggersamplesize(sobetterprecision)

Easytolearn

Noresultsuntilapprox.17daysafterlay

Notnecessarilystandardpracticetocandleat10-14days

Internaleggqualityissuesdifficulttosee

•Whatisaninfertileegg?

•Whatisanearlydeadembryo?

•Duringcandlingeggswithadevelopedembryowillappeardark.

•Clearsarenotalwaysinfertile

•Acleareggmaybeinfertileorcontainanearlydeadembryo.

•Therefore,toaccuratelyidentifyinfertilityandearlydeadsabreakoutofcandledclearsneedstobecompleted. Dark eggs contain a live embryo.

- Aninfertileeggisonethathasnotbeenfertilised

04

How to...

Pr

oc

ED

ur

E f

or

as

sE

ss

InG

flo

ck

fE

rtI

lIty

- m

Eth

oD

1

03

•Eggsarefertilisedhighinthereproductivetractandembryonicdevelopmentcontinuesuntiltheeggislaid.

•Thismakesitpossibletoidentifyinfertileeggsbeforeincubation.

•Dense,whitespot,2-3mm(0.1in)diameter

•Rarelyperfectlyround,jaggededges•Bubbles

•White,symmetricalring4-5mm(0.2in)diameter,withaclearcentralarea

•Round,withsmoothuniformedges•Nobubbles

Procedure for assessinG flock fertilitymethod 1 - identifyinG infertility in un-incubated eGGs

infertile blastodisc fertile blastoderm


step 1:Takeasampleof100freshnormalhatchingeggsperhouse,ofknowneggage.

step 2:Breakeggs,oneatatime,overabucketallowingthealbumentodropintothebucketandcatchingtheyolkinyourhand.Rolltheyolkoveruntilthegerminaldisccanbeseen.

Note: The task is easier in good natural light. If this is not available, a single-led (light emitting diode) torch will illuminate the disc without causing reflection off the yolk surface. A magnifying glass can also be helpful.

04

How to...P

ro

cE

Du

rE

fo

r a

ss

Es

sIn

G f

loc

k f

Er

tIlI

ty -

mE

tho

D 1

04

Exampleofeggfertilityrecordingsheet.Recordincidenceoffertileandinfertileeggsandcomparetotargets(seepage8).

Takethechancetoobserveandrecordanyyolkmottling.Ifsevere,thiscanincreaseveryearlydeadembryos.

Company

Date

ACME Farming

31st January 2010


farmW/h26W

s/v36W

u/h46W

r/r56W

No. of Eggs Sampled 100 100 100 100

Fertile 81 95 81 87

Infertile 19 5 19 13

- Motted Yolk 1 2 20 30

- Watery Albumen - - - -

- Sticky Yolk - - - -

04

How to...

Pr

oc

ED

ur

E f

or

as

sE

ss

InG

flo

ck

fE

rtI

lIty

- m

Eth

oD

2

05

•Fertilitycanalsobeassessedineggscandledclearbetween10and14daysofincubation.

• Itisnotadvisabletotryandassessfertilityoneggscandledanylaterthanthisbecausepostmortemdegenerationoftheembryomakesitdifficulttodistinguishinfertileeggsfromthosewithveryearlyembryonicdevelopment.

Procedure for assessinG flock fertilitymethod 2 - identifyinG infertile eGGs and early dead embryos in clear eGGs candled betWeen 10 and 14 days of incubation


04

Degenerationafterdeathwillchangetheappearanceoftheearlydeadembryosandthisisalsoshowninthephotos.

step 1:Candlethreesettertraysperflock,between10and14daysincubation.

step 2:Removeandholdtheclears,keepingthemseparatetoflockandsettertray.

step 3:Opentheeggswithforcepsattheaircell,takingcarewhenremovingthemembranethatnoeggcontentsarediscarded.

step 4:Identifyfertilityorstageofdevelopmentatdeath,usingthephotosonreversepage.

How to...P

ro

cE

Du

rE

fo

r a

ss

Es

sIn

G f

loc

k f

Er

tIlI

ty -

mE

tho

D 2

06

Normalappearanceofliveembryo

Appearanceafter8-10daysincubation

Appearanceafter14-15daysincubation

infertile

death after24 hoursdevelopment

death after48 hoursdevelopment

death at blood ring stage*(2.5-4 days)

death at black eye stage**(5-12 days)

Note:

* With blood ring stage deaths, once the blood vessels degenerate, often the only sign of embryo development is a change in colour to a creamy yellow. This does not indicate contamination.

** Embryo death at the black eye stage is often associated with bacterial rots – in addition to discolouration, the egg contents smell bad and have often disintegrated.


04

How to...

Pr

oc

ED

ur

E f

or

as

sE

ss

InG

flo

ck

fE

rtI

lIty

- m

Eth

oD

2

07

Exampleofcandlinganalysisrecordingsheet.

Recordincidenceoffertileandinfertileeggsandcomparetotargets(seepage8).


04

tray no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 total % of eggs set

No.ofEggsRemoved 36 34 30 100 22.2

Infertile 27 22 21 70 15.6

24hEarlyDead 1 2 2 5 1.1

48hearlyDead 2 2 2 6 1.3

“BloodRing”(2.5-4days) 5 6 7 17 3.8

“BlackEye”(5-12days) 1 2 1 4 0.9

notes:

transfer candling analysis

Company ACME Farming Date set 31st Jan 2010

Farm Underhill Date candled 11th Feb 2010

age 46 weeks DateBrokenOut 11th Feb 2010

SetterTraySize 150 SetterNo. 4

How to...In

tEr

Pr

EtI

nG

rE

su

lts

08


• Ifthetargetforacategoryisexceededthecauseofthisshouldbeinvestigated.

04interPretinG results

hatchery farm

causes of high infertility

Young/oldMales

Malesheavyorlosingcondition

Femalesunder/overweightorlosingcondition

Nutrition

Drugs/toxinsinfeed

Disease

Legs/feetinpoorcondition

causes of early embryo mortality(1-4 days)

Longeggstorage(>7days)

Eggstoretemperaturetoohot,toocoldorfluctuating

Formalinexposure12-96hoursofincubation

Slowtoreachincubationtemperature

Yolkmottlingduetostress(overmating,stockingdensity)ornicarbazine

Eggcollectionnotoftenenough(shouldbe>3times/day)

Nutrition

causes of embryo mortality 5-7 days

Longeggstorage(>7days)

Eggstoretemperaturetoohot,toocoldorfluctuating

Formalinexposure12-96hoursofincubation

Slowtoreachincubationtemperature

Eggscontaminatedduringstorage

Condensationontheeggsurface

Turningangletooshallow,frequencytoomuchortoolittle

Yolkmottlingduetostress(overmating,stockingdensity)ornicarbazine

Eggcollectionnotoftenenough(shouldbe>3times/day)

Nutrition

Floororsoiledeggs

•Thetablebelowgivestopquartiletargetsforhatchabilitylosseswhenperformingdetaileddiagnostic/researchtypeeggbreakouts

(%oftotalnumberofeggsset).

flock age

stage of development of embryo

infertile24

hours48

hoursblood ring

black eye

feathers

Young25-30weeks 6 1 2 2.5 1 1

Peak31-45weeks 2.5 0.5 1 2.0 0.5 0.5

PostPeak46-50weeks 5 0.5 1 2.5 1 0.5

Ageing51-60weeks 8 0.5 1 3.0 1 0.5

How to...

05

01

Break Out and AnalyseHatch Debris

WH

y B

re

Ak

Ou

t A

nD

An

Aly

se

HAt

cH

De

Br

is?

Why break out and analyse hatch debris?

• Itisnormalfortheretobesomeembryomortalityduringincubation.

•Embryolossestendtofollowaconsistentpattern(althoughitwillvaryslightlywithflockage).

•Someembryomalpositionsandabnormalitieshaveknowncausesandcanbetheresultofspecificproblems.

•Analysingembryomortalitypatternsandabnormalitiescanhelptoidentifywhichaspectsoftheincubationprocessneedcloserinvestigationinordertoimprovehatchabilityandchickquality.

NormalPatternofEmbryoLossDuringincubationshowingpeaksinmortalityduringearlyandlateincubation

0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21Day of Incubation

Pro

bab

ility

of

Em

bry

o D

eath

How to...Break Out and Analyse

Hatch Debris

ThEProcEDurEforBrEAkINgouTANDANALySINghATchDEBrIS

02

the Procedure for breaking out hatch debris

step 1: Sampleselectionandpreparation.• hatchdebrisbreakoutsshouldbeintegratedwithotherQAproceduressuchasmeasuringeggwaterlossandchickyield.

•Monitorthreesettertraysperflockperweek,andlabelsampletraysclearlyatthetimeofset.

• Theeggsusedforthesampletraysshouldbecleannesteggsofknownflocksource,flockageandeggage.

step 3: Breakingoutdeadinshells.• Identifyandcountanyeggswherethebeakhaspiercedtheshell(pips).recordnumbers,andnoteifanychicksarestillalive.

• openalltheeggs,attheaircell.Takecarenottoremoveanyeggcontentswhenliftingtheaircellmembrane.

• Identifythestageofdevelopmentoftheembryoandsorteggsintogroupsofinfertile,earlydead(0-7days)middead(8-15days)andlatedead(15-21days)usingthepicturesonpage3.

• checkverylate(20-21days)deadembryosformalpositions.

• checkformalformationsinthemidandlatedeadembryos.

• Alsorecordanywithcrackedorpoorqualityshellsandanyeggsthatarecontaminated.

step 2: ‘Takeoffandcountdeadinshell.• onthedayofhatch,countchicksandcullsoutofthesamplesettertrays.recordtheirnumberspertray.

• collect,countandseparateouttheunhatched(deadinshell)eggs.recordtheirnumberspertray.

Note: Clear or non-viable eggs should not be removed from trays. However, it will not be possible to distinguish infertile from early embryo mortality on clear eggs left in the setter for 18 days. A separate sample of eggs should be used for fertility identification (see How To... Identify Infertile Eggs and Early Deads).

Note: The totals for chicks plus culls and dead-in-shell should equal the number of eggs set, less any removed at candling.

05

Step 2

Step 3

How to...


Atthestartoftherecordingperiod,the

embryowilllooklikethis:

Bytheend,theembryowillhavegrowntolook

likethis:

Afterdeath,theappearancechangesandthedeadinshellembryos

maylooklikethis:

03


infertileNoobvioussignsofdevelopment.

early dead1-7 daysTheendofthisstageismarkedbytheappearanceoftheeggtoothonthebeak.

Mid dead8-14 daysEmbryoshaveaneggtoothbutnoobviousfeatherdevelopment.

late dead15-19 daysWellfeatheredembryo,fillstheshell.yolkmaybeexternalorretracted.

external pip20 daysThebeakhasbrokenthroughtheeggshell.

contaminatedDeepdiscolourationoftheeggcontents,whichsmelloff.

05

How to...ThEProcEDurEforBrEAkINgouTANDANALySINghATchDEBrIS

coMMon MalPositions

coMMon MalforMations

04


Exposed brain

NormalhatchingPosition

Malpo5:feetoverhead

Malpo2:headinsmallendofegg

Malpo6:Beakaboverightwing

Malpo3:headturnedtoleft

Ectopic viscera Duplication of body parts

Note: Occasional abnormalities are not a cause for concern. Further investigation Is appropriate only if a single malformation occurs at levels over 0.5% of the eggs set.

Note: Malpositions normally occur in 1.5% of all eggs set. The incidence of Malposition 3 (Head turned to left) and Malposition 5 (Feet over head) is normally 0.25% of eggs set (each). The incidence of Malposition 6 (Beak above right wing) is normally about 0.4% of eggs set. Head in small end of shell (Malposition 2) is the most variable malposition as it caused by setting eggs upside down. The occurrence of this malposition should not exceed 0.1% of eggs set.

05

How to...


05


•recordthenumberofeggsfallingintoeachcategoryforeachtray.•Addthesesnumberstogethertodeterminethetotalnumberofeggsfallingwithineachcategory.

•calculatethetotalasapercentageofthenumberofeggsset.

Examplerecordingsheetforhatchdebrisbreakoutinformation

the Procedure for analysing hatch debris

tray no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 total % of eggs set

No.ofEggsremoved 19 18 15 52 11.6

Infertile 6 4 4 14 3.1

“EarlyDead”(0-7Days) 5 5 5 15 3.3

“MidDead”(8-14Days) 2 1 1 4 0.9

“LateDead”(15-21Days) 5 5 4 14 3.1

ExternalPip 1 3 1 5 1.1

Dead and cull chicks 1 0 2 3 0.7

contaminated 1 3 1 5 1.1

PoorSheelQuality 0 0 1 1 0.2

cracked shell 0 0 1 1 0.2

Malpositions-headinSmallEndofEgg 1 - - 1 0.2

-headtoLeft - - - -

-feetoverhead - 2 1 3 0.7

-BeakAboverightWing - - - - -

Malformations-ExposedBrain/EyeDefect - - - - -

-ExtraLimbs - - - - -

-EctopicViscera - - - - -

notes:

Date set 3rd March

farm B20 Date Hatched 14th March

Age 31 weeks DateBrokenout 24th March

Hatch tray size 150 SetterNo. 12

hatcherNo. 3

05

How to...INTErPrETINgrESuLTS

06


•comparetheresultswiththetargetsfortheageoftheflockconcerned

•Plotresultsagainsttarget.Ifanyfigureisabovetargetaninvestigationintothereasonforthisshouldbesetup

Notes: Any assessment of infertility made at the end of incubation during a breakout is likely to be inaccurate as it is not possible to distinguish true infertile from early deads. If the early dead plus fertility numbers exceeds the target then follow the procedures in the How To... Identify Infertile Eggs and Early Deads before taking further action.

interPreting results

simple hatch debris analysis

flock agestage of development of embryo

infertile early dead Mid dead late dead external Pip cracked contaminated

young25-30Weeks

6 5.5 1 3.5 1 0.5 0.5

Peak31-45Weeks

2.5 3.5 0.5 2.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

PostPeak46-50Weeks

5 4 1 2.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

Ageing51-60Weeks

8 4.5 1 3 0.5 1 1

Infe

rtile

0.0

0.5

1.0

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

Ear

ly D

ead

(0-7

Day

s)

Mid

Dea

d(8

-14

Day

s)

Cra

cked

She

ll

Poo

r S

hell

Qua

lity

Con

tam

inat

ed

Ext

erna

l Pip

s

Late

Dea

d(1

5-21

Day

s)

Per

cent

age

(%)

% of eggs set

top Quartile %

05

How to...

INTErPrETINgrESuLTS

07

Break Out and AnalyseHatch DebrisPossible causes of

eMbryo Mortality 05

hatchery farm

early Dead(1-7Days)

formalinexposure12-96hours.

Slowtoreachincubationtemperatures

condensationoneggsurface

Turningangle/frequencynotcorrect

Longeggstorage

fluctuatingeggstoragetemperature

Inadequateeggcollection

Nutrition

Eggcontamination

floor/soiledeggs

MidDead(8-14Days)

EmbryotemperaturetoohighNutritionaldeficiencies

contamination

late Dead(15-19Days)

Setter/hatchertemperatures/humiditiesincor-rect–checkeggshelltempsandwaterloss.

Transferdamage

Eggssetupsidedown

InsuffcientwaterLoss

Nutritionaldeficiencies

contamination

Atpiping

Inadequateturning/eggssetupsidedown

Transferdamage

Excessivefumigationinhatcher

Longeggstorage

Nutritionaldeficiencies

contamination

Eggshelldisinfectioninappropriate

condensationoneggsurfaceduringstorageortransport

Thinorcrackedshells

highlevelofcontaminationinthehatchery(iflatedeadsonly)

highlevelsofflooreggs

Poornesthygiene

Malpositions

headinsmallend–eggincubatedupsidedown,highincubationtemperatureorshallowturningangle

Beakaboverightwing-heatstress

othermalpositions-causesunknown

Beakaboverightwing-Nutritionaldeficiencies(linoleicacid)

Malformations

Exposedbrain-highearlyincubationtempera-tures

Ectopicvisera-highincubationtemperaturesmid-term

Extralimbs-roughhandlingorjarringoftheeggsduringcollection/transport

How to...MorEINforMATIoN

08


•rossTech–InvestigatinghatcheryPractice•h.r.Wilson’s“hatchabilityProblemAnalysis”publishedbytheuniversityoffloridaandavailableasafreedownloadontheinternet.

•othersinthehatcheryhowToseries:

01 Measure egg Water loss

02 Measure chick yield

03 Measure eggshell temperature

04 identify infertile eggs & early deads

More inforMation05

Egg Weights and Chick Weights

Company Date Set

Farm Date Hatched

Age Date Broken Out

Setter No. Hatcher No.

Tray No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

No. of Eggs

Weight of Empty Tray

Weight of Full Tray

Transfer Weight

No. of Chicks Hatched

Total Chick Weight

Culls and Deads

Unhatched Eggs

Egg Weight Loss (%)

Mean Egg Weight (g)

Mean Chick Weight (g)

Chick Yield (%)

How to...Hatchery

As illustrated in How To... Measure Egg Water Loss and Measure Chick Yield

How to...

Breakout of Unincubated Eggs

Company

Date

As illustrated in How To... Identify Infertile Eggs and Early Deads

Hatchery

Farm

No. of Eggs Sampled

Fertile

Infertile

- Mottled Yolk

- Watery Albumen

- Sticky Yolk

How to...

As illustrated in How To... Identify Infertile Eggs and Early Deads

10-14 Day Candling Analysis

Company Date Set

Farm Date Candled

Age Date Broken Out

No. of Eggs/Tray Setter No.

Hatchery

Tray No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total % of Eggs Set

No. of Eggs Removed

Infertile

24h Early Dead

48h Early Dead

“Blood Ring” (2.5-4 days)

“Black Eye” (5-12 days)

Notes:

How to...

As illustrated in How To... Break Out and Analyze Hatch Debris

Tray No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total % of Eggs Set

No. of Eggs Removed

Infertile

“Early Dead” (0-7 Days)

“Mid Dead” (8-14 Days)

“Late Dead” (15-21 Days)

External Pip

Dead and Cull Chicks

Contaminated

Poor Shell Quality

Cracked Shell

Malpositions - Head in Small End of Egg

- Head to Left

- Feet Over Head

- Beak Above Right Wing

Malformations - Exposed Brain/Eye Defect

- Extra Limbs

- Ectopic Viscera

Notes:

Hatch Debris Analysis - Simplified Version

Company Date Set

Farm Date Broken Out

Age Date Setter No.

No. of Eggs/Tray Hatcher No.

Hatchery

Hatchery Spreadsheet V1 1 of 14 27/10/2010

Notes on using the Aviagen Hatchery Spreadsheet v1.0 1. Installing on computer

a. Create a folder called C:\Hatchery on computer for keeping the spreadsheet and associated files together

b. Copy the all files from the installation disc into the folder. C:\Hatchery c. To read the “How To..” documents it will be necessary to have Adobe

Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This can be downloaded for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader .

2. Getting started.

a. Double left click on Aviagen Hatchery Monitoring.xls in Windows Explorer to start the Excel spreadsheet. A security warning box will open asking whether you wish to enable macros. Click on the Enable Macros button. The spreadsheet will then open on the Menu Page.

b. If using the spreadsheet for the first time you will need to enter your company name in the white box in the bottom left corner.

c. A list of breed names is shown on the left of the sheet. You can delete names from this list if they are not used within your operation or add other names at the bottom of the list.

d. On the right side of the menu are links to the “How to..” documents that describe how carry out the hatchery quality control procedures for reference. To open the document single left click on the button. If the


document does not open make sure that the document pdf files have been saved in the same folder as the spreadsheet and the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader has been properly installed on the computer

e. In the centre of the menu page are buttons for entering data from breakout of candling analysis, hatch debris analysis and egg moisture and chick yields. For each data type there is a blue button where data are entered, a yellow button to view the database for each data type and a graph button that gives simple trend graphs over time.

3. Navigating within the workbook

a. To enter any of the data entry areas, single left click on the blue button on the menu page.

b. To enter the database area, single left click on the yellow database button on the menu page.

c. To enter the trend graph area, single left click on the graph button. d. From any of the other pages it is possible to return to the menu page by

single left clicking on the Menu button. e. On the data entry and graph pages the button looks like:

f. On the data entry pages, clicking on the return to menu button will not save the data entered into the data entry sheet across to the database. If you navigate away from the data entry page without saving the data, a box will appear asking whether you intend to leave the data entry area without saving the data. If you wish to save the data entered into the database before exiting, then you must single left click on the Copy & Clear Data button:

4. Action Buttons

a. On the data entry pages three buttons will carry out specific actions. 1. The print button will send a copy of the page to your default printer.

Menu

Copy & Clear Data

Print


2. The copy & clear data button will copy data from the data entry form

into the database and then clear the data entry form ready for the data from the next flock to be entered.

3. The envelope icon will allow you to email the data from the database to Aviagen incubation specialists so that they can comment on the results. All results sent to Aviagen will be treated in strictest confidence.

5. Entering Candling Data

a. On the Menu Page single left click on the Candling Analysis button. The data entry page will open up:

b. At the top of the page is where all the flock details are entered. This information needs to be completed in order to copy data into the database.

Copy & Clear Data


c. Breed should be entered using the drop down box.

d. Entering the flock age will produce a “Top Quartile” prediction for the flock. This will be shown on the right side of the data entry table.

e. In the data entry table, in the first row enter the number of eggs set per tray. In the second row enter the number of eggs removed from the tray by candling. This number will show up as red until it equals the sum of the number of eggs entered in the different age categories.

f. As data are entered the percentage incidence of each age category are shown on the right side of the table, next to the top quartile prediction.

The number of egg removed figure will remain red until it equals the sum of the number of eggs within each age category. When the correct numbers of eggs have been entered then the figure will turn blue.


g. The notes area can be used to type in information about the hatch or flock – this will be stored with the results in the database.

h. Scrolling down the page will show a graph of the results (blue bars) plotted against the top quartile flock prediction (red line). When the blue bar is higher than the red line it shows that the level of infertility or embryo mortality is higher than predicted and should be investigated.

i. When data entry for the flock is complete it should be transferred into the database using the Copy and Clear Data button. This will also clear all the data from data entry spreadsheet ready for the next flock or hatch.

6. Entering Hatch Debris Analysis


a. On the Menu page left click on the “Simple Hatch Debris Analysis” button. The data entry page will open up:

b. Data entry into this form is the same as described in the Entering Candling Data section above.

c. In the data entry table, in the first row enter the number of eggs set per tray. In the second row enter the number of unhatched eggs left on the hatcher tray. This number will show up as red until it equals the sum of the number of eggs entered in the different age categories.

The number of egg removed figure will remain red until it equals the sum of the number of eggs within each age category. When the correct numbers of eggs have been entered then the figure will turn blue.


d. When data entry for the flock is complete it should be transferred into the database using the Copy and Clear Data button. This will also clear all the data from data entry spreadsheet ready for the next flock or hatch.


7. Entry of Egg and Chick Weight

a. On the Menu page left click on the “Egg & Chick Weight” button. The data entry page should then appear:

b. The flock information at the top of the page should be entered in the same way as described in the Candling Analysis data entry page.

c. The set and transfer dates need to be entered to allow the correct calculation of % egg weight (moisture) loss. If this information is not present the calculated egg weight loss will be displayed as ######.

d. Weights should be entered in grams. e. As the weights are entered into the boxes the average egg weight, % egg

weight loss, average chick weight and % chick yield are calculated automatically. The calculated % egg weight loss is automatically adjusted to 18 days using the set and transfer date information.


f. Scrolling down the spreadsheet, will show the % egg weight loss and % chick yield graphed. The data are plotted against the normal ranges so that it can be quickly seen whether results are normal or if corrective action needs to be taken.

g. When data entry for the flock is complete it should be transferred into the database using the Copy and Clear Data button. This will also clear all the data from data entry spreadsheet ready for the next flock or hatch.


8. Database. a. All data copied from the data entry sheets into the database can be

accessed using the yellow “Database” button on the Menu page. b. It is strongly recommended that if the user wishes to use the data for

analysis, it is copied out of the Hatchery Analysis Workbook into a new Workbook. Do not do the analysis within the Hatchery Analysis Workbook.

c. Data entered into the database can be edited or deleted if required. However, it is strongly recommended that this is only done in exceptional circumstances and a copy of the Workbook is made before attempting this.

9. Graphs

a. Simple graphs show changes over time can be seen using the graph icon on Menu page. Left click on the graph icon and a graph will appear:

b. If new data have been entered into the database, left click on the “Refresh all Pivots” button to ensure the latest data are included in the graphs.


c. Clicking on the down arrow at the right side of the yellow “Select a

Graph” bar will give a list of available graphs that can be displayed.

d. The time period over which the graph is shown can be controlled using the “Date Hatched” button

Click on Date Hatched down arrow


e. Once data has been collected over a longer period of time it will also be

possible to plot data by month, quarter or year. Right click on the Date Hatched button at the bottom of the graph and a menu will appear. Left click on Group and Show Detail and then left Click on Group. A Grouping box will then appear that will allow the user to select either a time period range or plot by moth, quarter or year.

f. To clear current date plotting restrictions and to properly plot new data, right click on date buttons at bottom of graph, left click on Group and Show Detail and then left Click on Ungroup.

Click on date boxes to select all the dates that need to be graphed Then click OK


1. Right click on Date box 2. Left click on Group and

Show Detail 3. Click on Group 4. In Grouping box, it is

possible to chose Date range Daily plot Monthly plot Quarter plot Annual plot


10. Saving Data and Exiting the Workbook.

a. To make sure all data are saved when exiting the workbook, use the Save and Close button on the Menu page.

how to - aviagen | aviagenen.aviagen.com/assets/tech_center/bb_resources_tools/aviagen... · how...

Documents