Effects of on-farm and traditional hatching on welfare, health, and performance of broiler chickens

Jong, I.C. de; Hattum, Theo van; Riel, J.W. van; Baere, K De; Kempen, Ine; Cardinaels, Sofie; Gunnink, H.

doi:10.1016/j.psj.2020.06.052

Cited by 36 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Other indicators of day-old chicken quality, that is, navel condition and red hocks ( van de Ven et al., 2012 ), were worse for OH chickens compared with the other treatments. This is in accordance with previous findings ( de Jong et al., 2019 , 2020 ), and it could be because of suboptimal or more variation in hatching conditions at the broiler farm. It has been found that a high incubation temperature and consequently larger residual yolk can be related to a worse navel quality, although other factors seem to be related as well ( Molenaar et al., 2010 ; Nangsuay et al., 2016 ; Van den Brand et al., 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…In accordance with previous results ( de Jong et al., 2019 , 2020 ), day-old OH and HF chickens were heavier than HH chickens, likely because they could eat and drink immediately after hatching ( van de Ven et al., 2009 ). In accordance with this, day-old chickens were longer for HF and OH than HH, suggesting a better day-old chicken quality and possibly also a better posthatch performance, although the relationship between chicken length and later life performance does not always seem to be very strong ( Willemsen et al., 2008 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…For the OH treatment, 18-d incubated fertile eggs were transported on egg trays to the experimental farm, where the egg trays were placed in the X-Treck system (Vencomatic, Eersel, The Netherlands; de Jong et al., 2019 , 2020 ) and hatched in the broiler house. The OH eggs were not exposed to disinfection between E18 and hatching.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent studies, performance and welfare of broiler chickens that hatched conventionally or on-farm were compared, either under commercial ( de Jong et al., 2019 ) or more controlled conditions ( de Jong et al., 2020 ). These studies found worse navel and hock quality at d 0 but better welfare in terms of lower first wk and/or total mortality and less footpad dermatitis in on-farm hatched chickens compared with conventionally hatched chickens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies found worse navel and hock quality at d 0 but better welfare in terms of lower first wk and/or total mortality and less footpad dermatitis in on-farm hatched chickens compared with conventionally hatched chickens. However, regarding body weight, effects in prime flocks were only short term with higher body weights until 7 d ( de Jong et al., 2019 ) or 21 d of age ( de Jong et al., 2020 ) in on-farm hatched flocks compared with hatchery-hatched flocks. This indicates that long-term benefits of on-farm hatching on performance may be lacking, although this can also be influenced by other factors such as parent stock age or rearing management, which deserves further research.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Day-old chicken quality and performance of broiler chickens from 3 different hatching systems

et al. 2021

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In on-farm hatching systems, eggs are transported at d 18 of incubation to the broiler farm, where chickens have immediate access to feed and water after hatching. In hatchery-fed systems, newly hatched chickens have immediate access to feed and water in the hatchery and are transported to the farm thereafter. Conventionally hatched chickens can remain without access to feed and water up to 72 h after hatching until placement on the farm. The current study compared day-old chicken quality, performance, and slaughter yield of broiler chickens that were on-farm hatched ( OH ), hatchery-fed ( HF ), or conventionally hatchery-hatched ( HH ). The experiment was performed in 6 rooms in 1 house. Each room contained 2 duplicate pens with approximately 1,155 chickens per pen; 2 rooms with each 2 duplicate pens were assigned to 1 treatment. The experiment was repeated during 3 consecutive production cycles. Chickens originated from young parent stock flocks. Results showed that HF and OH chickens were heavier and longer than HH chickens at day ( D ) 1. Relative weight of stomach and intestines were highest for OH chickens. The OH chickens had worse day-old chicken quality in terms of navel condition and red hocks than HH and HF chickens. Treatments did not differ in first wk and total mortality. From D0 until slaughter age, body weight was highest for OH, followed by HF and HH. Furthermore, carcass weight at slaughter age (D40) was highest for OH chickens, followed by HF and HH chickens. Breast fillets showed a higher incidence of white striping and wooden breast in HF and OH chickens compared with HH chickens. In conclusion, the current study showed that both OH and HF chickens of young parent flocks had better growth performance, which could explain the higher prevalence of breast myopathies, compared with HH. The worse day-old chicken quality for OH compared with HH and HF does not seem to affect first wk mortality and later life performance.

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