The processes in the hatchery should be carried out according to a one-way traffic system in line with the egg flow through the hatchery : clean should never meet dirty. Some examples, the hatchery manager who first looks in the chick handling room and moves from there straight, without changing clothes and showering to the setter room acts as a vector for micro-organisms. Or eggs being transferred to the hatcher do not cross the path of chicks just being pulled out of hatchers, and hatcher baskets, after being washed and disinfected, do not pass through the chick room, or any area where processing takes place, on their way to the transfer room.
A well-designed hatchery and different colored hatchery clothing and shoes, as well as tools such as floor scrubbers, greatly help to enforce hygiene responsible behavior. Chick fluff down is another potential contaminant - and easily becomes airborne. Its movement must therefore be controlled to prevent cross-contamination. Keep doors closed to prevent cross-contamination between hatchers and the different rooms. The setter room should be maintained as the cleanest room in the hatchery and has therefore the highest pressure.
The accumulation of chick fluff in air ducts is to be avoided because this can create ideal breeding grounds for molds like Aspergillus.
Air leaving the hatcher, and preferably also the setter, should be brought directly into exhaust plenums which can be easily cleaned and disinfected. Exploders, often caused by Pseudomonas spp.
To reduce this risk, batches with an increased incidence of exploders should be transferred to the hatcher last. Potential exploders are often recognized by a foamy substance oozing from the pores in the shell; carefully try to dispose them prior to transfer.
In a well-designed hatchery the number of hatchers per hatcher room is based on the daily production of chicks. Hatchery hygiene is essential when the goal is to optimize chick quality. A well-functioning hatchery hygiene program helps to prevent economic losses and contributes to the safety of the entire poultry production chain.
Do not see it as a cost but as an investment, a proper functioning hatchery hygiene program pays itself back immediately. The goal of your hatchery hygiene program should be on the prevention of pathogens from entering and the inhibition of pathogen development to optimize the hygienic status of your hatchery. Frequent monitoring of the different hygiene processes is essential and do take corrective action to achieve the required improvement.
For example, eggs being transferred to the hatcher do not cross the path of chicks just being pulled. After being washed and disinfected, hatcher baskets do not pass through the chick room or any area where processing takes place, on their way to the transfer room. And importantly, hatchery staff, including the technician responsible for maintenance, do not walk from the chick processing room to the setter room on a hatch day.
Differently coloured hatchery clothing and shoes, as well as tools like floor rubbers, greatly help to enforce hygiene-responsible behaviour by hatchery personnel. Exploders, often caused by Pseudomonas spp, are an important source of cross-contamination between batches within the same setter. To reduce this risk, batches with an increased incidence of exploders should be transferred to the hatcher last. In a well designed hatchery the number of hatchers per hatcher room is based on the daily production of chicks.
Monitoring and control of chlorination levels is important from a potential corrosion and health and safety point of view. Hygiene monitoring programmes In order to establish the effectiveness of the hatchery hygiene programme and address potential contamination problems before they result in chick quality problems, a comprehensive monitoring programme and analysis of results is required.
The monitoring results should be assessed for absolute microbial loading trends over time, including an analysis of seasonal fluctuations. Internal air samples should be compared to external air samples which are likely to enter the hatchery. This comparison also gives an indication of the current efficiency of hatchery air filtration where fitted.
Microbiological monitoring results The results generated from a monitoring programme allow analysis of the hatchery hygiene programme and its ability to control potential pathogen introduction, and to minimise contamination from specific high risk points in the production system. The programme should highlight seasonal trends such as aerial fungi especially in hatcheries located in rural areas where a seasonal peak of aerial fungal spores can cause sudden and significant health problems in the day old chick.
While the access to laboratory facilities is advantageous, the hatchery can implement its own monitoring programme where a laboratory is not available by the use of rapid diagnostics, such as ATP measurement equivalent to aerobic bacterial counts and rapid culture techniques such as Petrie film.
ATP in particular can be employed after cleaning to ensure prescribed standards are being met in real time and remedial action taken prior to the next hatch. Photo 1 - Foam overly watery with inadequate aeration resulting in inadequate adhesion and contact time. Photo 2 - Foam with the correct levels of water and aeration, producing thick foam with good adhesion and good contact time.
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Disposable filters should also be used which can be removed each week and replaced with new filters. This should also be done after each hatch, otherwise significant contamination with fungi such as Aspergillus will occur. It is important to disinfect the hatchery daily, using a fungus inhibitor.
The hatchery should be fumigated immediately after setting new eggs, as well as after transfer. The hatchery should be treated after transfer and after cleaning at each hatch. Any other compartment, room or cellar in the building should be fumigated once it has been cleaned.
The egg storage room should be fumigated only when absolutely necessary, as many disinfectants and fumigants could easily enter through the pores of the eggshell. Most countries have imposed very strict rules on the use of formaldehyde and even in some countries its use is prohibited. Rather than banning its use, some methodology and equipment should be found to allow for the safe use of formaldehyde in a manner that is not harmful to employees and chicks.
When formaldehyde is used, it should be used for disinfection of hatchers but never for incubators. A good system has a continuous dosing mechanism with a plunger pump that forces the formaldehyde through closed ducts which lead the formaldehyde to the machines.
In here there is a to cm long part that can absorb up to 12 ounces ml of formaldehyde every 24 hours. This dosage will provide a concentration of 30 to 40 parts per million of formaldehyde in each machine, which is the best for inactivating fungi. If the concentration of formaldehyde is too high, it will damage the tracheal epithelium of the chicks even before they hatch. Excessive concentrations of formaldehyde can increase the mortality rate during the first week and facilitate respiratory problems.
When properly used however, it can minimize the mortality during the first seven days of life and increase chick quality. A valuable tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the washing and disinfection program, is through microbiological laboratory tests.
For this purpose, sterile swabs must be obtained from samples from different sites. Obtain samples from the inside of the chick baskets and from the inside of the incubator.
Obtain samples from the fan blades inside the incubators, as well as from the HVAC filters and coils. Take samples from the wash tanks and also from the basket washer. Obtain eggs from the egg storage room and put these on TSA agar. Incubate these samples for 48 hours and examine the plates to determine if the cleaning and disinfection system needs to be improved. The idea is to determine if there are variations or deviations from the data considered as normal for the plant.
Ask vaccine suppliers or the egg vaccination service company to conduct microbiological audits in the vaccination room and for the egg vaccination or post-vaccination team. Finally, remember that it is useful to have systems to verify the effectiveness of washing, cleaning and disinfection of the hatchery and the incubators. Currently, Kirk is employed with Jamesway incubators.
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