G. M. Fasenko

Spraying hatching eggs with electrolyzed oxidizing water reduces eggshell microbial load without compromising broiler production parameters

An experiment was conducted to determine whether spraying hatching eggs with electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water would decrease eggshell microbial load and hence improve hatchability, chick quality, and broiler growth performance. Eggs were collected from a broiler breeder flock; half the eggs were sprayed with EO water and the other half were left untreated. Enterobacteriaceae and total aerobic bacteria present on the eggshells of eggs from both treatments were enumerated. The eggs were incubated, and the broiler chicks were grown out to 39 d. Eggshell microbial load was significantly decreased by spraying the eggs with acidic EO water before incubation, with no effect on cuticle structure [as measured by egg weight (moisture) loss], normal embryonic development, and hatchability. Chick quality, as determined by visual assessment and BW at the time of hatch, was also not affected. However, broiler mortality during the first 2 wk of the production period was significantly reduced in the chicks that hatched from eggs sprayed with EO water compared with chicks hatching from control eggs. The ability of EO water to reduce eggshell microbial load without negatively affecting hatchability or chick quality may make it a useful product for hatching egg sanitation.

Evaluating Broiler Growth and Mortality in Chicks with Minor Navel Conditions at Hatching

As commercial hatcheries become more automated, there are fewer opportunities for chicks with minor unhealed navel conditions to be identified and removed before being shipped to farms. An experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effect of common navel conditions occurring at hatching on subsequent broiler performance. In each of 2 trials, chicks with normal navels and minor navel conditions (navel button or leaky navel) were collected from a commercial hatchery on the day of hatch. Chicks were feather sexed and placed in floor pens. Individual BW and mortality were recorded weekly until shipping at 41 d of age. As expected, male broilers had heavier BW at 41 d than females. Broilers with navel buttons and leaky navels had lower 41-d BW than those that had normal navels at hatching. Birds with navel buttons also had higher mortality over the entire production period than birds with leaky or normal navels. The results of this research clearly show that when chicks have even minor navel conditions at hatching, the end result is a reduction in broiler production efficiency.

Impaired intestinal villi growth in broiler chicks with unhealed navels

By the time of hatching, the residual yolk sac (RYS) should be completely internalized into the body cavity of the chick via the navel and the navel should be closed (healed). After hatching, the RYS contents are used for general growth and development including growth of the small intestine. This research examined the relationship between the presence of navel buttons (an unhealed navel covered with a scab) and the RYS weight and intestinal villi height of broiler chicks from 0 to 5 d posthatching. Hatching eggs containing live embryos were collected at 18, 19, and 20 d of incubation (n = 5/d). At 21 d of incubation, chicks with healed navels (H) and chicks with navel buttons smaller than 3 mm in diameter (B) were obtained (n = 30/group). The BW and RYS of embryos (n = 5/d) and chicks (n = 5/treatment per day) were weighed. Samples of the small intestine (duodenum and ileum) were processed for histological evaluation to measure villi height. The trial was replicated in time 4 wk after the first collection using eggs and chicks from the same flock. Data were analyzed using SAS PROC MIXED (P < or = 0.05). No significant differences in BW were observed between H and B chicks. Average RYS weight and percentage RYS were greater in B than in H chicks. The interaction of age and navel condition significantly influenced both duodenal and ileal villi heights. On most of the days, duodenal and ileal villi were shorter in B than in H chicks. The presence of small navel buttons at hatching is indicative of impaired absorption of the RYS content and decreased intestinal villi growth. Further research on the relationship between navel buttons, intestinal physiology, and yolk sac infections is advised.