Effective hatchery management requires stringent biosecurity practices, effective equipment management, smart resource utilisation, and a robust commitment to continuous improvement. It is only by systematically addressing these key areas that poultry hatchery managers can ensure sustainable productivity, compliance with industry standards, and greater operational efficiency.
This article details some best practices that poultry hatchery managers use to maintain high productivity and quality.
Disease prevention and biosecurity barriers
Effective biosecurity is achieved through a combination of barriers and strict protocols. By layering these biosecurity barriers, hatchery managers can create multiple lines of defence against viruses, bacteria, and other threats. The results in healthier chicks and a more reliable operation with less risk of outbreaks of disease.
Chief among these biosecurity barriers is controlled access. In an environment where pathogens can be easily introduced and spread quickly, managing who and what comes into contact with the hatchery is paramount. All entry points should be secured and locked when not in use, and nonessential visitors should be strictly limited. Naturally, restricting access should also extend to pests. Hatcheries should have an active program to keep out rodents, wild birds, and insects. This typically involves sealing the building and screening vents so there are no gaps or holes where pests can enter and using as well as setting traps or bait stations around the perimeter.
Sanitation is also important, so keeping the grounds tidy (no standing water, or debris) will help make the area less attractive to pests. Foot baths at each entrance and between sections of the hatchery can also help eliminate any germs that may be present on shoes, while strict sanitation policies can help ensure employees do not introduce contaminants.
Protective clothing, such as wearing clean coveralls, boots, hairnets, and gloves, also helps mitigate the spread of diseases. Many facilities also have a shower-in/shower-out policy, meaning staff and visitors must shower and change into hatchery-provided clothing upon entry. Likewise, equipment coming from other farms must also be cleaned and disinfected before being introduced onsite.
A well-planned hatchery layout with clear compartmentalisation can greatly reduce the risk of diseases spreading and make daily operations more efficient. Modern hatcheries separate areas into clean zones (egg receiving room and setters) and dirty zones (hatcher rooms, chick processing areas). These zones are typically designed with sealed, non-porous floors so they withstand frequent washing and disinfection, and each room should have its ventilation system to avoid air mixing between clean and dirty zones. If separate ventilation isn’t possible, maintaining positive air pressure in the incubator rooms helps keep airborne bacteria from the hatchers or chick rooms from drifting into the egg areas.
Effective equipment management and proactive maintenance of incubators and chick processing equipment are also key to ensuring optimal performance. Neglecting such equipment can lead to compromised hatchability, poor chick health, and costly downtime. Maintenance efforts should also extend to include the buildings’ infrastructure with HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems, plumbing, and generators, all requiring regular maintenance.
Traceability and documentation
Record-keeping and data management form the backbone of hatchery operations, driving performance and transforming hatcheries into “smart” operations where continuous feedback loops lead to ongoing improvements.
Hatcheries require an exhaustive amount of records, including egg source and flock age, storage duration, incubation parameters, fertility rates, hatch times, hatchability percentages, chick quality observations, vaccine information, dispatch details, and cleaning/disinfection logs. Many of these logs are mandatory for certain accreditations and audits, but beyond their compliance purposes, thorough record-keeping and good data management practices also drive better results. For instance, globally recognised frameworks like ISO quality management standards can provide a structured approach that helps streamline operations and ensure consistency. Similarly a food safety management system (such as HACCP) can help ensure good manufacturing practices and prevent biosecurity risks. It is therefore unsurprising that achieving certifications often correlates with improved efficiency and profits – for example, meeting ISO 9001 and HACCP standards will typically lead to safer food and more efficient operations.
In addition to efficiency and profitability gains, rigorous record-keeping greatly improves traceability. Knowing which chicks came from which eggs and flocks or source flock data is crucial for quickly addressing issues where outbreaks of disease or customer complaints occur. Armed with the insights that good record keeping provides, hatchery managers can pinpoint potential problems at their source and deliver targeted interventions that can minimise downtime, reduce health risks, and help maintain customer confidence.
Waste management and resource use
Hatcheries inherently generate a substantial amount of waste, including eggshells, infertile or unhatched eggs, dead embryos, and occasionally culled chicks. Progressive hatcheries are adopting more sustainable strategies to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste. Often valorising waste products such as feathers (as was the case in project UNLOCK) or infertile eggs and early dead embryos into pet food or animal feed additives. Such practices can generate additional revenue for the business, transforming costly liabilities into valuable assets.
Hatcheries should also monitor their utility usage and set benchmarks or reduction targets as a way to enhance operational efficiency and improve environmental sustainability. Energy-saving practices, such as optimising equipment performance, regularly maintaining HVAC and incubator systems, and investing in energy-efficient technology, are foundational. Training employees and encouraging a culture of environmental responsibility and resource-conscious behaviour can further reinforce these initiatives and foster a continuous improvement mindset throughout the facility.
From a generative perspective, solar-assisted incubators or water heating systems that pre-warm water using solar energy can significantly cut energy needs and often pay for themselves over a few years. Similarly, many hatcheries have successfully implemented wastewater treatment, recycling and filtration systems, as well as rainwater harvesting solutions, in an effort to conserve water resources.
It is worth noting that, beyond the environmental benefits, meticulous waste management can contribute directly to the hatchery’s operational and economic performance. The concept of sustainability is increasingly tied to efficiency. A more energy and water-efficient hatchery is often a higher performing one, as reducing the environmental footprint of the hatchery often has the added benefit of reducing utility bills. Moreover, demonstrating efficient resource use can be good for public relations and for meeting any environmental regulations or incentive programs.
Use of technology and automation
Automation and AI are having a pronounced effect on hatchery management, and hatcheries that embrace these innovations can make significant efficiency and quality gains. Automation is often key to this, handling tasks (such as egg setting, candling, transferring chicks, and even vaccination) with great speed and consistency. This inevitably results in higher hatch rates and more uniform chick quality. In fact, the impact of these technologies has been so great that even hatcheries in regions with low labour costs are investing in them.
“Smart” technologies are also playing their part. Hatcheries are adopting advanced monitoring and control systems, which connect various equipment and sensors throughout the hatchery. This interconnected network provides managers with a real-time dashboard of vital stats (such as temperature, humidity, etc.) across the entire operation. If any parameter strays from the norm, the system can alert staff or even trigger automatic adjustments. This finer level of control can create a much more cohesive operation, reducing downtime and improving output quality.
Hatchery managers need to evaluate which processes to automate and which to keep manual. Both approaches have pros and cons, and the optimal mix can depend on factors like labour costs, the scale of the hatchery, and the capital budget. While automated systems can achieve a level of precision and consistency that is difficult to match with manual labour. Manual systems can be more cost-effective, especially for smaller hatcheries or in countries where labour is inexpensive. Inevitably, most modern hatcheries will use a blend of both automation and manual labour. Critical control points that benefit from precision and speed (like incubation environment control, egg transfer, and chick counting) are often automated, while areas that benefit from human judgement (like final quality inspection of chicks) might remain manual. The trick is to evaluate each step of the process for its return on investment: if automating a step improves consistency, throughput, and traceability significantly, and the volume is high, it’s likely a good candidate for automation. If a process is low-volume, inconsistent, or requires more subjective decision-making, manual may be the better choice.
Identifying and correcting hatchability issues
Even with best practices, hatchery managers will sometimes encounter a batch with poor results, such as a lower hatch rate or weaker chicks than expected. In such cases, it is important to determine whether the problem stems from infertility or embryo mortality. Detailed examination of unhatched eggs and candling data can reveal when the eggs failed, and provide insights into any potential management or environmental issues affecting hatchability. For instance, early mortality might indicate egg handling or storage issues, while late-stage deaths could point to incubation parameters being suboptimal. Once the cause is identified, corrective actions such as whether to retrain staff on procedures, fix or recalibrate equipment, adjust incubation settings, or work with breeders to improve egg quality can be taken. Over time, this iterative problem-solving loop helps improve performance rates.
However, recognising and correcting these immediate issues is only part of the solution. Achieving long-term, sustainable improvements in hatchery performance requires a proactive, integrated approach that utilises data-driven insights, vigilant document keeping, and strict adherence to disease prevention and biosecurity measures to ensure consistent quality output.
At Farrelly Mitchell, our experienced poultry experts deliver strategic guidance and practical solutions across the entire poultry supply chain, from farm operations and processing to logistics and retail. With our extensive experience in agtech, digitalisation, and operations improvement, we guide clients through their digital transformation journey, implementing customised automation solutions that enable the precise management of operations and resources. To learn more about our poultry management services and set your business up for long-term success, reach out to our team today.
