Chick embryo animation video available on YouTube

Poultry CRC
A two-minute simulation video on YouTube shows the process of chick embryo development.
An animation detailing the 21-day development of a chick embryo within the egg has been released by Australia's Poultry CRC.
The two-minute-long simulation video has been made freely available on YouTube for anyone who wishes to observe the process and will be especially useful for educators.
The animation, which the Poultry CRC says is both scientifically accurate and visually beautiful, addresses a number of areas in Australia's national science curriculum. For younger children, it can be used when teaching life cycles; early high school students can reference it when studying microscopic and atomic structures; and for older students, it is relevant as part of the study of the basic units of living things. Senior high school students who study biology also study comparative embryology, which includes a comparison of embryos of vertebrates, and this short animation could be a useful aid.
A strong emphasis has been placed on making sure that the animation is scientifically accurate, and a detailed research phase was undertaken before production began to ensure that the essential salient features were included. 

Poultry distributor adopts technology to combat waste

A change in France's waste legislation in July 2010 encouraged SFPA, a poultry distribution company, to examine the potential of installing candling machines at its Mûr de Bretagne, France site. Apart from being able to determine live from clear or damaged embryos, candling technology can reduce the amount of waste generated by a hatchery.
"Hatch residue is the main source of waste at our sites. It consists of egg shell, fluff and dead or infertile eggs. The non-hatchable eggs are mostly of liquid consistency and being able to separate these from the hatch significantly reduces our waste treatment cost. When the subsidies we received to handle this waste dropped, our costs increased dramatically and we turned to iD Projects to provide us with a solution," said Yann Ruelland, hatchery manager at SFPA.
Since April 2010, SFPA has been using the iD Twin candling machine from iD Projects, a hatchery technology provider. It is capable of processing up to 100,000 eggs per hour and uses artificial vision equipment, according to the company. This technology takes more than 1,200 surface measurements across each egg top to identify and remove clear and dead embryos. 

Game bird farm partners with hatchery technology producer

Candling equipment from iD Projects allows Bettws Hall employees to remove infertile and dead eggs.

Hatchery technology producer, iD Projects, has been chosen as the technology provider for a United Kingdom game bird hatcheries and game farms, Bettws Hall. iD Projects' candling, transfer and counting solutions have been installed at Bettws Hall's site in Powys, Wales, where more than half a million pheasant and partridges eggs are set each week during the hatching season.
Established as a farm in 1988, Bettws Hall is a family-run countryside business, which has diversified into a wide range of countryside and field sport activities including driven game shooting, a game bird hatchery and game farm, All Terrain Vehicle sales and servicing, luxury accommodation, shooting lodges and public houses.
Bettws Hall produces pheasant and partridge chicks, poults and ducks, delivering to around 400 customers throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Approximately 60 percent of Bettws Hall's eggs are produced on the company's own sites, while 40 percent are bought in from suppliers in France and America.
Bettws Hall has invested in a new candling and transfer line in preparation for the 2013 hatching season.
"Having researched the various products available on the market, we decided to appoint iD Projects as our technology partner. Not only were the team very professional in their approach to identifying the best solution to meet our needs, they also offered the best pre and aftersales customer service we'd seen. The technology and equipment was competitively priced, but perhaps more importantly, the lead time for installation was very quick and the installation team had an in-depth knowledge of the products," said Richard Crofts, stock and sales manager at Bettws Hall.
The candling system from iD Projects allows hatchers to remove dead and infertile embryos. Bettws Hall also included iD Projects’ four line counting machine at the hatchery. According to the company, the machine counts up 60,000 chicks per hour. Two staffers at Bettws Hall grade the chicks, identifying and removing unformed chicks and egg shells. Once counted, the chicks are secured in boxes and distributed immediately on trucks to customers throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. 

US table egg production to drop slightly in 2013

U.S. table egg production is expected to total 6.6 billion dozen in 2013, down fractionally from 2012 numbers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report.
While 2013 is expected to have higher prices for many meat products and improving general economic conditions, egg producers are expected to face lower prices for the remainder of 2012. While the rate of lay is expected to very gradually increase, the decrease in production is expected to come from a cut in the size of the laying flock.
Hatching egg production is expected to total almost 1.1 billion dozen in 2013, a marginal increase after a decline in 2011 and 2012, according to the report. The expansion in hatching egg production is based on the forecast for higher broiler production starting at the end of 2012 and carrying through 2013.
U.S. egg production totaled 1.91 billion dozen in the first quarter of 2012, up slightly (1 percent) from the same time in 2011. The increase was due to greater production of table eggs at 1.65 billion dozen, up 1.7 percent from 2011 numbers. Production of hatching eggs totaled 258 million dozen, down 3 percent as the production of broiler-type eggs continue down significantly from 2011.
The average number of birds in the table egg flock during the first quarter of 2012 was slightly higher (up 0.7 percent) than in 2011 at 285 million birds. Table egg production for the rest of 2012 is expected to continue to be slightly higher than in 2011 during the second and third quarters and about even with 2011 numbers in the fourth quarter. Production of hatching eggs is expected to have the opposite pattern, with lower production through the first three quarters of 2012 and higher production in the fourth quarter as broiler processors react to the incentives of a generally better economy, higher prices and slightly lower grain prices.
For more information and statistics on poultry, see www.wattagnet.com/marketdata.html.  

Mississippi State studies in ovo carbohydrate injection benefits

Mississippi State University researchers have determined that in ovo injection of carbohydrates may provide benefits to commercially grown poultry, including an earlier increase in body weight and good hatching.
The theory behind the research is that by injecting the carbohydrates into the eggs before they hatch, hatchlings can reserve their fat and protein for needed growth, said Wei Zhai, assistant extension professor in MSU's Department of Poultry Science. “We want to continue looking at different volumes and concentrations of carbohydrates so that we get the most efficient injection amount,” said Zhai.
The researchers are also looking into applying the process to benefit the chicks in other ways. “Vaccine injections have been used for many years and have proven useful,” said David Peebles, interim head of the poultry department and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researcher. “Using the same process to provide chicks with an earlier boost provides a lot of potential for the industry. In ovo injection may be useful in providing birds with an early supply of nutrients, such as vitamin D to help with bone growth.”

US egg production rises first half 2011

US table egg production was up and hatching egg production was down for the first half of 2011.

In the first half of 2011, production of table eggs was 3.3 billion dozen, up about 1% from the first half of 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, production of hatching eggs fell by 0.7% compared with 2010 numbers.
The decrease in hatching egg production was chiefly the result of the gradual decline in broiler chick production for growout, according to the USDA. Hatching egg production in the first half of 2011 was 532 million dozen. Production of table eggs in the second half of 2011 is expected to be about even with 2010, and production is expected to be lower on a year-over-year basis in the first two quarters of 2012. Production of hatching eggs, especially those from meat-type birds, is expected to decline in the second half of 2011 as broiler chick production continues to be below 2010 numbers.
Even with higher table egg production in the second quarter of 2011, prices for eggs remained strong and averaged almost $1.07 per dozen, up 24 cents from the second quarter of 2010. With little or no growth expected in the second half of 2011, prices are expected to be above 2010 numbers in the third quarter of 2011 at $1.04 to $1.08 per dozen. However, with the weak economy, egg prices in the fourth quarter of 2011 are expected to be lower than 2010 at $1.12 to $1.18 per dozen. The weak economy is expected to provide less of a seasonal boost in prices than in other years.

US egg production, broiler chicks up in April

U.S. egg production in April included 6.56 billion table eggs and 1.06 billion hatching eggs.

U.S. egg production totaled 7.61 billion during April 2011, up slightly from the same time in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest report.
Production included 6.56 billion table eggs and 1.06 billion hatching eggs, of which 987 million were broiler-type and 70 million were egg-type.
The total number of layers during April averaged 340 million, down slightly from 2010 numbers. Egg production per 100 layers was 2,236 eggs, up 1% from April 2010. All layers in the U.S. on May 1 totaled 339 million, including 281 million layers producing table or market type eggs, 54.7 million layers producing broiler-type hatching eggs and 2.93 million layers producing egg-type hatching eggs.
Egg-type chicks hatched during April 2011 totaled 43.4 million, down 9% from April 2010. Eggs in incubators totaled 40.8 million as of May 1, down 2% from the same time in 2010. Broiler-type chicks hatched in April totaled 780 million, up 2% from the same time in 2010. Eggs in incubators totaled 649 million on May 1, up 1% from a year earlier.

European broiler egg exporter receives second Queen's Award for Enterprise

HiBreeds International Ltd., an exporter of broiler hatching eggs from the UK and continental Europe, has received its second Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious awards for business performance, recognizing and rewarding outstanding achievement. HiBreeds received the award for continuing success in international trade, following the company’s previous Queen’s Award success in 2003.
“We’re delighted to receive a second Queen’s Award after working hard to adapt to the changes in the economy and demand for food over recent years," said Laura Chandler, director of HiBreeds.

Ukraine's Agroton to launch eight poultry houses in 2011

Ukraine's Agroton Holding has plans to complete the construction of eight poultry houses for young breeding stock in 2011.
According to the company, the poultry houses will produce hatching eggs, which will be used in Agroton's incubator facilities to produce chickens for fattening. Each group of young breeding stock will include 36,528 birds, totalling 73,056 breeders supplied in 2011.
The first four poultry houses will start operating by the end of April and the remaining four will start operating in August when a second group of breeding stock is supplied. Agroton estimates that it will produce 1.6 million eggs in the fourth quarter of 2011. In 2012 the company plans to produce 8.5 million eggs.

US December egg production up, chicks hatched down, according to USDA

U.S. egg production was up 1% in December 2010 while egg-type chicks hatched was down 4%, according to the most recent report on chicken and eggs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Egg production reached 7.9 billion, including 6.83 billion table eggs and 1.07 billion hatching eggs, of which 1 billion were broiler-type and 67 million were egg-type. According to the report, the total number of layers during December 2010 averaged 341 million, up 1% from 2009. December egg production per 100 layers was 2,313 eggs, up slightly from December 2009.
Egg-type chicks hatched during December 2010 totaled 37.9 million, down 4% from December 2009. Eggs in incubators totaled 38.7 million on January 1, 2011, down 1% from a year ago. Domestic placements of egg-type pullet chicks for future hatchery supply flocks by leading breeders totaled 264,000 during December 2010, down 15% from December 2009. Broiler-type chicks hatched totaled 786 million, up 1% from December 2009. Eggs in incubators totaled 635 million on Jan. 1, up slightly from a year earlier.

Broiler hatching egg costs may double in 2011

The cost per dozen hatching eggs has increased by 54% in recent years due to increased feed costs, according to Michael Donohue, vice president of Agri Stats Inc., and may actually double in 2011 as birds that have been raised on higher priced grains come into production.
Addressing the audience at the 2011 Hatchery-Breeder Clinic, held in conjunction with the International Poultry Expo and International Feed Expo, Donohue said that hatching egg costs could go even higher, since corn prices could reach $7.50 per bushel or more in 2011. Because of the near doubling in hatching egg production cost, Donohue said the work of people in hatcheries and on breeder farms has twice the value it did before, and managers should educate employees about the higher value of each egg and the impact they can have on the bottom line.
Labor costs also play a factor, making up 40% to 45% of hatching cost, according to Donohue. The industry's chicks per man hour keeps improving, but fully loaded labor cost per hour, which includes all benefit costs, has almost doubled in the last 23 years. As a final factor in production costs, hatcheries have experienced a 50% increase in energy costs over the last 12 years, said Donohue, and energy efficiency will continue to increase in importance for controlling hatchery costs.

Canadian Young Farmers Program winner to study US hatching egg industry at Aviagen

Hatching egg producer Laurens Van Der Rijt, the recipient of the Canadian Broiler Hatching Egg Producers Association's Young Farmers Program, is headed to Aviagen's Alabama facilities to study the U.S. poultry industry.
The program, which aims to broaden knowledge of the hatching egg industry in other countries and is designed around the recipient's experience, allowed Van Der Rijt the opportunity to look at Aviagen's product performance, nutritional advice, veterinary issues, biosecurity objectives, production planning and shipping/export processes. Van Der Rijt was also able to examine a company hatchery, egg depot, pullet and breeder farms and a commercial customer facility.

Cobb opens $14 million hatchery in Tennessee

Cobb VP of Marketing and Sales Stan Reid speaks to more than 140 guests at the official opening of the new Cobb hatchery in Tennessee.

Cobb has opened a $14 million hatchery in Tennessee that uses state-of-the-art energy-saving technology.
The hatchery, which will be supplied with hatching eggs from 27 local breeder farms, will begin producing parent stock in January 2011. By the time the facility is at full capacity, it will have an output of more than 600,000 chicks per week.
The hatchery's design incorporates heat biosecurity and heat recovery systems to conserve energy and reduce the building's carbon footprint. The recovery system, one of the first in a U.S. hatchery, will save 35% to 40% on energy usage by recovering heat from developing embryos and recycling it to warm incoming hatchery air. “I would like to thank the state, county and city officials who were involved in bringing Cobb to Tennessee," said Cobb Vice President of Sales and Marketing Stan Reid. "This state-of-the-art facility will support our ongoing growth as we expand production to meet domestic and global demand.”

FDA to ban surplus broiler hatching eggs

The FDA in a surprise move indicated that surplus broiler hatching eggs could not be sold to breakers. The National Chicken Council (NCC), the industry body representing 95% of U.S. broiler producers, has petitioned the FDA to rescind the intended provision of the Final Rule preventing integrators selling surplus or non-settable hatching eggs into the breaker market.
According to the NCC, 367 million surplus hatching eggs worth $5 million were sold to breakers in 2009. This represents 16 cents per dozen for eggs which averaged over 65 grams, an absolute bargain for breakers. In evaluating this figure, based on approximately 165 million broilers processed per week with 95% livability, 80% hatchability and 3% breakable rejects the broiler industry in all probability transfers 330 million eggs or nearly 28 million dozen to breakers each year. If the unit value approaches a more realistic 35 cents per dozen the loss to the broiler industry would actually approach $10 million annually.
As with many of the decisions made by FDA with regard to the Final Rule to suppress Salmonella enteritidis (SE) infection in consumers, this ban makes absolutely no sense. ...Read the full blog on www.animalagnet.com.

Chicken group asks FDA to revise egg rule

The National Chicken Council has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to modify a rule that would virtually eliminate the $5M annual market for hatching eggs that are not needed for broiler production and are sold to companies that can use them for processed food products.
“FDA’s rule on handling of eggs was intended to apply to table eggs, and to apply it without warning to hatching eggs makes no sense and achieves no gain in food safety since processed egg products fully meet safety standards without the required refrigeration step,” said Steve Pretanik, NCC’s director of science and technology.
The rule on “farm to table shell egg safety” did not apply to hatching eggs when it was proposed in 2004, and the broiler chicken industry did not comment on the rule since it did not apply to the industry, according to the NCC petition to the FDA. However, by the time the rule was published in final form in July 2009, it had been changed to apply to hatching eggs in such a way as to prevent them from being sold to processors, known as “breakers.”
The rule requires that any eggs being sold for human consumption must be refrigerated at 45F no more than 36 hours after they are laid in order to control salmonella. In the broiler chicken industry, eggs from breeder flocks can be held for several days at 65F before being put into incubators. If a company does not need all the hatching eggs on hand, surplus eggs can be withheld from incubation and sent instead to egg breakers.
Refrigerating hatching eggs at 45F, as required for table eggs, is not an option since such a low temperature would ruin them as hatching eggs, the petition said. Since a company rarely decides if eggs are surplus as soon as 36 hours after lay, the FDA rule would have the effect of barring hatching eggs from the breaker market.
The refrigeration requirement is unnecessary for hatching eggs since breakers already pasteurize egg products to achieve a 99.999% reduction in salmonella, the same standard as applied to table eggs, Pretanik said.
In its petition, NCC asked FDA to amend the final rule or to reopen the comment period with respect to application of the rule to hatching eggs.