Chicken Hatcheries Research Articles

Biosecurity Compliance and Its Applications in Poultry Production Sectors

Poultry farming has been recognized as one of the most vital sectors for the economy and revenue generation in many countries. For the production of high-quality freshly hatched chicks, effective cleaning and sanitation of the hatchery environment and hatching eggs were crucial components of proper management and hygiene in chicken hatcheries. The current review aimed to assess the efficient ways of mitigating the risk of disease introduction (external biosecurity) and its subsequent dissemination (internal biosecurity) within and between poultry farms and hatcheries. In addition to identifying the variety of risk categories that are applied to various biosecurity industries, this article clarified the equivalent tools, including checklists and/or questionnaires, that can be used to assess biosecurity compliance. The checklist was aimed to evaluate numerous biosecurity protocol categories, including the farm's infrastructure, employees, their education and training, access control mechanisms, cleaning and disinfection procedures, handling of litter and waste, chick control, registrations, and pest management. In conclusion, external biosecurity was critical to preventing infections from entering hatcheries and poultry farms. Questionnaires or checklists were effective instruments for gathering information on biosecurity and evaluating compliance in poultry farms. Keywords: Biosecurity compliance, Checklist, Hazard, Poultry sector

Eggshells Utilisation in Polymer Composites

The outer covering of a hard shelled egg is known as eggshell. These are obtained from various sources like egg stations, chicken hatcheries industries and homes in different weights. It is a kind of waste which is considered not be used anywhere. It can produce hydroxyapatite which is considered most effective component of bone. This can have applications in medical supplements, bone graft substitute, floor tiles and in cements in order to improve strength but here discussion is limited to polymer composite. In composite fabrication egg shell waste is utilized, as it not only enhances the strength of composite but also provides us solution for the proper disposal waste egg shell. This review paper presents the brief insight of utilization of egg shell waste in polymer composite so as to improve its strength. From this review paper it may be concluded that research on tribological behavior of egg shell is less so it can be implemented in different sectors like metal matrix composite etc.

Evaluating the Bactericidal Activity of Various Disinfectants against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Contamination in Broiler Chicken Hatcheries

Evaluating the Bactericidal Activity of Various Disinfectants against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Contamination in Broiler Chicken Hatcheries

ISOLATION, IDENTIFICATION, AND ANTIBIOTIC SENSITIVITY AGAINST Salmonella sp. FROM HATCHERY KUB CHICKEN IN YOGYAKARTA [Isolasi, Identifikasi, dan Sensitivitas Antibiotik Terhadap Salmonella sp. dari Penetasan Ayam KUB di Yogyakarta

Salmonella sp. is responsible bacteria that causes salmonellosis in hatchery-produced local chicken (KUB) in Yogyakarta. The objective of this study was to determine of character Salmonella sp. from hatchery KUB chicken in Yogyakarta. This study was carried out in KUB chicken hatcheries in Yogyakarta province, specifically in the Sleman district (n = 5), Bantul (n = 3), Kulonprogo (n = 3), and Gunungkidul (n=2). Isolation and identification of Salmonella sp. were done from eggshells (n=17) and chick fluff of KUB chicken (n = 13) based on conventional methods with the bacteriological analytical manual (BAM). Sensitivity of Salmonella sp. against antibiotics is determined by antimicrobial diffusion agar with a paper disc antibiotic. A total of 3 isolates of Salmonella sp. were isolated from eggshells (n=2) and chick fluff from KUB chicken (n=1). Salmonella sp. was sensitive to tetracycline, oxytetracycline, enrofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole and resistant to ampicillin and erythromycin. The study showed that the hatchery of KUB chicken in Yogyakarta was contaminated with Salmonella sp. and had resistance to several antibiotics. Therefore, desinfection in incubator hatcheries using KUB chicken should continue after the egg hatches.

Surveillance of Escherichia coli in different types of chicken and duck hatcheries: one health outlook

Escherichia coli is an important zoonotic bacterium that significantly impacts one health concept. E. coli is normally detected in the gut of warm-blooded animals, but some serotypes can cause diseases in humans and animals. Moreover, it can continue for a long time in different environments, replicate in water, and survive outside different hosts. In this study, 171 samples collected from 10 different types of poultry hatcheries (automatic, semiautomatic, and manual "traditional" types) were examined for the prevalence of E. coli. PCR was applied to verify the E. coli isolates via 16S rRNA gene-specific primers. From the gathered samples, 62 E. coli isolates were recovered (36.3%). The highest prevalence was met with the manual "traditional" hatcheries (57.1%) with no significance difference (P=0.243) in the 3 types of hatcheries. The incidence of E. coli varied significantly in different tested avian types and breeds. The prevalence was 35.7% in duck hatcheries and 37% in chicken hatcheries, with significant differences between breeds of both species (P=0.024 and 0.001, respectively). The identification of zoonotic E. coli serotypes in this study is concerning, highlighting the need for collaborative efforts across various sectors, including social, environmental, and governance, to promote the adoption of the one health principle in the chicken business. Periodical surveillance, biosecurity measures at the hatcheries and farm levels, and boosting the immunity of birds were recommended to limit the risk of E. coli spread from avian sources to humans.

Genomic characterization of ESBL-producing Salmonella Thompson isolates harboring mcr-9 from dead chick embryos in China

The emergence and dissemination of the extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae harbouring antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes has diminished the potential options for treating multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections. Until now, numerous studies reported the spreading of critical plasmid-borne AMR genes from different sources worldwide. While the knowledge on the occurrence of the plasmid-borne AMR genes, especially mcr genes in the dead chick embryos, remains obscure. A retrospective study was conducted to detect the presence of the mcr genes in forty-five Salmonella enterica isolates recovered from 2139 dead chick embryo samples, from breeding chicken hatcheries in Henan, China. Using multiplex PCR, we found only four isolates out of the forty-five were mcr-9-positive. These four isolates were found to be MDR, ESBL- producing and showed resistance to 10 antimicrobial drugs. Additionally, mcr-9 harbouring plasmids were successfully transferred into Escherichia coli (E. coli) J53 by conjugation and the mcr-9 gene was confirmed by PCR. We also found that the transconjugants exhibited higher MICs for ampicillin, gentamycin and colistin than the recipient. Whole-genome sequence analysis showed that the four isolates belonged to Salmonella Thompson ST26 and harboured IncHI2 plasmid replicon. Furthermore, the mcr-9 harbouring plasmids were reconstructed using in silico tools and found to be carried other AMR genes (blaDHA-1 and qnrB4). The studied isolates carried the typical virulence factors from Salmonella pathogenicity islands 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2), in addition to pef and csg operons which are important in host adhesion and biofilm formation. The mgtC gene, which is involved in phagocytosis, has also been identified. Together, the increase in the phenotypic resistance of the transconjugants and the plasmid in silico reconstruction analysis confirmed that the corresponding resistance genes might be located together on the same plasmid. To track the potential phylogenomic relations of our detected ESBL S. Thompson isolates, we constructed a phylogenomic tree with available ESBL S. Thompson genomes (n = 26) that were reported worldwide. The studied isolates were independently clustered together with four other Chinese isolates of food origin in one clade, providing strong evidence of a potential recent and wide dissemination of ESBL S. Thompson across the food chain in China. In conclusion, we report the detection of four highly virulent ESBL-producing S. Thompson ST26 isolates harbouring mcr-9 gene obtained from dead chick embryos in Henan, China.

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles and Genetic Typing of Salmonella Serovars from Chicken Embryos in China.

Salmonella continues to be a major food and public health burden worldwide that can threaten human health via eating contaminated meats, particularly those originating from chicken. In this study, the antimicrobial resistance profiles, epidemiological characteristics of resistance genes, and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE-XbaI) typing of 120 non-Pullorum/Gallinarum Salmonella isolates recovered from chicken embryos in Henan province were determined. The antimicrobial resistant phenotypes and evaluation of the extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) producing strains of Salmonella were investigated by the Kirby–Bauer test and the double-disk synergy test. Additionally, 37 antimicrobial resistance genes encoding resistance to five different categories, including aminoglycosides, cephalosporins, sulphonamides, tetracyclines, and β-lactams, were examined by conventional PCR. However, genotyping analysis was conducted by macro-restriction using enzyme XbaI followed by the separation of the restricted DNA fragments by PFGE. The results of this study showed that the studied Salmonella strains were highly resistant to ampicillin (66.67%) and sulfisoxazole (66.67%), while they were all susceptible to meropenem, imipenem, colistin, and chloramphenicol. Additionally, 67.5% (81/120) of the studied strains were multidrug resistant, and 21.67% (26/120) were phenotypically confirmed as ESBLs positive. The statistical analysis showed that resistance depends on the serovars, and ESBLs positive strains showed more multi-resistance than ESBLs negative strains (p < 0.05). The genotypic antimicrobial resistance showed the detection of 14 among the 37 tested genes, and the concordance between genotypic and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance ranged from 0% to 100% depending on the serovars. However, the PFGE-XbaI typing results showed that the examined Salmonella strains were divided into 22 individual subtypes and were grouped in nine clusters, with similarity values ranging from 64.7% to 100%. From this study, we can conclude that the antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella serovars isolated from chicken embryos in Henan province was alarming, with rigorous multidrug resistance, which requires the urgent mitigation of the use of antimicrobial drugs in chicken hatcheries. Additionally, our results showed evidence of the presence of different PFGE patterns among the studied Salmonella serovars, suggesting the presence of different sources of contamination.

Risk factor analysis for Salmonella contamination of broiler chicken (Gallus gallus) hatcheries in Great Britain

Salmonellosis is the second most commonly reported zoonosis in the European Union and contaminated meat from broiler chickens (Gallus gallus) is an important source of human infection. In Great Britain (GB), prevalence of Salmonella enterica in broiler flocks is low, having declined considerably since the introduction of the Salmonella National Control Programme in 2010. However, this decreasing trend has stabilised in recent years and serovars with known ability to persistently colonise hatcheries have been isolated from broiler flocks with increasing frequency, indicating that further controls on hatchery contamination are required. The broiler industry in GB has changed dramatically over the last 15 years, with greater intensification and dominance by a small number of very large companies which rely on relatively few hatcheries. An investigation of risk factors for Salmonella contamination in GB broiler hatcheries was therefore carried out so that relevant up-to-date advice on Salmonella control can be provided. Twenty-two hatcheries, representing most commercial scale GB broiler hatcheries, were visited between 2015 and 2018. Salmonella contamination was comprehensively investigated at each hatchery by collecting between 108 and 421 environmental swab samples per hatchery (6990 samples in total from all hatcheries). An in-depth questionnaire on hatchery operations was completed for each hatchery, and results were incorporated into a risk factor analysis (univariable followed by multivariable mixed effects logistic regression) to identify factors associated with Salmonella occurrence. Overall, 6.0 % (416/6990) of environmental samples were Salmonella-positive and Salmonella was isolated from 17/22 hatcheries. Ten different serovars were isolated, the most common being S. Senftenberg and S. Mbandaka which are known hatchery colonisers. Sixty-four risk factor variables were investigated. Twenty-two of these were initially retained based on univariable analyses (p ≤ 0.25) and six were ultimately left in the final multivariable model (p ≤ 0.05). Salmonella detection was positively associated with having ≥30 hatchers in regular use compared to fewer (Odds ratio [OR] 23.7, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 6.7–84.2), storing trays in process rooms (OR 28.8, CI 7.8–106.3), drying set-up trolleys in corridors (OR 15.6, CI 5.9–41.4) and having skips located in enclosed areas (OR 8.99, CI 5.89–41.35). Using a closed waste disposal system was negatively associated with Salmonella detection (OR 0.08, CI 0.04−0.18) and the odds of detecting Salmonella in hatcheries with 31−60 total workers was lower compared to hatcheries with ≤30 staff (OR 0.16, CI 0.06−0.40). Despite the complexities of hatchery enterprises, changes to a relatively small number of features may significantly reduce the occurrence of hatchery contamination.

Genomic Investigation of Antimicrobial-Resistant Salmonella enterica Isolates From Dead Chick Embryos in China.

Salmonella spp. is recognized as an important zoonotic pathogen. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella enterica poses a great public health concern worldwide. While the knowledge on the incidence and the characterization of different S. enterica serovars causing chick embryo death remains obscure in China. In this study, we obtained 45 S. enterica isolates from 2,139 dead chick embryo samples collected from 28 breeding chicken hatcheries in Henan province. The antimicrobial susceptibility assay was performed by the broth microdilution method and the results showed that 31/45 (68.8%) isolates were multidrug-resistant (≥3 antimicrobial classes). Besides the highest resistance rate was observed in the aminoglycoside class, all the isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol, azithromycin, and imipenem. Furthermore, genomic characterization revealed that S. Enteritidis (33.33%; 15/45) was a frequent serovar that harbored a higher number of virulence factors compared to other serovars. Importantly, genes encoding β-lactamases were identified in three serovars (Thompson, Enteritidis, and Kottbus), whereas plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes (qnrB4) were detected in certain isolates of S. Thompson and the two S. Kottbus isolates. All the examined isolates harbored the typical virulence factors from Salmonella pathogenicity islands 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2). Additionally, a correlation analysis between the antimicrobial resistance genes, phenotype, and plasmids was conducted among Salmonella isolates. It showed strong positive correlations (r < 0.6) between the different antimicrobial-resistant genes belonging to certain antimicrobial classes. Besides, IncF plasmid showed a strong negative correlation (r > −0.6) with IncHI2 and IncHI2A plasmids. Together, our study demonstrated antimicrobial-resistant S. enterica circulating in breeding chicken hatcheries in Henan province, highlighting the advanced approach, by using genomic characterization and statistical analysis, in conducting the routine monitoring of the emerging antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Our findings also proposed that the day-old breeder chicks trading could be one of the potential pathways for the dissemination of multidrug-resistant S. enterica serovars.

Isolation and antimicrobial resistance of motileSalmonella entericafrom the poultry hatchery environment.

Salmonella is a globally distributed major food-borne pathogen and poultry is one of the predominant sources of salmonellosis in humans. To investigate the presence of motile Salmonella in the poultry hatchery environment, we collected 97 fluff samples from four selected broiler breeder chicken hatcheries from Chattogram, Bangladesh during July-December 2015. To isolate motile Salmonella enterica, we used conventional bacteriological techniques followed by serological verification using anti-Salmonella Poly A-E serum and species confirmation by conventional PCR assay. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method for 10 commonly used antibiotics was performed on all isolates. Isolates displaying phenotypic resistance to ampicillin were tested by PCR for blaTEM gene, whereas those resistant to tetracycline were tested for the presence of tetA, tetB and tetC genes. A total of 24 samples (24.7%; 95% CI: 16.5-34.5, N = 97) from 3 hatcheries were positive for motile Salmonella. Of them, 21 (87.5%) and 12 (50.0%) were resistant to ampicillin and tetracycline, respectively, 9 (37.5%) to nalidixic acid and sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim. No resistance was detected to ceftriaxone, cefoxitin, gentamicin, neomycin, ciprofloxacin and colistin. Ten (42%) of 24 isolates from 2 hatcheries were multi-drug resistant (i.e. resistant to ≥ 3 antimicrobial classes). Six of 21 ampicillin resistant isolates contained blaTEM gene and 10 of 12 tetracycline resistant isolates contained tetA gene. This study highlights the circulation of multi-drug resistant motile Salmonella in the hatchery environment for the first time in Bangladesh. Further epidemiological and molecular studies are therefore needed to identify the serotypes and source of the bacteria in hatcheries.

Pullorum Disease: Evolution of the Eradication Strategy.

The history of pullorum disease is closely intertwined with the history of avian health research and that of the poultry industry. The seriousness of the disease galvanized the attention and brought together, for the first time, the pioneers of poultry health research to work cooperatively on different aspects of the disease. Control of the disease made it possible for intensive poultry production to develop as the basis for the modern poultry industry. During the early 1900s, bacillary white diarrhea (BWD) was a devastating disease of young chickens threatening the developing poultry industry. Dr. Leo F. Rettger isolated and described the bacterial pathogen, Salmonella enterica serotype Pullorum, for the first time in 1900. BWD was renamed pullorum disease in 1929. In subsequent years, Rettger and coworkers were able to reproduce the disease and fulfill Koch's postulates. Rettger et al. also showed that Salmonella Pullorum was vertically transmitted, which was the first time that a pathogen was shown to be vertically transmitted. The development of serologic tests was of crucial importance because it led to the development of effective eradication methods to identify carrier birds and to exclude these birds from the breeder flocks. The negative impact of pullorum disease on the poultry industry ultimately was one of the major reasons that the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) was developed by scientists, the poultry industry, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Needless to say, the work of the pioneering researchers formed the basis for the control of the disease. The NPIP started in 1935, with 34 states participating in testing 4 million birds representing 58.2% of the birds hatched. The program rapidly expanded to 47 states by 1948 and tested more than 30 million birds. In 1967, all commercial chicken hatcheries participating in the NPIP were 100% free of pullorum and typhoid disease caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Gallinarum. This historical overview of pullorum disease describes in some detail the progress made, especially during the early years, toward controlling this disease using methodologies that were often very basic but nonetheless effective. One has to admire the ingenuity and persistence of the early researchers leading to their achievements considering the research tools that were available at the time.

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Salmonella Isolated From Dead-in-Shell Chicken Embryos in Shandong, China

The present study was designed to explore the Salmonella prevalence and antimicrobial resistance characteristics in the context of chick mortality at hatching in China. Between December 2015 and August 2017, 1,288 dead-in-shell chicken embryos were collected from four breeder chicken hatcheries in Tai'an, Rizhao, Jining, and Heze, China. Salmonella isolates were successfully recovered from 6.7% of these embryos (86/1,288) and were evaluated for serotype, antimicrobial susceptibility, Class 1 integron prevalence, antimicrobial resistance gene expression, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Salmonella Thompson (37.2%), and Salmonella Infantis (32.6%) were the two most prevalent isolates in these chicken embryos, and 66.3% of isolates exhibited robust ampicillin resistance, while 55.8% of isolates exhibited multi-drug resistance (MDR). The majority of isolates harbored the blaTEM gene (74.4%), with the qnrS gene also being highly prevalent (50.0%). In contrast, just 27.9% of these isolates carried Class 1 integrons. These 86 isolates were separated into four sequence types (STs), whereby ST26 (32.2%) was the most prevalent. Overall, these results suggested that Salmonella infections may be an important cause of chicken embryo mortality in China, and that efforts to support the appropriate use of antibiotics in managing poultry populations are essential.

Epidemiological Investigation and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Salmonella Isolated From Breeder Chicken Hatcheries in Henan, China.

The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant (AR) Salmonella has a major concern worldwide. This study was designed to determine the AR profiles and serovars distribution of Salmonella enterica isolated from different breeds of breeder chickens in the province of Henan, China. For this, 2,139 dead embryo samples were collected from 28 breeder chicken hatcheries, representing two domestic and four foreign breeds. The samples were subjected to the isolation and identification of Salmonella by PCR. The confirmed strains were serotyped according to the Kauffmann-White scheme and their AR profiles against 20 antimicrobial agents were determined by Kirby-Bauer (K-B) disc diffusion method. The results of this study showed the prevalence of Salmonella in 504 strains (23.56%) with a high abundance in southern regions of Yellow River (28.66%, n = 495, N = 1,727) compared to the northern regions (2.18%, n = 9, N = 412) (p < 0.0001). The domestic breeds were more contaminated than imported breeds (p < 0.0001). However, the contamination rate of samples recovered from M-hatcheries was the highest (p < 0.0001). Serotyping method identified 12 serovars, with the dominance of S. Pullorum (75.79%), followed by S. Enteritidis (7.14%). The AR assay showed high resistant to ciprofloxacin (77.00%), sulfisoxazole (73.00%), and ampicillin (55.60%), as well as 98.81% (n = 498) of the isolated strains, were resistant to at least one antimicrobial and 69.64% (n = 351) were resistant to three or more antimicrobials. Among them, one strain of S. Thompson was resistant to 15 antimicrobial agents belonging to eight different classes. In conclusion, Salmonella strains isolated in this study were multidrug-resistant (MDR), presenting a serious problem for human and animal health. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor, control, and rationalize the use of antimicrobials agents in chicken farms in order to limit the increasing resistance against the recent antimicrobial agents.

Effects of a dry hydrogen peroxide disinfection system used in an egg cooler on hatchability and chick quality.

A sanitation method that could continually clean and disinfect the air and surfaces in a hatchery could provide a second layer of microbial reduction on top of routine cleaning and disinfection. A gaseous dry hydrogen peroxide (DHP) system has been used in other facilities for this purpose and could have potential for use in chicken hatcheries. Because the DHP is a true gas and can permeate through the entire hatchery space, contact with eggs during storage and incubation could potentially interfere with normal hatching processes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the DHP system on hatching parameters and chick quality. A total of 3,960 hatching eggs were collected from an ∼40-week-old Ross 308 broiler breeder flock and distributed in 2 treatments: treated and nontreated. For the treated group, the egg cooler was cleaned, and 1 DHP generator was placed inside. Two other DHP generators were placed in the common area outside as well. Both areas were treated for 7 D before placement of eggs, and then eggs were collected and placed inside the cooler over a 4-day period. Eggs were then stored for an additional 3 D after the last collection. Dry hydrogen peroxide levels were recorded each day during storage. For the nontreated group, all DHP machines were removed from the cooler and external room, and the egg cooler was cleaned. Eggs were collected in the same way for the control group as the treated group. After storage, eggs were placed into a single stage Natureform incubator. The eggs exposed to DHP showed higher (P < 0.05) hatchability of fertile eggs and lower (P < 0.05) early embryonic dead than eggs from the nontreated group. No other parameters evaluated were different between groups. Based on this work, the DHP treatment of fertile eggs had no detrimental effect on any performance parameter, with potential positive effects seen on hatch of fertile eggs and early embryonic dead embryos.

Characteristics of immuno-organ development of native chickens fed rations containing hatchery wastes processed with different level of bentonite

Hatchery waste has advantages in the composition of nutritional content, but it has weaknesses on physic-organoleptic appearances, contaminated with Coliform as well as the risk of easy to deceased. Drying, pelletizing and administering adsorbent minerals were appropriate methods on the way of improving its quality. The previous study found that addition bentonite in the processing hatchery waste improved physics-chemicals performances of the products. To these, an experiment was done to study the effect of hatchery wastes with supplementation of bentonite to the immuno-organ development of the animal with the aim to obtain an ideal portion of hatchery waste (HWP) in the rations and its effect to chickens performances. The experiment was conducted by randomized factorial design 2 × 4 × 3 i.e. the level of binder 3 and 4%, the level of hatchery waste on feed formulas 0, 10, 20 and 30%, with 3 replications of each. The result shows an effect of level of bentonite and HWP partially as well as its interaction to the relative weight of thymus and lymph were not significant (p>0.05), but their effect became significant when it was combined with the age of chicken (p<0.05). The level of bentonite and HWP in partial was not significant (p>0.05), but the interaction of bentonite and HWP also interaction both of bentonite and HWP with the age of chicken provided significant effects to the relative weight of bursa fabricius (p<0.05). The relative weight of thymus, spleen, and bursa fabricius tend to decrease with the presence of bentonite in all age determined. However, the initial weight of thymus, spleen, as well as bursa fabricius of chickens remained in normal size. It was concluded that bentonite considered being the binder minerals that improved the safety of chicken hatcheries waste as a local feedstuff. The product was recommended to be applied to the chicken’s diet ages over two weeks.

Isolation and characterization of mycoflora of chicken hatcheries in Mazandaran province, north of Iran.

Fungal infections cause significant economic losses in the poultry industry either due to their direct infectious nature or due to mycotoxins production. Hatchery contamination with fungi can threaten chicken health. In this regard, geographical and seasonal distributions of airborne fungal contamination of 25 hatcheries in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, were investigated using an open plate method. The results of this study showed that hatcheries have various fungal contaminations, among which the most common were respectively Cladosporium (31.07%), Penicillium (24.00%), Aspergillus (20.63%), sterile hyphae (14.70%) and Alternaria (6.20%) from different regions. The results revealed that the highest level of fungal isolation was in spring and autumn. This study also showed that the concentration of fungal air spora in forest and seaside locations was significantly greater than mountainous ones. In spite of the regular disinfection in commercial hatcheries, fungal contamination was found in different parts.

Aspectos destacados de la legislación y jurisprudencia de bienestar animal en Alemania

A report on novelties on legislation and jurisprudence in Germany in recent months. The report by Ms. Havenstein, a graduate of the second edition of the Master in Animal Law and Society, discusses three situations that have had special prominence in Germany in recent months, specifically cases involving the disposal of male chicks at chicken hatcheries, the uncovering of animal abuse at a large pig holding, and the prison sentence of a man convicted of animal abuse against his dog.

The Hygienic Monitoring for Chicken Hatcheries in Taiwan during 2002-2007

Microorganism contamination in hatchery and eggs has a serious impact on the viability and quality of chicks as well as on the overall growth performance of chickens. Microbiological agents are present in the fluff when the chicks hatch. Detecting microorganisms in fluff is a convenient method for evaluating the hygienic status in a hatchery. Fluff samples from 18-23 hatcheries were tested for the total bacterial count, the presence of Salmonella spp., and fungus to evaluate the hygienic status of hatcheries in Taiwan from 2002 to 2007. The total bacterial score (BS) from the fluff samples was calculated and expressed as a log scale. Most hatcheries had a BS that ranged from scale 1 to 2. Salmonella contamination more than three quarters in a year was found in 3 hatcheries. Two of them closed after then. Five hatcheries were contaminated with fungus for more than three quarters in a year. According to the data obtained from the fluff test, hatcheries keep their hygienic status by cleaning and disinfecting the hatchery and supply chicks in good quality.

Probing problems — practical tips working with pH and ORP measuring devices

A sanitation method that could continually clean and disinfect the air and surfaces in a hatchery could provide a second layer of microbial reduction on top of routine cleaning and disinfection. A gaseous dry hydrogen peroxide (DHP) system has been used in other facilities for this purpose and could have potential for use in chicken hatcheries. Because the DHP is a true gas and can permeate through the entire hatchery space, contact with eggs during storage and incubation could potentially interfere with normal hatching processes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the DHP system on hatching parameters and chick quality. A total of 3,960 hatching eggs were collected from an ∼40-week-old Ross 308 broiler breeder flock and distributed in 2 treatments: treated and nontreated. For the treated group, the egg cooler was cleaned, and 1 DHP generator was placed inside. Two other DHP generators were placed in the common area outside as well. Both areas were treated for 7 D before placement of eggs, and then eggs were collected and placed inside the cooler over a 4-day period. Eggs were then stored for an additional 3 D after the last collection. Dry hydrogen peroxide levels were recorded each day during storage. For the nontreated group, all DHP machines were removed from the cooler and external room, and the egg cooler was cleaned. Eggs were collected in the same way for the control group as the treated group. After storage, eggs were placed into a single stage Natureform incubator. The eggs exposed to DHP showed higher (P < 0.05) hatchability of fertile eggs and lower (P < 0.05) early embryonic dead than eggs from the nontreated group. No other parameters evaluated were different between groups. Based on this work, the DHP treatment of fertile eggs had no detrimental effect on any performance parameter, with potential positive effects seen on hatch of fertile eggs and early embryonic dead embryos.

Investigation of Bacterial Resistance to Hatchery Disinfectants

Three commercial chicken hatcheries were sampled for environmental bacteria. Isolated bacteria were tested for resistance to commercial preparations of quaternary ammonia, phenolic, and glutaraldehyde liquid disinfectants. Bacterial isolates were exposed to several disinfectant dilutions bracketing the dilutions recommended by the manufacturer for 5-, 10-, and 15-min exposure periods before subculturing to broth medium. Approximately 8% of the isolates from two of three hatcheries were resistant to disinfectant concentrations at and above the manufacturers recommended dilution and time of exposure. Resistant bacteria included Serratia marcescens, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus badius, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Pseudomonas stutzeri, and Enterobacter agglomerans.