Chick Quality and First Week Mortality. Why is chick quality important? What factors affect chick quality? Objectives 4/5/2012

Transcription

1 Chick Quality and First Week Mortality What does a good, quality chick look like? Bright, alert and reactive Good yellow coloring Dry fluffy feathering Uniform size Well hydrated Healed navels Little vaccine reaction No mechanical defects 1 4 Why is chick quality important? Quality broiler performance starts with quality chicks placed in the optimal environment Improved performance and profitability Good Start = Good Finish Higher livability Less vaccine reaction Higher maternal antibodies Less condemnation at the plant Grower relations Attitude 2 5 Objectives What factors affect chick quality? Recognize normal and abnormal Understand the correct calculation of 1 st week mortality Recognize chick quality issues and common causes Understand your role in communicating to every department Recognize farm conditions that can impact chick quality Focus on farm issues within your control Breeder flock source Age, disease status, grower history Egg handling On the farm, in transit, and in the hatchery Hatchery sanitation and process controls Chick processing and delivery Brooding management 3 6 1

2 How to evaluate a chick Normal Anatomy of a Chick Observe the exterior of the chick Eyes Trauma Legs Feathering (yolk material) Navel Heart Red brown in color Kidneys Red brown pink in color Ureters cannot be seen 7 10 How to evaluate a chick Normal Anatomy of a Chick Observe the interior of the chick Liver Lungs Heart Kidneys/ Ureters Yolk Sac Yolk sac Green and yellow are normal colors Consistency similar to honey Size will vary Normally present for the 1 st 7 days Why is the yolk sac important? Maternal Antibodies Early nutrition and hydration 8 11 Normal Anatomy of a Chick Normal Anatomy of a Chick Liver Yellow, tan, mahogany are all normal color for liver Lungs Bright pink color Legs Color Yellow Can be grey (pigmentation) Plump (well Hydrated) Medial leg vein not visible No red hocks or toe trauma

3 Calculating 1 st week mortality Day of Placement is Day 0 Be consistent Example: When birds are placed on Monday, the first day of recorded mortality is Tuesday. 7 day mortality should be calculated on the following Monday (Day 7) This is important in order to have consistency in reporting (farm to farm and complex to complex comparisons). This definition is also important when investigating an issue on a farm or complex. What causes Dehydration dehydration? Breeder Farm Issues Uneven hatches due to improper eggs storage Uneven temperatures hatches 13 PBU Common Chick Quality Issues What causes dehydration? Dehydration Trauma Red Hocks Navel Abnormalities Bacterial Contamination Fungal Contamination Ammonia Blindness Hatchery Young breeder flocks are more prone to dehydration Uneven hatches due to uneven temperature exposure Incorrect pull times from the hatchers 12 hour Pre pull evaluations greater than 80% Overheating chicks in the hatcher, hallways or chick room On farm Housing temperature primarily too cool they won t get up to find water and food Lack of clean, accessible water in comfort zone High CO 2 levels Should be less than 3000 May depend on type of heaters What does dehydration look like? Can be primary or secondary Leg veins Muscle color Urates in the ureters Gout Mortality at Day What can you do about dehydration? On farm strategies Water Correct height, in comfort zone, correct pressure Avoid contaminated water that the birds don t want to drink Products used between flocks need to be flushed completely Manage feed availability Water follows feed intake Adequate # of pans all with feed in them! 18 3

4 Confirming Feed Intake What can you do about dehydration? Crop Fill Evaluations 24 hours post placement Evaluate 100 birds in 3 sections of the house Goal: greater than 90% On farm strategies (cont.) If problems appears to be system wide, contact managers so they can communicate with the hatchery and breeder department to investigate the issue What can you do about dehydration? What does trauma look like? On farm strategies (cont.) Temperature Create comfort zones of heat so birds are more active Birds that are huddling won t find food or water Smashed toes Skin tears Bruising Lack of feathering Remember lesions may not be easily visible if internal (ruptured liver, bruises on legs under feathers) Mortality pattern may match that of dehydration since birds may not get up to drink What can you do about dehydration? On farm strategies (cont.) Light intensity Bright lights are needed at brooding (first 5 days) to increase activity and help birds find the feed and water. What causes trauma? Hatchery Conveyors and belts Accidents while stacking boxes Broken or uncovered chick boxes Chick placement on farms

5 What can you do about trauma? What causes red hocks? Monitoring program is critical Randomly select boxes of chicks for examination Must be done throughout the day Look at chick boxes or conveyors for signs of blood Maintenance program for equipment and boxes Hatchery High moisture situation Lack of moisture loss (old flock) Delayed or uneven hatch green (young flock) Transfer cracks Injuries Bruising on hock Rough conveyors Hanging up on conveyors What can you do about trauma? What can you do about red hocks? Exercise care when placing chicks on the farms When posting birds look both externally and internally for signs of trauma (bruising) If you see blood in the chick boxes, examine the chicks to see if it is one chick or multiple chicks Look for patterns in the trauma and report back to hatchery if excessive numbers are seen hour Pre pull evaluation Determine if hatch is delayed or uneven. Green Monitor the level of transfer cracks Investigate humidity settings in machines and hallways. Look for areas with excess water. Wet hatchers at transfer Too much water to clean setters 29 What do red hocks look like? What can you do about red hocks? Hocks are red (inflammation) May see scarring May be confused with slipped tendons or unilateral hock bruises Birds usually appear weak, and sit on their hocks. Many appear to be heavy (didn t loose enough moisture). Often called mushy chicks Mortality pattern may also match that of dehydration since birds may not get up to drink Exercise care when placing chicks on the farms Weak chicks need to have easy access to feed and water. Report back to the hatchery when levels are excessive

6 What do navel abnormalities look like? Navel wicks Navel scabs Open navels What does bacterial contamination look like? Navel infections Yolk Sac infections Airsacculitis What causes navel abnormalities? Navel Wicks Umbilical blood vessel Usually high humidity in the hatcher With high humidity, the vessel does not dry down and fall off normally Navel Scabs Yolk sac Usually high temperature in the hatcher and chicks develop too quickly Chicks develop quickly and they don t fully bring the yolk sac into their bodies; what remains outside forms a scab What causes bacterial contamination? Older breeder flocks more prone to contamination Thinner shells and dirtier eggs Wetting an egg (allows bacteria to enter egg) Egg sweating Dripping from overhead (condensation, leaky roof) Spraying when cleaning floors Dirty egg packs Excess bacteria on the outside of the egg Pulling chicks with open navels Stresses in the house too hot or too cold, etc. Wet (dirty) chick boxes Poor hatchery sanitation program tray wash disinfectant Don t forget ways to re contaminate in a hatchery Litter can be contaminated with high bacterial loads New litter is not sterile Poorly functioning immune system What can you do about navel abnormalities? Monitoring program in the hatchery Machine maintenance program to avoid hot spots Avoid situations where humidity could be excessive Avoid standing water in the setters and hatchers When posting birds look for scabs and wicks Report back to hatchery if excessive numbers are seen Remember it will be normal to see some (bell shape curve) 33 What can you do about bacterial contamination? Breeder department strategies Eggs coming to the hatchery must be clean, dry and non altered Be sure on farm egg handling and storage is done correctly to avoid sweating 36 6

7 What can you do about bacterial contamination? Thorough cleaning and disinfection program that is monitored Identify areas of possible recontamination Pull chicks at correct times so that navels are healed What causes fungal contamination? Hatcheries can be a common source for Aspergillus Especially in those without formaldehyde programs or in hatcheries near feedmills or sawmills. Litter can be the other source of contamination New litter or just top dressing litter Hard wood shavings are more prone to fungal growth Common in wet shavings or uncovered shavings What can you do about bacterial contamination? Be sure that you have optimal brooding on the farm Think: Feed, water, lights, temperature, air and litter Ex. Water is the most important nutrient do we treat it as such? Remember we give them respiratory vaccines at the hatchery and we have to manage the reaction Cull birds that are obviously sick so they are not sources of contamination for other chicks Evaluate all farms with high day 1 mortality When posting birds look for signs of contamination If die acutely, no lesions may be seen. Report back to hatchery if excessive numbers are seen Be sure to use clean, dry sources of litter Is new litter really clean? 38 What causes fungal contamination? Timing of clinical signs: Prior to Day 3 4 Infection most likely from the hatchery After Day 4 Infection could come from either the hatchery or the litter Use history of the farm, management on the farm, hatchery history, or diagnostics to help determine the source of infection 41 What does fungal contamination look like? Aspergillosis 39 What can you do about fungal contamination? Thorough cleaning and disinfection program that is monitored Formaldehyde is very effective if used correctly Monitor for Aspergillus through plate testing and residue breakout Monitor residue (breakouts or on separator) When posting birds look for signs of contamination (focus on airsac and lungs) Report back to hatchery if excessive numbers are seen Be sure to use clean, dry sources of litter Be aware that hard wood shavings are more prone to Aspergillus and other fungi 42 7

8 What does ammonia blindness look like? Ulceration in center of the eye Football shaped lesion Surface of eye looks rough How to evaluate a chick quality problem in the field? On high mortality farms, have the grower save the mortality for that day. Post the birds and try to identify the cause of the mortality. Remember dehydration can be secondary, look for primary cause. Divide the mortality into the categories that we listed previously Discuss with management the predominate mortality and put an action plan in place with the appropriate persons What causes ammonia blindness? Take Home Messages Ammonia produced by mixture of heat, oxygen, bacteria and urea Ammonia is released from the fecal/ litter material into the air Causes a chemical burn on the surface of the eye Only the part of the eye that is exposed to the air is burned It is NOT caused by the hatchery, or vaccination!!! Chick Quality is the responsibility of everybody Breeders, Hatchery, Broilers and Growers Understand what a normal chick should look like and understand when something doesn t look normal Not as important to know the lesion and the cause Be sure to have open communication and feedback within and between departments Provide specific, timely feedback in order to help solve the problem Chick Quality is greater than just 7 day mortality it affects total livability and flock health What can you do about ammonia blindness? On farm strategies Pre heat houses to warm them and burn off ammonia before placing birds Especially important after windrowing litter Keep house in optimal heat requirements so that chicks don t huddle under brooders These tightly huddled chicks can create a microenvironment of high ammonia Ventilate, Ventilate, Ventilate 45 8