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The average broiler hatchability rate has decreased in the USA in the past decade.
Figure 1. Average hatchability of the broiler US industry between 2012 and 2022 according to hatchery egg set capacity from
650,000 to 1.5 million eggs per week. Source: AgriStats (Fort Wayne, IN)
Figure 1 shows data from AgriStats (Fort Wayne, IN), the biggest USA benchmarking company, showing the decline in hatchability between 2012 and 2022 by hatchery egg set capacity per week.
Currently, average hatchability could be close to 80%, which is five percentage points lower than it used to be in 2012.
AgriStats data indicates that between 2020 and 2023, the average broiler hatchability reduced by at least three percentage points.
Potential causes for hatchability losses
There are several potential causes for hatchability losses.
Fertility is frequently a challenge in many breeder flocks; hen mortality has increased, and eggshell quality tends to be an issue. Nutrition and feeding management can attenuate some of the issues.
However, several reports and scientific publications have recently indicated that Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus cecorum, and Escherichia coli are often recovered from non-viable embryos in several countries.
But, the relative importance of each bacteria has not been clarified.
However, Enterococcus faecalis is also associated with first-week mortality of chickens.
Enterococcus faecalis
These microorganisms are ubiquitous in the poultry production environments and commensals in the avian gastrointestinal tract. They can become opportunistic pathogens but are also part of healthy hatchlings’ normal gut microbiota.
Dr. Jodi Delago recently reported results from a field survey conducted in six USA hatcheries at the International Poultry Scientific Forum (IPSF) in Atlanta, Georgia.
They used eggs from 405 hatch residues with evidence of early embryonic mortality.
Aseptic sample swabs were obtained from the yolk sac area.
In this project, Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli were isolated.
The coinfection of both bacteria was much more frequent (43 %) than the prevalence of each bacteria alone.
Enterococcus faecalis alone was 13 %, similar to the prevalence of Escherichia coli (13 %).
However, 31 % of the samples were negative for both bacterium.
Other research reports indicated that Enterococcus faecalis can penetrate the...
