Hatchery modernisation and it’s impact on

chick quality and antibiotic reduction

About Western Brand

Who are we?

Founded in 1954 in Co. Mayo by the Lannon
family.

Produce 36 million chicks/year (second biggest

Irish poultry company).

Have breeder farms, hatcheries, broiler farms &

slaughter house.

Also produce breaded chicken products, nuggets,

burgers and ready-to-eat ranges.
Our journey toward innovations

Started with
One of our goals was to decrease the antibiotic use:

We took a few factors into the consideration:

1. Quality of Day Old.

2. The Environment.

3. The Feed.

4. Use of Nutraceuticals.
Actions on chick quality

- Breeders
- Hatchery innovations
BREEDERS:
Chicks from parent stock with higher health status will have a
lower bacterial challenge when hatched.

If breeders have better gut health there will be a reduced bacterial

load on surface of the egg leading to reduced bacterial
challenge/yolk sac infection when hatched.

At Western Brand – administration of organic

acids to all our breeders to improve intestinal health,
and
overall health, of the parent stock.
BREEDERS:

Treatment of eggs will have a big impact on bacterial levels and

subsequent challenge to chicks.

In an ideal world only eggs laid in clean nest boxes would be brought
to hatchery.

Western Brand are not yet in a position to not accept floor eggs but
we would like to get there.

Western Brand do not accept any eggs which can only be cleaned by
immersion in washing solution.

At the farm we use the method of fogging with hydrogen peroxide.

HATCHERY

BEFORE INVESTMENTS

Set up of the hatchery was with lot of manual work, traditional candling machine, conical nozzles of
spray administration and manual application of gel with probiotics.
INNOVATIONS IN THE HATCHERY
Chick quality – comparison of Laser Life with Traditional candling – average –
performed in Western Brand:
Chick Quality (Pasgar Score)

9,71

9,54

004C 004C
LL TC
Average results per
hatching day
NUMBER OF BIRDS PLACED

MONTH-2018 IN OVO VAC DW VAC

March 725.992 1.540.729

April 1.155.013 1.085.736

May 1.879.571 453.080

TOTAL 3.760.576 3.079.545

KILLING AGE
IN OVO VAC DW VAC

35.4 36.4
DIFFERENCE OF 100gr DIFFERENCE IN EPEF: 30,8
DIFFERENCE OF 0,08 DIFFERENCE IN MORTALITY: 1%
Actions on the farm
- Environment
- Water
- Biosecurity
- Feed and supplements
LITTER

By far the greatest challenge at this time is dealing with enteritis/wet litter and the resultant
welfare issues.

Despite numerous trials we have not yet found the optimum bedding but we have found the
worst to be straw. None of our growers may now use straw at brooding time.

A very small adjustment in drinker line height can have an effect on litter quality. It pays to be a
fussy chicken farmer.
We also don’t recommend using equipment, especially drinkers, beyond its recommended
lifespan.

We will assist any farmers in preparing grant applications to replace aging equipment.
.
WATER QUALITY

WATER TREATMENT - Hydrogen Peroxide potentiated with silver compounds solutions (most
effective for us in this regard both during and between batches).
Sodium Hypochlorite solutions can also be effective if used for maintenance but we have not
found them to be as effective in breaking down biofilm and they are more pH dependant.

Broiler houses are ideal environments for growth of biofilm in waterlines – Our practise: at
turnaround by effective flushing with higher concentrations of peroxide based cleaner.

Western Brand perform regular checks on water quality on all farms

including broilers and parent stock.
This slide demonstrates falling antibiotic usage on a farm where water hygiene
had previously been an issue. A continuous pumping system using Hydrogen
peroxide potentiated with silver compounds solution was installed on this site
at the end of 2014.
BIOSECURITY

The common reasons we need to use antimicrobials are present in most chicken
houses and only become a problem if in excess but keeping any novel disease out
of the house will have an overall help in reduction in antimicrobial usage as well
as being the first line of defence if exotic disease threatens.
FEED & SUPPLEMENTS
It is increasingly important that any poultry production company has a
close trusting relationship with their nutritional advisors.

Nutrition company must:

• Guarantee the quality of the raw ingredients

• Oversee the milling.
• Formulate the premix to include appropriate enzymes to improve
digestibility
• Use appropriate coccidiostats.
• Add mycotoxin binders if deemed necessary.
• Provide an excellent follow-up and investigative service to assist vets
and company personnel in investigations.
 • Gel administartion with ILS Desvac Duo machine.
Western Brand administers probiotics in the gel
in the hatchery for the last 3 years by usage of
Ceva ILS Desvac Duo machine.

WB done extensive trials into what products we

can use to support this desirable bacterial
population. This is part of the “seed, feed and
weed” concept developed by St Davids, our
veterinary partners.

All our birds are getting organic acids unless

there are factors within the house which
preclude their use. We may use essential oils in
that case.

Other nutraceuticals which can have benefits

include fimbrial blockers.
We are examining their use in our parent stock
and may add them to diet.
 92% of
birds are
untreated
Summary

Education and innovations are the key.

Hatchery innovations help us to re-think our overall production

processes. These help improve chick quality and hygiene and have led
to lower use of antibiotics. They have also had the added
benefit of improving economic performance.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!

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