To optimise your hatchery results, continuous evaluation of your chick quality is crucial. Research has proven the strong relationship between chick length and Yolk Free Body Mass (YFBM). Evaluating chick length is a fast, repeatable, and non-invasive way to evaluate chick quality. It’s an easy method you can use to maximise your incubation performance, the performance of your chicks, and the return on your investment.
Hatching chicks is quite simple, but continuously providing top-quality chicks is a challenge! We advise routine chick length analysis as a standard procedure in your hatchery, to help you provide consistently superior chick quality.
When measuring chick quality, the amount of absorbed yolk is essential. That is why the chick’s weight alone can be very deceptive. A more accurate method is measuring the Yolk Free Body Mass (YFBM), but this requires you to sacrifice a lot of chicks. Research has proven the strong relationship between chick length and YFBM. Chick length is a fast, repeatable, and non-invasive method to evaluate chick quality.
There is a direct relationship between day-old chick quality and the chick’s subsequent performance on the farm. Research has shown that a 1cm chick length advantage on the day of hatching can result in 264 grams more body weight, with 45 grams more breast meat yield at 38 days of age.
HatchTech offers a range of services to coach your staff and to ensure that you get the very best out of your hatchery, and the highest returns on your investments. For more information, please contact us at: coaching@hatchtech.nl.
HatchTech Hatchery Coach, Willem van den Oetelaar MSc, explains why chick length is the best way to evaluate your chick quality.