As a consultant it is not uncommon to visit customers who also receive recommendations from other advisors. This can be useful, especially when the consultancy covers different fields of expertise. It is less productive however, when recommendations are contradictory or provide conflicting advice...

I was recently consulting remotely with a hatchery that was fully dependent on imported hatching eggs. To ensure a constant supply of eggs, the hatchery had an export agreement for 1,600 boxes to be flown in every week. Egg age at setting averaged 7 – 9 days, from which the hatchability of eggs set was 86 per cent...

A hatchery got in touch with me recently about a worrying problem: 3-5% of the newly delivered chicks were dying during their first 3-5 days on the farm. As I arrived on site, chick boxes were being loaded onto a truck and even before entering the hatchery the noise was deafening...

Interview hosted by Eline Holtslag, Erwin Prinzen and Lotte Hebbink. In a 30-minute interview, you’ll learn all about how the SmartStart™ Post-hatch feeding solution promotes the development of robust day-old chicks...

Being grounded during the Covid-19 pandemic, I found myself thinking about how, during my visits to so many different hatcheries, certain aspects of incubation remain a recurring point of discussion. One such point is the impact of under-loading setters and hatchers, which can cause problems if the less than full machine is not loaded “in balance"...

On returning to a South American hatchery, I discovered that the hatchery manager I had worked with and seen grow into his role for the past three years had left. Together, we had made changes to conditions inside the hatchery as well as to incubation programs, such that the hatchery was performing very well, with consistently high chick quality, narrow hatch windows and hatchabilities well above standard.

The ‘new face’ that greeted me seemed very pleased to see me, admitting that since starting his new job, the hatchery’s management had noted a downward trend in results...

Earlier this year I visited a hatchery that has expanded to its current size since Royal Pas Reform installed the first Smart™ machines three years ago. A new hatchery manager, well educated but lacking practical experience, had recently been appointed...

When I’m involved in the Hatchery Management Training I often mention that hatching is 'looking, listening and smelling', even though sensor technology is gaining popularity. I say this to encourage young hatchery managers to sometimes get out of their hermetically sealed office and take a slow, attentive walk through the hatchery. Since a visit to a small hatchery in Asia to discuss switching from multi-stage to single-stage incubation, I know that it’s worth being on 'smell alert' even before entering the hatchery...

Being grounded during the Covid-19 pandemic, I'm unable to travel as I usually would to visit hatcheries. I stay in touch with customers via e-mail and phone, advising them on incubation issues. Fortunately, it's possible to log in to their hatchery management software, so I can analyse data such as climate graphs. But it's just not the same as a live visit – you can't see, smell or ...

During a recent trip to the tropics, I had the chance unexpectedly to visit a hatchery that was due to host a Pas Reform Academy Seminar. My unplanned visit was well received, giving the hatchery manager the chance to talk to me about chick quality, which was not, he said...