LPM 221: Commercial Poultry Production and Hatchery Management (1+1)

HATCHERY DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Hatchery design

• Hatchery should be constructed in such a manner that the hatching eggs may be taken in one end and the chicks removed at the other.
• In other words, eggs and chicks should flow through the hatchery from one room to the one next needed in the hatching process.
• There should not be no backtracking. Such a flow affords better isolation of the rooms and there is less human traffic throughout the building.

Hatchery construction

• Hatchery buildings should be intricately designed, properly constructed, and adequately ventilated. Brief general points to be considered are,
  • Width of the hatchery: The width of the setter and hatcher rooms is to be determined by the type of the incubator used. Find the depth of the incubators; then allow space for the working aisles, behind the machines and the walls.
  • Height of the ceiling: The height of the ceiling should be at least 10 ft.
  • Walls: Fireproof material should be used in constructing the walls of the hatchery building as possible. Because the interior of the hatchery building is continually being washed and disinfected, the inside walls should be covered with a glazed hard nonabsorbent finish. This finish also prevents the growth of molds common to walls that are porous and absorbent.
  • Ceiling material: Most hatchery rooms have a high humidity, and during cold weather condensation of moisture on the ceilings is common. Hence, the ceiling material is to be waterproof.
  • Doors: The hatchery doors are wide enough for easy movement of trolleys, chick boxes etc. The door openings should be 8 ft high and at least 4 ft wide, and doors double-swinging.
  • Floor: All floors must be concrete, preferably with imbedded steel to prevent cracking. The concrete must be given a glazed finish. Slope of the floor should never be greater than 0.5 inch in 10 feet.
  • Sewers: Since very large amount of water is utilized for hatchery operations and the possibilities for settling of broken eggshells in the sewer lines, it is necessary to have larger sewers in hatchery than those used in most industrial buildings.
  • Water lines: Large amounts of water will be used in the hatchery for washing hatching trays and cleaning as well as in the incubators. Hence the incoming water lines are adequate in size.
  • Docks: Unloading eggs from trucks and loading chicks into trucks will be implemented if a dock constructed at truck height is used. The top of the dock should be level with the floor of the hatchery, constructed of concrete, with a drain in the middle.
  • Electric lines: Electric points are to be kept at the convenient height of equipment to be used.