Comprehensive Review of On-Farm Versus Traditional Hatching in Broiler Chickens: Welfare, Health, and Performance Outcomes

 

Dr. Majed Hamed Al Saegh / poultry pathologist / Australia

 

Introduction:

The hatching method used in broiler production is a critical factor in determining early chick development, health, and welfare. Traditionally, broiler chicks are hatched in commercial hatcheries and then transported to farms. During this process, chicks are exposed to several stressors, such as handling, noise, darkness, disinfectant chemicals, dust, and pathogens. More importantly, chicks often experience prolonged deprivation of food and water, sometimes up to 72 hours post-hatch. These stressors can negatively affect chick vitality, immune competence, growth rates, and later performance.

 

On-farm hatching (OH) is an emerging alternative designed to reduce these early-life stressors. In OH systems, incubated eggs at embryonic day 18 are transported to the broiler house, where hatching occurs in an environment that provides chicks with immediate access to feed and water. This method eliminates the need for transport, provides continuous lighting and early nutrition, potentially improving welfare and performance. Despite its benefits, on-farm hatching has not been widely adopted due to concerns about cost, management requirements, and unclear benefits in commercial settings. The study by de Jong et al. (2020) is one of the most comprehensive experimental studies comparing OH with traditional hatching, offering valuable insights in this field.

 

Methodology:

The study by de Jong et al. (2020) was conducted at the Experimental Poultry Centre in Belgium over three consecutive production cycles between August 2016 and January 2017. The study included a total of 27,780 Ross 308 broiler chicks. The same parent flocks were used for both groups (OH and C) to ensure genetic uniformity.

 

Each cycle consisted of four climate-controlled rooms, each divided into two pens (6 × 9.4 m), each containing approximately 1,150 chicks. One pen in each room was assigned to on-farm hatching, and the other to traditional hatching. In OH pens, 18-day incubated eggs were placed using the X-Treck system, allowing hatching to occur directly on the farm. In contrast, C chicks were hatched in a commercial hatchery, underwent standard procedures (selection and transport), and were placed on the farm at one day of age.

 

Several indicators were evaluated:

• Chick quality on day 0: navel and hock scores, weight, yolk-free body mass, organ weights, crop fill, and intestinal lengths.
• Performance: body weights at multiple time points (day 0, 1, 7, 21, 29, 33, 40), feed and water intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR) adjusted to 1500 g and 2500 g, and European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF).
• Mortality and culling rates.

• Welfare indicators: gait, footpad dermatitis, hock burn, cleanliness, and injuries on day 21 and 35.
• Litter quality and moisture content.
• Gut health: dissections, coccidiosis and dysbacteriosis scores, tibial dyschondroplasia (TD), femoral head necrosis, and histological analysis of jejunal tissue (villus height, crypt depth, goblet cells).
• Data were analyzed using GenStat software, with the pen as the experimental unit. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), generalized linear models for binomial data, and split-plot models for repeated measures were used.

 

Results:

• OH chicks showed higher body weight and yolk-free body mass on day 0. However, their navel and hock scores were worse compared to C chicks. Gut and gizzard weights were significantly higher in OH chicks, reflecting early feed intake. Crop examination showed that about 48% of OH chicks had begun feeding before day 0.
• OH chicks performed better in early growth stages, with significantly higher body weights until day 21. However, these differences disappeared by day 29, and no significant differences were found in final body weight or FCR on day 40. Mortality was significantly lower in OH pens (3.4%) compared to C pens (4.0%). EPEF scores were statistically higher in OH pens, indicating improved production efficiency.
• Welfare assessments showed a tendency for reduced footpad dermatitis in OH chicks, attributed to drier litter in those pens. No significant differences were observed in gait, hock burn, cleanliness, or injuries. Litter moisture remained consistently lower in OH pens throughout the study period.
• Histological and gross pathology analysis showed no long-term differences between groups. Minor differences in gut and cecal length were observed at certain ages, but these were not consistent. Coccidiosis, dysbacteriosis, and femoral head necrosis scores were comparable between groups.

 

Discussion:

• This study supports the hypothesis that on-farm hatching provides significant welfare benefits. Immediate access to feed and water after hatching enhances early growth and reduces mortality, aligning with previous studies such as Willemsen et al. (2010), van de Ven et al. (2009, 2011), and Hollemans et al. (2018). Improved litter conditions in OH pens contributed to reduced footpad dermatitis, a critical indicator of poultry welfare.
• Despite these advantages, no long-term performance superiority was recorded for OH chicks. By day 40, weights and feed conversion efficiency were equal between groups. These results suggest that early performance gains diminish with age, possibly due to compensatory growth in C chicks or physiological limits in feed efficiency.
• The worse navel and hock scores in OH chicks suggest that hatching conditions on the farm require careful optimization. The absence of differences in intestinal development or disease indicates that the benefits of early feeding are limited to the initial phase and fade after the third week.

 

The study by de Jong et al. (2020) is one of the few rigorous investigations confirming the welfare advantages of on-farm hatching systems. Despite adoption challenges such as cost and complexity, this evidence supports broader implementation of OH, especially in welfare-oriented or antibiotic-free production systems. Future research should focus on gut microbiota, immune responses, and behavioral adaptation of chicks hatched under different conditions.

 

Conclusion:

On-farm hatching is a promising strategy to enhance broiler welfare by reducing early mortality, improving litter quality, and promoting early growth. However, the absence of long-term performance benefits suggests that its core value lies in welfare rather than productivity. With increasing consumer demand for higher welfare standards, on-farm hatching may become a cornerstone of sustainable poultry production.