From time to time, we need to test a fuse to determine if it is good or bad. Fortunately, there’s an easier way to do this. Simply take a voltmeter and set it to continuity mode.

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• Eggs are placed on incubator egg trays. These eggs are placed on incubator racks or farm racks.
• Eggs on plastic or fiber flats on skids or in boxes is not advisable.
• Eggs can be treated in single-stage (best) or multistage incubators. However, much caution must be used when using multistage incubators so that you do not overload the heating capacity or disrupt airflow in the machine.
• Eggs must be given enough time to reach a minimum of 90°F (32°C). Use temperature data loggers to monitor the shell temperature of these eggs.
• Give the first treatment 5-6 days after egg storage. Additional treatments are to be given every 5-6 days thereafter.
• Once the eggshell temperature on all eggs has reached a minimum of 90°F (32°C), begin to cool the eggs as quickly and evenly as possible back to the temperature of the egg storage room.
• With single-stage machines, cool the eggs in the machine if possible. With multistage machines, remove the eggs and place them in the egg storage room. Keep in mind not to place them next to other eggs that are not SPIDES-treated. Also, it is very important to space out the racks so the eggs can cool evenly and quickly.
• As a general guideline, when using the Jamesway single-stage machine to perform SPIDES, adjust your temperature set point to 99.0°F (37.2°C). Once the machine attains the desired set point, hold the eggs at this temperature for 2-4 hours. Then begin the cooling process as quickly and evenly as possible.
• When using multistage machines, the guidelines will vary greatly.
• Turning is not necessary, and humidity is not of much concern either.

SPIDES is a great tool for hatchery managers to hatch eggs held over long-term storage and still achieve acceptable hatchability and chick quality. Please take the time to test and develop a SPIDES program that will work for your hatchery and situation. If at any time you have questions, please feel free to contact Jamesway Incubator Company for assistance.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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Why are we seeing this deterioration rate in hatchability and chick quality the longer we store eggs? In the diagram below, the reason hatchability and chick quality deteriorate as egg storage increases is because the embryo cells are dying during storage. To help overcome or revitalize these cells, we can perform S.P.I.D.E.S to improve hatchability and chick quality of eggs stored long-term. S.P.I.D.E.S stands for Short Periods of Incubation During Egg Storage. This practice has been used by some in the industry for the last 8 to 10 years with excellent results. So why does SPIDES work so well? Let’s look at some facts on why we see such improvements:

• We know that as egg age increases, hatchability and chick quality decrease due to the destruction of the embryo’s cells.
• Studies show that you can gain back up to 60% or more of what would have been lost if SPIDES was not performed.
• The longer these eggs are stored, the potential hatchability improvement increases over eggs that were not SPIDES.
• As storage days increase, so does the destruction of embryonic cells.
• With storage times greater than 17 days, up to 70% of the embryo’s cells have died.
• Applying SPIDES for eggs held during long-term storage helps overcome the cell mortality.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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Most hatchery managers have a certain set points for the hen house, the farm egg packing room, the farm egg storage room, the egg transport vehicle, and finally the egg storage room at the hatchery. In the diagram below, we want the temperature at each stage to be cooler than the previous stage, with the hatchery egg storage room being the coolest point in this process. If we have fluctuations where certain points are warmer or cooler and we no longer have this V-shaped flow chart, we are weakening the embryo, which can result in higher early embryonic mortality. We strongly encourage everyone with higher early embryonic mortality (higher than 3% of fertile eggs) to please review this process. We do not get too hung up on the actual temperatures on this chart; our primary focus is on each stage being cooler than the previous stage. Depending on where you are located, this may be something that you revisit at the change of each season.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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Look at the chicks! Spread and panting chicks mean an overheated environment, while nestled chicks indicate a cold environment.

Listen to the chicks!! Are they resting relatively quietly or are they loud?  Excessively loud chicks often indicate stress and discomfort in the young.

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Hatcher cabinet temperature, where hatching and dry down take place, is also very important and directly influences the final chick quality. The embryo, future baby chick, has limited heat-regulating capacity. Therefore, they depend on the temperature of their surroundings to maintain their comfort point.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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Ventilation serves as the lifeblood of your hatchery. Are you prepared for the upcoming seasonal shifts? As environmental conditions fluctuate, it’s crucial to conduct thorough preventative maintenance and operational checks on your entire ventilation system. This ensures readiness for the impending heating and cooling demands.

Regular checks should encompass maintenance tasks for RTUs, AHUs, boilers, and chillers dedicated to the hatchery. Often overlooked are the outside air references, including associated tubing for each room and plenum. Optimizing HVAC conditions not only enhances machine operation and performance but also minimizes instances of poor hatches.

A well-functioning HVAC system contributes to improved hatchability, chick quality, and overall chick health, positively impacting factors like first-week livability. Stay proactive and ensure your hatchery remains primed for success!

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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Sensor failures are usually caused by age or excessive wear and tear. Large calibration offsets often indicate an issue with the probe, suggesting that it is no longer as precise as it once was. When cleaning the incubator or hatcher, it is crucial to cover the humidity and CO2 sensors to prevent water saturation. These sensors can be gently cleaned with a damp cloth, but never with a pressure washer, as this will likely shorten their lifespan. If you notice a sudden large offset during calibration, double-check the calibration first. If the large offset persists, consider replacing the sensor.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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How can we achieve the adequate hatch window?

1) Machines must be appropriately sealed, so that all embryos must be started at the same time with rapid temperature rise and uniform heating.
2) Transfer positions must be handled correctly.
3) Stage programs must be effectively set up.
4) Eggshell temperature must be taken during incubation.
5) The hatch window must be monitored with software that helps visualize its progress in real time.
6) Ventilation movement is uniform throughout the egg mass.

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Temperature plays a crucial role in embryo growth and cellular differentiation of the future chick. Excessive or insufficient heat may affect chick quality and performance on farms.

That’s why the setter must have adequate:

1. cooling capacity
2. heating
3. ventilation
4. turning mechanisms, with uniformity being one of the main objectives.

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Typical Short-Term Storage \ Single-Stage or Multi-Stage

• Optimum egg storage temperature: dry bulb 65 – 68 °F (18 – 20 °C).
• Relative humidity during egg storage should be 75 – 80%.
• Avoid direct blasts of cooled air onto exposed eggs. Keep the velocity of the recirculating air to a minimum.
• If eggs are to be held longer than 7 days, lower temperatures are recommended (minimum 58 – 60 °F or 14 – 16 °C).
• Lower temperatures help slow down the deterioration rate of embryonic cells.
• Slows down the physical deterioration of the albumen and yolk membranes.
• Prevent bacterial growth.
• High humidity around cold eggs will cause condensation on the eggs. Egg sweating is never a good thing.
• Sweating allows for bacterial contamination.
• Chilling effect on embryo may lead to early embryo mortality.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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For those hatcheries with Multi-Stage incubators and hatchers or Single-Stage equipment with wet bulb readings for humidity, a clean wick must fit snugly over the wet bulb probe. The water reservoir should be filled with distilled water at regular intervals. If the wick is dirty or does not completely cover the metal probe, inaccurate wet bulb data will be given for humidity control. Wicks should be changed after every hatch in hatchers and weekly in setters.

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Cooling coils will sweat a little when in use; however, if the floor of your incubator or hatcher is wet from the sweating coils, this should be further investigated. Here are a few things to check if this is happening in your hatchery.

1)  Are the cooling coils sweating, or do you have a leak from one of the connections?
2)  The temperature of the chilled water may be too cold. Refer to the operations manual for your incubator or hatcher to determine the proper temperature range for the chilled water.
3)  The flow rate through the coils is too fast. Again, refer to the operation manual to determine the proper flow rate through the chilled water coils.
4)  It could be a leaking solenoid valve allowing excess chilled water through the coils even when the machine is not calling for cooling. The easiest way to check this is when the machine is not calling for cooling; check the chilled water coils to see if they are cold.  Excessive cooling through a leaky solenoid valve, too cold-water temperature, or too high a flow rate through the coils will create temperature fluctuations within the machine. Most likely, you will see additional heating that we do not want to see, therefore further exacerbating the situation. This instability will increase your hatch window in addition to creating hot and cold spots in your machine. If you notice excessive sweating, this should be a red flag and needs to be investigated.

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From time to time, you may experience a Platinum touch screen that ‘pauses’ or ‘freezes’. If this happens don’t worry the machines is still running as normal. There is no need to replace the touch screen or worry about lost data. If this happens, below is a quick way to solve the problem of the touch screen pausing during operation.

• Touch screen needs to be recalibrated
• Turn off power, then turn back on
• While Platinum boot logo is shown, keep tapping finger on the screen until a white screen appears.
• When target on white screen appears, press finger as close to center of target as possible and release
• Repeat with the next 4 targets shown

If you continue to have problems, follow the trouble shooting guide found in the manual.

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Do you notice your birds exhibiting heavy panting, or gular fluttering, in the hatcher before removal? This behavior can be attributed to overheating and the heat index.

The heat index (H.I.), also referred to as the apparent temperature, accounts for how the temperature feels when combined with relative humidity. This is a critical factor in ensuring the comfort of hatchlings.

When we humans get hot, we sweat. Birds, on the other hand, can not sweat so they employ a different mechanism for cooling down. They open their beaks and breathe heavily, allowing air to rush in and facilitate the evaporation of moisture in their lungs, throat, and mouths. This process, known as “evaporative cooling,” helps them dissipate heat and maintain a comfortable body temperature. However, when the moisture content in the air is high, birds tend to pant heavily to void themselves of excess heat, which can cause stress to the hatchlings. You may also observe an excess of meconium, often referred to as “poo,” in the baskets; this is another way birds cool themselves.

To maintain a comfortable environment for holding birds in the hatcher after the hatch is complete, aim for a heat index of around 105°F. To the right, you’ll find suggested settings to help you achieve this target.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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To properly pressurize a room, pressures must be measured relative to a reference pressure. In most hatchery applications, this reference is the outside air pressure. If the reference pressure is an adjacent room or hallway, such as with a plenum, then the reference pressure to that measurement should be outside air.

The OAR is critical to the proper operation of the hatchery ventilation system, yet it is often overlooked. Do you know where your OAR is at your hatchery? Do you know how each room and plenum is referenced? When was the last time it was checked? Spider webs, insect nesting, and moisture can all negatively impact the operation of the OAR. On windy days, do you have rooms that are over pressurized or do you have rooms that are under pressurized?  Then you need to check your OAR and the tubing or piping from your rooms pressures sensors to the OAR. If your room pressures are off, then in most cases your plenum pressures will be off since in most hatcheries the plenums are referencing to the room.

What is the importance of proper room and plenum pressures in the hatchery?

If a room is showing a positive pressure, the volume of air supplied to the room is greater than the volume of air removed from the room through extractor fans, incubators, or hatchers. If the room or plenum is at a negative pressure the air supplied to the room is less than the volume of air being removed from the room or plenum. Incubators and hatchers are all designed to operate within a certain pressure differential range between the intake air and exhaust air. If this pressure differential is too high or too low through the incubator or hatcher, this will impact the performance of the equipment and negatively affect embryo development.

If the pressure readings fluctuate too much, check the OAR:

• Outside air references mounted to the side of the hatchery is not ideal. If you have wind blowing directly against this wall, it will negatively impact this air reference creating large fluctuations within the room.
• Ideally, we want to place the outside air reference on the roof of the hatchery above any obstacles. It is important to use a proper outside air reference designed for this specific task verses running a tube to the outside of the building and placing it into a box mounted to the side wall of the hatchery.
• The proper outside air reference has the pickup port mounted at least 12 inches above surrounding obstacles so that you get a true static pressure reading. Mount the unit with the bottom plate parallel to the earth’s surface. The OAR reference should be mounted so that is unobstructed by the building or any other equipment, with an unobstructed view of the horizon. It should not be mounted under awnings, near intakes, exhaust fans, or economizers.
• The next thing that needs to be inspected is the reference tubing itself. This tubing can become brittle and loosen from the connections over time. It is always good to inspect the OAR and tubing every six months to make sure everything is working properly. An important note is to have as few as possible connections from the OAR to the pressure sensors. The more connections the more chance of increased issues with the connections.

If the room or plenum pressure is not what is expected, check:

• Calibration of the room and plenum references.
• Outside reference as mentioned above.
• Room air inlets and filters for any obstructions or dirty filters.
• HVAC air inlets and filters for any obstructions or dirty filters.
• Dampers on the HVAC equipment.
• Fan speeds, fan belts, and fan blades on the HVAC equipment and on the extractor fans.

Your ventilation system is the fuel for your hatchery. It provides the oxygen needed for metabolism and dilutes or removes metabolic pollutants such as carbon dioxide, humidity, and odor. No matter the size of the hatchery or the species being hatched, controlled air pressures are critical to the success of the incubation and hatching process.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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Maximize the benefits of SPIDES (Short Periods of Incubation During Egg Storage) with these helpful tips:

• If holding hatching eggs over 10 days from point of lay, perform one SPIDES treatment between 5-6 days from lay date.
• When holding hatching eggs over 15 days from point of lay, provide two SPIDES treatments:
  1. Give treatment between 5-6 days from lay date
  2. Give second treatment between 10-12 days from lay date
• In the event hatching eggs will be held longer than 21 days from date of lay, provide at least two and consider a third SPIDES treatment
  1. Give first treatment between 5-6 days from lay date
  2. Give second treatment between 10-12 days from lay date
  3. Give third treatment between 15-18 days from lay date

Implementing these guidelines takes full advantage of the benefits of SPIDES to improve the hatchability and chick quality of your hatching eggs with prolonged storage times.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway can improve your hatchery.

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of SPIDES?

Advantages

• Allows for long term egg storage with reduced losses in hatchability
• Allows for long term egg storage with good chick quality
• Narrows your hatch window, you can now set eggs with 4 and 14 days of storage in the same machine with much tighter hatch window
• Lowers embryo mortality due to long storage
• Allows for large orders with a smaller number of breeder birds

Disadvantages

• Increased labor/man hours to handle eggs and treat the eggs
• Can complicate the egg flow in the egg storage room

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Most hatcheries have a specific set point for their hen houses, farm egg packing rooms, farm egg storage rooms, egg transport vehicles, and their egg storage rooms. In the diagram below, we outline the best practices for set points at each stage of production. Typically, each stage of production should be cooler than the previous stage, where the hatchery egg storage room is the coolest point in this process. If you encounter fluctuations where certain points are warmer or cooler, the V shaped flow chart attached below is not being followed, the embryo will begin to weaken which can result in higher early embryonic mortality. We strongly encourage anyone with an above normal early embryonic mortality rate (higher than 3% of fertile eggs) to review this process. The specific temperature at each level is not necessarily the primary focus however, the most important aspect is that each stage is cooler than the previous stage. Depending on the temperature in your environment, it is best to routinely revisit this chart and evaluate your practices.

It is also important to pay close attention to egg sweating, as this is not good for the egg and needs to be avoided. High humidity around cold eggs is what causes condensation. Condensation or sweating eggs can create the perfect environment for bacteria penetration and can also create a chilling effect on the embryo resulting in higher early embryonic mortality.

If you’re interested in learning more, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway Incubators can improve your hatchery.

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Hatchery Set Point V-Chart

Turning the eggs during storage helps reduce the deterioration effects that come with long-term storage. This allows the developing embryo to be in contact with fresh albumen which is vital to optimal embryonic development. This is particularly useful for storage of eggs from older breeder flocks and where storage times are longer than fourteen days. Those who practice this will either turn the trays on the racks by hand or will have air hook ups in the egg storage room to aid in the turning of the racks. If you choose to use this method, we advise turning the eggs three times per day, in the morning, midday, and late afternoon. As another general rule, when setting eggs that are stored longer than five days, it is important to add one hour of incubation time for each additional day of storage.

Many of the Jamesway incubators offer worry free pneumatic on trolley turning, active on each trolley, to ensure a consistent turning angle on every tray reducing the need for manual labor and ultimately saving costs in your hatchery. If you’re interested in learning more about the Jamesway on trolley turning, please email us at sales@jamesway.com. We would be happy to talk more about how Jamesway Incubators can improve your hatchery.

Jamesway, Hatchery excellence. Made easy.

As a hatchery manager, I am sure you have encountered a time where you must store eggs longer than you want due to various reasons. We know this increase in storage days will negatively impact our hatchability and chick quality. So, what can you do to help improve the situation that you are now facing?

With traditional storage methods, you will not prevent a reduction in hatchability or chick quality but help slow down this deterioration rate. The first thing you can do is reduce the temperature in your hatchery egg storage room.  As we store hatching eggs for increased lengths of time, we lower the temperature and raise the humidity. Doing both of these not only helps to preserve the embryo stability but preserves the integrity of the yolk and albumen while reducing moisture loss through the shell.  

The chart featured in the image is typically recommended for the hatchery egg storage room based on days of egg storage and the temperature of the oldest eggs you are holding. This is by far the easiest way and typically what most people do if they are storing eggs for a longer period. 

In incubation, the term hatch window is used quite frequently. The hatch window is described as the time between the first surge of chicks hatching and when the hatching process is completed.  This should be 20-24 hours, which is the same as what happens naturally under broody hens.  In commercial incubators, It can be found using the humidity reading on a hatcher and by incubation equipment software. Hatch window is important in order to identify if the hatch is being pulled at the correct time and if the temperature and humidity are adequate in the setters and hatchers. It also shows whether these two parameters, along with the ventilation, have been uniform during the entire incubation and hatching process.

There are several factors that can influence the hatch window.

• Breeder characteristics- health status, age, and genetic line
• Characteristics of the eggs- shell conductance, egg size, storage days and level of embryo development when the eggs are set
• Environment of the eggs- temperature, humidity, ventilation uniformity and stage program (which includes the breeder farm, egg transportation, storage room and incubation process

Here is a “handy” tip from the Hatchery Consulting Team.

We all know how important turning eggs is to proper machine operations and to the developing embryo. But how can we easily determine turn angle in our setters? If you can’t tell if you have a good turn angle use your fist!

Your fist should fit between the vertical tray support bars. This is roughly 4 inches, which should be close to a 45-degree turn angle. Works in both single-stage and multi-stage Jamesway and Chick Master machines.

No tool bag required.

During the incubation process, an egg needs to lose sufficient moisture in order to create an air cell where the embryo will make its first pip where it will begin pulmonary respiration. The ideal moisture loss is approximately 11-12% at the time of transfer, or an average 0.6% per day (Single Stage incubation ideally should be 9-10%)

When chicks are hatching with inadequate moisture loss, the problem can disguise itself as incorrect incubation temperature, humidity or ventilation issues as well as others. When eggs achieve the proper moisture loss, the air cell should occupy about 1/3 of the egg at transfer.  Location of pipping on the eggshell is another good indicator of proper moisture but can, at times, be subjective.  Proper air cell size is important for the 18-day old embryo to be orientated in the correct position for pipping and hatching. If the air cell is too small, this can impede the developing chick from attaining its ideal position, consequently the chick will have difficulty locating the air cell during the pipping process. If the embryo is not able to internally pip into the air cell, the embryo will not be able to complete the external pipping process and will most likely die.

If you’re unsure how to obtain the proper moisture loss, follow this formula:

% Moisture loss = Full egg tray weight at set – Full egg tray weight at transfer X 100

Full egg tray weight at set – Empty egg tray weight

All too often we find hatchery equipment calibrations being performed with instruments that have not themselves been calibrated for a long time or ever. The hatchery equipment does not know it is out of calibration and is trying to maintain the desired set points, therefore the equipment is maintaining an incorrect set point, causing hatchability and quality issues. Without verifying the calibration instruments themselves, you can chase and troubleshoot the wrong solutions, trying to solve the hatch issues.

For proper analysis of hatch results, we need to accurately identify a fertile and an infertile egg. Remember, embryo growth will begin at the site of fertilization, or the germinal disc, and will continue to grow outward in an organized manner to form a ring, or donut shape. An infertile egg will maintain a tight, compact appearance at the germinal disc on the yolk.

If you have a high number of clear eggs from a flock or rack/buggy, it doesn’t mean the eggs are infertile. Remember not all clear eggs are infertile. However, if ’clear eggs’ are greater than 2.5-3%, this will need to be further investigated.

Possible causes of clear eggs: Infertile, very early embryonic mortality, Egg handling issues (Eggs held improperly – temperature fluctuation, rough handling; Eggs held too long; Too much egg fumigation), This can be a point of contention between the hatchery and breeder departments. However, what is truly important is the determination of fertility or not. If we have good fertility from a breeder flock, then we can troubleshoot other areas such as egg handling practices. If we just assume it is a fertility problem, we will never get to the root cause of the clear egg issue and poor hatch. So, it is extremely important to verify whether we have a fertility problem first, then begin to troubleshoot the egg handling practices thereafter.