Delay in feed access and spread of hatch: importance of early nutrition

Abstract

In a commercial hatchery, chicks (or poults) hatch over a 24-48 hour period. All chicks remain in the incubator until the majority of the chicks have emerged from the shell. Once removed from the incubator, the newly hatched chick has to undergo several hatchery treatments and is then transported before being placed on the broiler farm. This means that, under practical conditions, chicks are deprived of feed and water for up to 72 hours. In addition, the time of hatch within the hatching window and the spread of hatch cause variability in the amount of time that chicks are feed deprived. Literature on feed deprivation after hatch clearly demonstrates the detrimental effects of any delay in feed access on performance of the chicks with respect to growth, immune system activation, digestive enzyme stimulation and organ development. Improved management strategies, such as shortening the hatching window or the time to first feeding by specific management measures, provide an alternative in dealing with the negative effects caused by a delay in feed access. The development of pre-starter diets that better meet the needs of the newly hatched chicks or in ovo feeding to bridge the gap between hatch and first feeding provide other alternatives in overcoming these problems. However, speculation remains regarding the importance of in ovo or early feeding, or whether the in ovo or early feeding itself is responsible for the beneficial effects reported. The aim of the following review is to discuss the current status of research into early feeding and to stimulate future and further research regarding these topics.

Effect of species-specific sound stimulation on the development and hatching of broiler chicks

“…As the spread of hatch increases and thus the HW, the time of first access to feed and water also increases. This delay in access to feed for day-old chicks ultimately impairs post hatch growth (Decuypere et al, 2001, Gonzales et al, 2003, Willemsen et al, 2010.…”

Effects of Oregano Essential Oil Supplementation to Diets of Broiler Chicks with Delayed Feeding After Hatching. Morphological Development of Small Intestine Segments

“…and physiological (pancreatic and digestive enzymes) developments including increased surface area of nutrient digestion and absorption during the post-hatch period (Yadav et al, 2010). On the other hand, under practical conditions, a fasting period of 72 h after hatching during transportation to the broiler farm is generally common, due to variation in hatching time and logistics (Willemsen et al, 2010). In conclusion, the morphological development of digestive system and small intestine is impaired when chicks have delayed access to diet after hatching (Sklan and Noy, 2000;Van Den Brand et al, 2010).…”

Physiological status of broiler chicks at pulling time and the relationship to duration of holding period

“…Moreover, the chicks subsequently undergo processing and are then transported to the broiler farm. Thus, chicks can be deprived of feed and water for up to 72 h (Willemsen et al, 2010). It has been shown that feed and water deprivation after hatch leads to dehydration (van de Ven et al, 2009) and impairs welfare and post-hatch performance with respect to growth, immune system activation, digestive enzyme stimulation and organ development (Gonzales et al, 2003;Willemsen et al, 2010).…”

“…Thus, chicks can be deprived of feed and water for up to 72 h (Willemsen et al, 2010). It has been shown that feed and water deprivation after hatch leads to dehydration (van de Ven et al, 2009) and impairs welfare and post-hatch performance with respect to growth, immune system activation, digestive enzyme stimulation and organ development (Gonzales et al, 2003;Willemsen et al, 2010). Therefore, the start of feed and water deprivation should be considered from the individual time of hatch and not from the end of incubation (Careghi et al, 2005) in order to reduce welfare issues and maintain health, as the day-old chick is the starting material to realise a high-quality broiler flock at slaughter age (Tona et al, 2003).…”