Hatchery Talks® - The true cost of cold chicks

A while ago, I visited a day old broiler chick hatchery in Western Europe. The hatchery manager was having serious discussions with one of his clients, who found first week mortality in the chicks delivered from this hatchery to be too high. In the farmers’ opinion, the cause of mortality – often running as high as 3-4 per cent - must, he believed, lie with the hatchery as he was providing the best conditions for the broilers, especially during the first week of life...