Dirty chick boxes at hatcheries can be a source of Salmonella, but the risk was still lower than expected in a study conducted at one US hatchery, according to Kathryn McCullough, a DVM candidate at North Carolina State University.
McCullough’s study was aimed at pinpointing where hatcheries need to focus their Salmonella-control efforts to prevent contamination of chicks with the pathogen.
“All of your breeder flocks are sending their eggs to the hatchery, and then those chicks hatching out are being disseminated… through the entire complex for that area. So, any disease measures that you can get under control at the hatchery are really going to have the biggest impact for that complex,” she told Poultry Health Today.
For the study, McCullough used boot swabs to sample chick boxes at a hatchery. Chicks were placed in clean boxes – boxes that were washed and dried – 2 days a week. Due to the hatchery’s schedule, however, dirty but dry boxes were used 2 other days because there wasn’t time to thoroughly wash and dry them.
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