Assessing Incubation and Performance Defficiencies to Boast Broiler Production
Department of Animal Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
jahamidu@gmail.com
Citation: Djang-Fordjour, H.,Hamidu, J.A., Adomako, K, “Assessing Incubation and Performance Defficiencies
to Boast Broiler Production”. American Research Journal of Agriculture, Volume 3, 2017; pp:1-6
Abstract
The hatchery and hatching egg industry has performed minimally in Ghana over past two decades
in Ghana. As a result, importation of day old chicks in Ghana has increased considerably. The objective of the
current study was to provide inventory of actively operating hatcheries in Ghana and to discover opportunities
on improvement in Ghanaian hatcheries. Survey was carried out on known and active hatcheries in Ghana to
take inventory of human resource strength and qualification, hatchery output, capacity of operation, availability
of parent stock, common hatchery practices maintained to increased chick quality, day old chick production and
market outlets, rates of chick mortality, distance of hatcheries from breeding farms, hatcheries importation of
eggs to hatch, types of incubators and the type of incubation systems in used and whether hatcheries provide
any follow-up on farms that take chicks from them. Structured questionnaires administered to local hatcheries
were assessed and all data expressed as percentage. The data collected showed that there are 9 hatcheries
in Ghana operating actively in hatching broiler or layer chicks or both. While 7 hatcheries assessed showed
averagely 29.9% utilization of their installed capacity, only two of these hatcheries were operating at 60 and
68.42% of their full capacity. The capacity of these hatcheries were 38,000 and 115,200 eggs respectively. The
type of incubators used by all the hatcheries includes Chick Master, Buckeye, Asefac, Petersime, Westing and
Beckier while the major incubation system practiced was the multistage incubation system. Only one hatchery
had a single stage incubator. All these hatcheries reported using doing multistage incubation, all the incubators
appeared to have single stage incubation principle. Three of the 7 hatcheries provided basic training for all
staff members and additional three provided training for about 40 to 70 % of their staff. Only 3 hatcheries had
their own parent stock, the rest bought or depend on other farmers or contracting them to supply fertile eggs
for hatching. Major challenges reported were dead in shells, unsealed navels, twisted beak, wet chicks, and
blind chicks among others. The study concludes that the major challenges confronting the hatchery industry in
Ghana were more due to high incubation temperatures, low relative humidity, and lack of staff training on basic
principles of incubation.
