DEVELOPMENT OF MECHANICAL NESTS AND ASSESSMENT OF THEIR

EFFECTS ON THE COLLECTION AND HATCHING OF EGGS FROM BROILER

BREEDERS1
Author: Fernando Pilotto
Advisor: Andréa Machado Leal Ribeiro
Co-advisor: Vilson Antônio Klein

ABSTRACT

Two experiments were carried out to design a new mechanical nest

model for the collection of eggs from broiler breeders. The first one was an
adaptation of the hand-operated Dutch nest, which is widely accepted by broiler
breeders, to a model that allows for mechanical egg collection. The adaptation
consisted in replacing the wood shavings bedding with a sheet of upholstered
wood and installing a transport belt for egg collection. This adaptation was
assessed in two experiments conducted in the same poultry house from the 25th to
the 35th weeks of life. In both experiments, there were 69 modules with 24 nests
each (hand-operated nest) for the collection of eggs from 7,690 hens and one
adapted module with 24 nests (mechanical nest) for the mechanical collection of
eggs from 110 hens. In the first experiment, the weekly rates of eggs produced
(%WEP) and of floor eggs (%FE) were compared, whereas in the second
experiment, in addition to these variables, the rates of cracked eggs (%CE) and of
nest dirty eggs (%DE) were also assessed. In experiment 2, in order to reduce the
number of floor eggs observed in experiment 1, wood shavings were placed on the
designed bedding, from the time hens enter the poultry houses to the 26th week.
%WEP was similar in both types of nests, in experiment 1 and experiment 2. With
regard to %FE (experiment 1 and 2), %DE and %CE (experiment 2), the
mechanical nest had the worst performance (P<0.05). In experiment 2, lining the
mechanical nest with wood shavings did not contribute to reducing %FE. Changing
the hand-operated nest into a mechanical one significantly increased the number
of floor eggs, of cracked eggs and of nest dirty eggs, with poorer acceptance of the

1
Doctoral dissertation in Animal Science – Animal Production, School of Agronomy, Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. (127 p.), June 2009.
mechanical nest by the hens. The aim of the second experiment was to design a
new mechanical nest model based on the observations made in the first
experiment and on scientific works on the behavior of laying hens, and to compare
its performance with that of the hand-operated Dutch nest. The equipment was
assessed in two poultry houses; in the first one, the eggs were collected manually,
whereas in the second one, the newly designed mechanical nest was used for egg
collection. A total of 7,800 hens and 800 males were housed in each poultry house,
and the percentages of eggs produced, nest dirty eggs, floor eggs, and cracked
and discarded eggs were determined between the 25th and 52nd weeks. The
percentage of eggs with microcracks, infertility, embryonic mortality, bacterial
contamination, fungal contamination, stunting syndrome and hatching from both
types of nest was assessed in the hatchery on a fortnightly basis. No statistical
difference was observed in the rate of eggs produced, cracked eggs and nest dirty
eggs between the nest models in most of the weeks assessed. However, the
average obtained for the 28 weeks shows that the poultry house with the hand-
operated nest had a better performance. With respect to the rate of floor eggs, the
poultry house with the hand-operated nest yielded better results. There was no
difference between the collection system in terms of the rates of discarded eggs
and the other parameters analyzed (eggs with microcracks, infertility, embryonic
mortality, bacterial contamination, fungal contamination, stunting syndrome and
hatching). The designed mechanical nest, despite the higher percentage of floor
eggs, produced the same results or better results than those obtained by
commercially available mechanical nests. Nevertheless, it still has to be improved
so as to have the same performance as that of the hand-operated nest.