Files
Abstract
It is known that poultry hatchery cleanliness can impact chick quality and livability, so maintaining clean facilities and hatching eggs is essential for the commercial poultry industry. To assess hatchery disinfection procedures, accurate monitoring of microbial load on hatchery surfaces and in the air is critical. Traditional bacterial plating methods are the standard for cleanliness evaluation, but are relatively expensive and time consuming, taking days to provide data. ATP bioluminescence detection offers a more rapid and inexpensive alternative to traditional microbial detection techniques, but has not been validated for use in poultry facilities. It is also known that hatching eggs have an extensive microbial population that can impact chick health and hatchery cleanliness. Disinfection methods for reducing bacterial load could be beneficial, but washing eggs can remove the protective cuticle layer and is not currently done in the US broiler industry. Traditional hatchery disinfectant procedures are problematic in terms of efficacy against bacterial pathogens and safety of humans and animals. A novel dry hydrogen peroxide (DHP) system can reduce bacterial loads on hard surfaces, but effects on the microbial load of the porous eggshell have not been investigated. The objectives of these studies were to compare ATP bioluminescence sampling to traditional bacteria enumeration methods to identify the most accurate tool for measuring microbial load, as well as to determine if a DHP system can reduce the microbial load of the eggshell. Our results showed that ATP bioluminescence swabs produced results comparable to traditional bacterial enumeration methods in a hatchery on multiple surface types in a timely manner; thus we conclude that ATP bioluminescence assays could effectively be utilized as an alternative assessment method in a commercial hatchery. In regards to hatching egg disinfection using a DHP system, we concluded that treatment of hatching eggs with DHP resulted in an overall reduction of bacterial concentrations on the eggshell surface, and that a DHP system can be utilized in a commercial poultry hatchery. In conclusion, the need for rapid disinfection and detection of microbes in hatchery environment can be fulfilled with the use of ATP bioluminescence swabs and a DHP system.