With around 75 delegates already set to attend, the seminar will showcase new areas of thinking, including hatchery automation and egg incubation, giving people food for thought about their role in increasing chick quality.

Taking place on 29 October 2019 in Birmingham, the inaugural event, hosted by MSD Animal Health, will demonstrate the latest innovations and advancements from all aspects of the hatchery process. This includes incubation technology, intake and handling, breeding for best quality and optimising vaccination.

“This exclusive seminar will be the first event of its kind and will offer advice and expertise from various specialists, which include Ron Meijerhof from Poultry Performance Plus and Ken Baker, managing director at Emtech Hatchery Systems,” says Andy Payne, hatchery and broiler specialist at MSD Animal Health.

“We are committed to improving chick quality in the industry as this is vital to ensuring high performing birds which maximise productivity, enabling them to reach their full genetic potential in both the layer and broiler sectors.

“Poultry farmers are very reliant on hatcheries delivering high quality chicks, it’s the foundation of our whole industry and will ultimately determine productivity. Through excellent seminars like this we will be able to identify ways in which we can make small gains which will ultimately benefit the bottom line for poultry farmers,” he adds.

Ron Meijerhof, managing director of Poultry Performance Plus, previously spent 13 years as a researcher at the Centre for Applied Poultry Research in the Netherlands, predominately in the areas of broiler breeders and incubation.

“Incubation is key to a chick’s development and is much like running a marathon, input levels of carbohydrates, fats and oxygen need to be carefully controlled to provide the right environment throughout the process,” Ron explains.

During the seminar, there will be opportunities for delegates to ask questions and discuss issues which are impacting poultry producers and the industry.

Places are limited so to find out more information and to book your place contact [email protected]