On this episode of The Turkey Talk Show, Kolby LeJeune, Technical Service Specialist with NextNest Hatching, joins Sheila and Gretta to highlight the importance of open communication lines between farmers and their hatchery. There's a lot that goes on at the hatchery that many may not realize, and any feedback, big or small, can make a difference in helping hatcheries improve.
On this episode of The Turkey Talk Show, Kolby LeJeune, Technical Service Specialist with NextNest Hatching, joins Sheila and Gretta to highlight the importance of open communication lines between farmers and their hatchery. There's a lot that goes on at the hatchery that many may not realize, and any feedback, big or small, can make a difference in helping hatcheries improve.
We discuss how, sometimes as farmers, we "blame the hatchery" for issues, but it is also good to remember that hatcheries also have mortalities for a variety of reasons, a lot due to uncontrollable factors. Eggs and young poults are very sensitive, so all of the little things that could be slightly off can affect the birds.
Kolby discusses the use of the glass doors Next Nest has, so you can see everything the poults are doing, and how they are acting all from the outside. The doors don't have to be opened and then the air temperatures and other environmental variables aren't constantly changed.
NextNest hatches around 200,000 eggs each day, and with so many people involved, clear communication among employees is essential. Since multiple team members handle the eggs and poults, even a small mistake can add up over time. That’s why giving and receiving feedback is so important—someone might be doing something slightly off without realizing it, and while it may seem minor at first, it could lead to bigger issues down the line.
Next, we discuss how feedback farmers can give to the hatcheries is important. Even little things you may not think are important can be some way that the hatcheries can improve their operations. There are a lot of moving parts to get the birds from the breeders, to the hatcheries, to the farms, and any way to improve operations to be more efficient is helpful.
Kolby discusses the things she thinks it important to do when prepping your barns for poults to come in. Prep your barn ahead of time, before the poults get there, walk through it again, and see if there is anything you missed. She also covers one of her most asked questions, about what the temperature of your barn should be. It is important to set your barn at the right temperature, but what's more important is the floor temperature. That is where the birds have contact with the building, so it is important to check them even slightly underneath your litter, as it is still warm.
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