Hatchery Technician

Job Overview

The Hatchery Technician plays a crucial role in the daily operations of poultry hatcheries. The responsibilities encompass handling eggs, incubation processes, hatching, and chick management while ensuring high standards of biosecurity, hygiene, and hatchery performance.

Primary Responsibilities

• Inspect and receive hatchable eggs from breeder farms, verifying cleanliness and integrity before incubation.
• Operate incubators, hatchers, and setters, monitoring temperature, humidity, ventilation, and egg turning to ensure optimal incubation conditions.
• Transfer eggs from setters to hatchers according to schedule and oversee the hatching progress to detect abnormalities.
• Carefully manage newly hatched chicks, including vaccination, sorting, counting, and dispatch as required.
• Dispose promptly and correctly of unhatched eggs, shells, and hatchery waste materials.
• Maintain strict adherence to biosecurity protocols and sanitation standards by cleaning and disinfecting hatchery environments and equipment.
• Monitor hatchery equipment functionality and report any issues immediately.
• Keep detailed and accurate records of egg quantities, fertility rates, hatchability, chick quality, mortalities, vaccinations, and dispatches.
• Assist in investigating causes of poor hatch results and support routine maintenance and calibration of hatchery equipment.
• Collaborate effectively with teams across breeder farms, production, quality control, maintenance, and dispatch units.
• Follow established Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), health and safety guidelines, and animal welfare standards.

Qualifications and Experience

• Diploma or Bachelor's degree in Poultry Science, Animal Science, Agriculture, Veterinary Science, or related disciplines is preferred.
• Between 2 to 5 years of practical experience in commercial poultry hatchery operations.
• Knowledgeable in incubation techniques, hatchery machinery, automatic incubators, and monitoring systems.
• Familiarity with biosecurity measures and sanitation practices pertinent to poultry hatcheries.
• Capable of maintaining rigorous production and hatchery documentation.
• Physically fit to work in hatchery environments, handling shifts, including weekends and holidays if necessary.
• Skilled in detecting abnormalities in eggs, embryos, and newly hatched chicks.