Poultry Hatchery

an enterprise engaged in incubating the eggs and hatching the young of poultry to supply kolkhozes, sovkhozes, and the general population.

The first poultry hatcheries were organized in the USSR in 1929–30. In 1931 there were approximately 230 of them. They supplied about 11 million poults a year. As of Jan. 1,1971, there were 1,550 hatcheries with a total capacity for incubating approximately 210 million eggs. In 1970 they incubated 904.8 million eggs and hatched 708.4 million poults of all species of poultry. In addition to the state poultry hatcheries, which are part of the Poultry Industry of the USSR, there are kolkhoz and interkolkhoz poultry hatcheries. The state hatcheries obtain eggs for incubation on a contractual basis from the state poultry-breeding farms, poultry-breeding sovkhozes, or kolkhoz breeding farms. Some poultry hatcheries have their own breeding flock of certain breeds and lines. The TaPmenka poultry hatchery in Altai Krai, which incubates approximately 1.5 million eggs a year (1971), has a parental flock of hens (approximately 6,000) with a production of 210 eggs a year per hen. Interkolkhoz poultry hatcheries operate on the basis of contracts concluded by the joint owners of cooperative farms.

The eggs are set in incubators and the young are hatched strictly according to a schedule. The young are sold when they are one day old or raised until they are 30,60, or 90 days old; rearing departments are organized at some hatcheries for this purpose.

Poultry hatcheries have incubator houses, where two, four, six or more incubators are located, as well as accommodations for the parental flock, departments for rearing the poults, an emergency electric power station (if there is no reserve electrical transmission line), a garage, an office, and other auxiliary rooms or buildings.

Poultry hatcheries have greatly influenced the development of poultry breeding in the areas served by them. Hatchery specialists help the kolkhozes and sovkhozes to improve the technology of poultry breeding and to introduce advanced methods and scientific achievements.