Internal and customer training for improved hatchery knowledge.
The Background
Founded in 1921 Hubbard is a primary breeding company supplying day-old grandparent and parent stock chicks over all the World. FCE was first approached by Hubbard in April 2020 to see how we could provide them with technical and training support.
The Challenge
The main challenge that Hubbard was facing was the lack of in-house hatchery expertise to provide hatchery training. Hubbard wanted to improve their own Internal knowledge in this area as well as provide training to an EU customer. At the time due to travel restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic this training would need to be given remotely.
The process
Initial meetings were held with James Bentley Hubbard’s Global technical Director to determine exactly the sort of training that was required: topics that needed to be covered and the current knowledge base of those attending as well as their position within the company. Armed with this information Michael was able to design a hatchery course to fulfil the knowledge base and requirements of the attendees. The course was designed to run over 4 consecutive weeks. As the course was to be run online the maximum length of each session was set at 2 hours.
The course content covered:
- Biosecurity and Cleaning & Disinfection
- Egg Structure
- Control & Monitoring of incubation
- Understanding Temperature & Humidity
- Egg Handling
- Egg Weight Loss, Chick Yield & Transfer
- Chick Processing & Vaccination
- Maintenance
- Record Keeping
- Practical Breakout Sessions
At the end of the course a test was given, and a certificate issued.
The Benefits
FCE was able to fulfil a training requirement that had been identified by Hubbard as an area for improvement. The training supplied provided an improved knowledge of the hatchery process. This gave the attendees the ability to understand what affects chick quality, the tools to be able to identify issues and the skills to solve any issues identified. The training was also designed to give the Internal Hubbard attendees a knowledge base and confidence which would allow them to discuss hatchery issued with customers in an informed way.