Program

New and Emerging Animal Industries

Research Organisation

Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development acting through the South Australian Research and Development Institute

Objective Summary

A literature review will be undertaken to examine the effect of management issues on chick mortality. Issues to be examined include: Floor materials (eg. concrete floors with rub mats, native grass or lucerne pasture and earth floor), litter materials (eg. chopped straw, lucerne hay, dry hay and sheep manure covered with wire grids), housing/sheds (eg. traditional, mobile shed and eco-sheds), heating (eg. temperature and methods and sources of heating), stocking rate, probiotics and enzymes, preventative health measures (eg. clostridial, avian influenza and avian pox vaccination), feeding fibre (eg. sources of fibre and chopped length of fibre), egg collection time (eg. collection methods), egg cleaning (eg. cleaning methods), egg pre-storage (eg. storage period, temperature and relative humidity), incubation and hatching conditions (eg. temperature, carbon dioxide levels, relative humidity levels, oxygen level and ventilation).