From Pips to Peeps: Virtual Hatchery School Announced

SOUTHWEST, NEW YORK (March 23rd, 2021) – Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Program (SWNYDLFC) is excited to offer “Pips to Peeps: Virtual Hatchery School,” a partnership between Amy Barkley, CCE Livestock and Beginning Farm Specialist, and Emily Shoop, Penn State Poultry Extension Specialist. Through the program, participants will learn how to develop a small-scale breeding and hatching program. This school includes three lectures and virtual, interactive laboratories on topics including the basics of breeding flocks, incubation, and insight into hatch rates & resulting chick quality. Classes will be held three consecutive Saturdays, starting April 10th, from 11am – 2pm.

Class dates and topics can be found below:

Saturday, April 10th, 11am—2pm

Basics of Breeding Flocks

Lecture: Selecting birds for a breeding program, appropriate male:female ratios, biosecurity, NPIP, choosing sound eggs for incubation, egg storage, and culling eggs.

Lab: Selecting quality birds and eggs

Saturday, April 17th, 11am—2pm

Introduction to Incubation

Lecture: Choosing the right incubator, setting up an incubation room, incubator and egg management, hatchers and their management, biosecurity, cleaning & disinfection, and preparing a brooder.

Lab: Walk through an incubation room and incubator set-up, candling demonstration

Saturday, April 24th, 11am—2pm

Hatch Rates and Chick Quality

Lecture: Differentiate good and poor chick quality and determine how breeder flock and hatchery management affect this. Learn the different reasons for “failure to hatch” and what hatchery residue can tell us about the incubation process.

Lab: Hatchery residue and chick quality review

Registration for the series will be ongoing through the day of the last class, with recordings and notes of past classes available for interested participants to review on their own. There is a $25 class registration fee which covers, in addition to all three live classes, access to the lecture and lab recordings as well as PDFs of the class notes. Register at: https://extension.psu.edu/from-pips-to-peeps-hatc... Printed copies of the notes and CD recordings of the lectures will be made available upon request.

For more information about the series, contact Livestock and Beginning Farm Specialist, Amy Barkley, at amb544@cornell.edu or (716) 640 – 0844.

SWNYDLFC is a partnership between Cornell University and the CCE Associations of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Steuben counties. Their team includes Katelyn Walley-Stoll, Farm Business Management (716-640-0522); Joshua Putman, Field Crops (716-490-5572); Alycia Drwencke, Dairy Management (517-416-0386) and Amy Barkley, Livestock Management (716-640-0844). CCE is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities and provides equal program and employment opportunities.

For more information about Cornell Cooperative Extension, contact your county’s Association Executive Director. Allegany County – Laura Hunsberger, lkh47@cornell.edu or 585-268-7644. Cattaraugus County – Dick Rivers, rer263@cornell.edu or 716-699-2377. Chautauqua County – Emily Reynolds, eck47@cornell.edu or 716-664-9502. Erie County – Diane Held, dbh24@cornell.edu or 716-652-5400. Steuben County – Tess McKinley, tsm223@cornell.edu, or 607-664-2301. 

Last updated March 23, 2021