Quality Assurance Duties

Quality Assurance Duties

The purpose of Hatchery Quality Assurance is to ensure that the hatchery provides an optimal environment for chicks in order to provide the highest possible quality of chicks entering the field.

Quality Assurance Duties include:

1. Technician will check the water temperature on all washers. The temperature should be between 140 and 150? F according to specifications. They will also make sure the quaternary ammonia in the dip tank or the spray bar is spraying properly at least 1000 ppm. Enter this data daily onto a work sheet. If either is functioning improperly, maintenance and management will be informed.

2. A check of at least 5000 birds in the chick boxes will be performed daily to ensure adherence to animal welfare guidelines. If there are more than .5% injured birds in the boxes, management will be notified and corrective action will be taken. Any mechanical injuries that occur during processing should be reported to the technician and corrective action should be documented.

3. Counting at least five stacks (5000 chicks per stack) of birds daily to ensure the counters are functioning properly. At this time, the technician will make note of chick quality such as dehydration, scabs, wicks, red hocks, etc.

4. The technician will check the separator for any birds falling into the hopper for 5 minutes 2 times per day. If any are found, management will be notified and corrective action will be taken.

5. Check egg room temperature at least once per day and record findings. 6. Check thaw bath temperatures in both the embrex lab and the chick room lab.

The lab will also be checked to make sure it is also being cleaned properly.

Weekly 1. Take inventory of all supplies and turn in to management. 2. Check chick truck to insure everything is working properly. Make sure truck is being cleaned and disinfected. 3. The technician will break out three trays of eggs from each flock to determine when and how the bird died or if the egg was infertile. All flocks will be broken out at least once per week or more as determined by management.

Monthly

1. The technician will break out four trays of eggs from each flock to determine when and how the bird died or if the egg was infertile. All flocks will be broken out at least once per month or more as determined by management. (Form 5-10)

2. An air plate and swabs will be pulled on at least 30 setters (air plates only) and 30 hatchers once per month. The Sab/Dex plates will measure Aspergillus counts and the blood agar plates will measure total aerobic counts in fluids such as diluent, sterile water, etc. The swabs will measure total aerobic counts on chick contact surfaces. The swabs will be placed into a liquid media. If the total

aerobic count is more than 250, corrective action will be taken, and more swabs or plates will be done to ensure the corrective action was sufficient. Air plates will be performed using blood plates to check bacteria levels and Sab/Dex plates to check for mold growth. All swabs and air plates will be sent to the Technical Service Center for evaluation. (Form 5-12) 3. All thermometers will be calibrated using ice.

a. Fill Styrofoam cup with ice and water. b. Place thermometers in water for 5 minutes then record temperature. c. Calibrate by noting the difference between the thermometer reading and

the 32 degrees F.

4. Environmental swabs will be performed on chick contact surfaces, hatchers, and setters each week.

5 Check Ph balance on all chemicals in chemical room.

Quality Assurance Duties - Sanitation Monitoring Program

Purpose: The purpose of this program is to ensure that hatchery sanitation procedures are adequate, cleanliness is being maintained at the proper levels, and to furnish information on possible biological challenges.

Monitoring: The following areas shall be monitored on a monthly basis: Vaccine preparation Incubator and automation equipment cleaning Air quality

Contamination levels that are deemed unacceptable shall be addressed and resolved in a timely manner. Sampling shall be made using good aseptic technique to minimize potential for contamination. Swabs and plates will be performed after sanitation or before start up while the equipment is clean. Swabs and blood agar plates will measure total aerobic counts. Sab/dex plates will measure aspergillus counts. Swab TAC should be less than 250. Blood and sab/dex plates should be 0.

Procedure: Vaccine Preparation 1. Plate .5cc of diluent from the first bag to be used on each Embrex machine using blood agar. 2. Plate .5cc of diluent after addition of additives from the first bag to be used on each Embrex machine using blood agar. 3. Sample vaccine, through the tubing, from 1 machine on side 1-1 and side 1-2. Sanitize tubing from a corner tooling and dispense into a blood agar plate by cycling vaccine pump 3 times. Using the same plate, repeat this procedure at each remaining corner.

4. Expose 1 blood and 1 sab/dex plate for 10 minutes in transfer area during saline and vaccine testing.

5. Expose 1 blood and 1 sab/dex plate in vaccine room during vaccine mixing for 10 minutes.

6. Sample thaw bath water by plating .5cc onto blood agar plate during vaccine mixing

7. Sample ice bath water by plating .5cc onto blood agar plate during vaccine mixing.

Sanitation: 1. Swab chick contact surfaces in separator and chick rooms, including hatcher trays and chick boxes. All surfaces should be swabbed at least once per month. 2. Swab ALL hatchers once per month. 3. Swab random areas of the hatchery; i.e., hall walls, plenums, etc.

Air Quality: 1. Expose sab/dex plates in all hatchers and setters for 5 minutes at least once per month. 2. Expose sab/dex plates for 5 minutes in other rooms at least once per month; i.e., egg room, transfer room, etc.

Pre-Set Egg Inspection Protocol Hatchery

1. Flock number, date received, date set, and farm egg room temperature will be recorded for each flock that is to be inspected. a. If the eggs being inspected were received prior to the date of inspection, the HO (holdover) will be recorded in the space provided for egg room temperature. b. If the eggs being inspected were received on the same date as the inspection, then the temperature recorded on the receiving ticket will be used.

2. Three trays from a single buggy off eggs per flock will be used for the inspection. Trays will be inspected from the top, middle, and bottom of the buggy.

3. Only count backward flats from the inspected trays. 4. Eggs shall be counted as upside down if it can be determined that the small end

of the egg is visible by viewing the flat from above. Each upside down egg shall be counted as one. 5. Each egg that shows signs of mice shall be counted as one. Signs include, droppings, empty shell with a hole gnawed in the side, and misplaced or smashed eggs due to rats. 6. Each cull egg shall be counted as one. Culls include:

a. Double yolks b. Cracked eggs: body checks, toe cracks, and obvious breaks in shell

integrity c. Round or flat sided eggs d. Wrinkled shells e. Pimpled eggs, if the cumulative pimpled area is larger than a nickel f. Thin shelled eggs: including soft shelled eggs and "windowed" areas

covering more than 1/3 of the shell surface g. Eggs smaller than 2/3 of the size if the flock average 7. Each egg classified as dirty shall be counted as one. Dirty eggs shall have one or more of the following characteristics: a. Fecal or extraneous material adhering to the shell surface b. Stained or smeared areas larger than the size of a dime c. Buffed eggs ("shiny" appearance when compared to the rest of the pack" 8. Each feather found attached on the tray shall be counted as one. 9. Each egg damaged during transport shall be counted as one. 10. At least one egg from each tray should be probed for temperature. 11. Note any pertinent information.

Work schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Hours: 6:00 am to 2:30 pm or after finish production.

Send resume and inquiries to Andres Erazo - andrese@

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