CAMPINAS, Brazil – Aviagen® Latin America has successfully hosted its very first Hatchery and Incubation School. During the week of Nov. 23-30, the Aviagen hatchery support team welcomed 37 customers from across South America Excluding Brazil (SAEB) and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean (CAME) regions to Bogota, Colombia. The school was designed to provide the tools needed for optimal hatchery management, resulting in the best hatchability, chick quality and bird performance.
Achieving ideal environmental conditions, fertility and embryo development, feeding after hatching, vaccination, biosecurity and other critical management topics were explored in detail. To reinforce the concepts learned, the training balanced classroom learning with practical demonstrations.
The training sessions were led by experts in incubation, hatcheries and flock management from Aviagen, academia and the poultry industry.
“Aviagen is committed to sharing the latest and best management practices with our customers in Latin America, promoting their business success by helping them get the most from their flocks. This successful first training was a great start to many Latin American Schools to come,” said Fabio Carnevale, Marketing manager for Aviagen in Latin America.
Opportunity for practice and sharing
A memorable highlight for students was building a makeshift incubator themselves on the first day of the event. They then placed fertile eggs in the incubator and were tasked to monitor and care for the eggs throughout the week.
Another important benefit was a variety of opportunities, both during and outside the sessions, to exchange ideas and experiences with fellow students and leading specialists in hatchery management.
Insight from school leaders
Dr. Dinah Nicholson, Aviagen’s global manager of Hatchery Development and Support, explained the goal of Latin America’s first hatchery school. “We designed the Hatchery and Incubation School to help students get the best performance from their hatcheries, which can be reached by understanding how to meet the unique needs of the developing embryo.”
Jorge Amado, head of Technical Services for CAME, commented on the enthusiasm shown for the school. “It was rewarding to spend time with our customers and see their high level of engagement with these important hatchery topics. The relaxed atmosphere of the school encouraged intriguing questions and lively discussions among participants.”
“Our aim for the school was to equip our customers with everything they need to improve the performance of their hatcheries, as well as the quality, health and welfare of their chicks at home,” added Osvaldo Bolinaga, head of Technical Services for SAEB.
Enthusiastic response from customers
"From the organization and quality of the lectures, to the knowledge and dedication of the speakers, the Aviagen Hatchery School was an enriching experience that will benefit me personally and professionally," commented Fernando Aguet, from Las Camelias, Argentina.
"I’d like to express my gratitude for the opportunity to participate in such a fantastic course, which has encouraged us to continue improving and innovating our incubation processes. I’m confident that all participants took home new ideas and information that will result in improved processes and results for their businesses, and look forward to future Aviagen Latin America schools,” said Pedro Cardona, from IP-CMI, Guatemala.
"This training was greatly beneficial to us, and I congratulate the Aviagen team for the excellent organization. The lessons learned will enable us to return to work with a new approach that will improve our incubation processes and maximize our results,” added Rafael Lozano, from San Marino, Colombia.
