The present invention is directed to a method of treating poultry hatchlings in a hatchling tray. The method comprises of providing a soft gel form capable of being dispensed through a spray nozzle, providing a spray dispensing apparatus, the apparatus being capable of delivering a predetermined volume of the gel as a plurality of small beadlets through a plurality of nozzles, placing the hatchling tray containing the hatchlings beneath the nozzles of the dispensing apparatus, dispensing the predetermined volume of the soft gel containing the therapeutic agent as small beadlets into the hatchling tray and allowing the hatchlings to consume the beadlets. The present invention is also directed to a dispensing apparatus for dispensing a therapeutic agent in a soft gel into a hatchling tray of poultry hatchlings.

A harvesting apparatus adapted to harvest egg fluid from an avian egg is provided. Such an apparatus includes a frame. A harvesting assembly is operably engaged with the frame. The harvesting assembly includes a plurality of nozzles configured to remove egg fluid from an egg. The nozzles are configured to rotate from a vertically off-axis angled position toward a vertical position. A suction assembly is in fluid communication with the nozzles for harvesting egg fluid from an egg. An associated method is also provided.

To produce chicks from hatching eggs, the eggs are incubated in a hatcher incubator. After hatching, chicks of lesser quality are screened out, and the remaining chicks are transferred to a poultry barn. During the first week in the barn, a number of chicks are lost. When the loss rate exceeds a certain value, treatment with antibiotics is usually applied. Methods and compositions for reducing the loss rate during the first week and thus the number of antibiotic treatments are disclosed. The methods include providing in the air of the hatcher incubator at least during a final stage of the incubation and hatching of the eggs in the hatcher incubator, an active amount of a pheromone composition with the appeasing effect of the mother hen pheromone. The pheromone composition can be applied in the hatcher incubator at a specific height in the form of a formulation.

The sex of embryos in eggs is influenced or controlled through the application of light having selected wavelengths and heat in order to promote the development of embryos of a selected sex. An incubating device is provided having an interior cavity that can be sealed from an outside, and having a plurality of lighting elements disposed in the interior cavity. Eggs are disposed on trays, and pre-determined environmental conditions are applied to the interior cavity to promote hatching of the eggs. Concurrently with the application of the environmental conditions, the eggs are irradiated according to pre-determined lighting conditions having wavelengths substantially concentrated in selected ranges In some embodiments, the temperature of the incubator is kept above or below the optimal incubation temperature.

A dorsal aortic injection method of chicken embryos for improving transgenic efficiency, comprising the following steps: injecting adeno-associated virus particles into the dorsal aorta of each 2.5-day-old chicken embryo outside eggshell, individually transferring the injected chicken embryos into their recipient eggshells (coming from double yolk eggs), and proceeding to hatch. The disclosure realizes the outside-eggshell injection of the chicken embryo dorsal aorta through the modified dorsal aortic injection method, improves the accuracy of injection, and also realizes the direct observation of the development process of the chicken embryos. The survival rate of embryos, hatch rate and the efficiency of transgene expression in the modified dorsal aortic injection group are significantly higher than those in the subgerminal cavity injection group and the classic dorsal aortic injection group, indicating that the modified method improves the hatch rate of transgenic chicken embryos and EGFP expression efficiency.

The present invention relates to an egg carrier for holding an egg in an egg handling system, wherein the egg carrier comprises; an egg accommodation, an egg clamping system to secure an egg in the egg accommodation space, wherein the egg clamping system is moveable between an egg securing position and an egg release position, an operating system coupled with the egg clamping system to move the clamping system between the egg securing position and the egg release position, wherein the operating system comprises an operating member that is operable externally from the egg carrier.

Volatile organic chemicals emitted by a shell egg embryo are used to identify the fertility, viability, and sex of the shell egg embryo. Shortly after the egg is laid, the egg is isolated in a vapor-tight compartment so that a vapor containing volatile organic chemicals emitted by the shell egg embryo collect in the headspace of the compartment. The chemicals in the vapor are analyzed to construct a chemical profile of the shell egg embryo, and then the chemical profile of the shell egg embryo vapor is loaded into a previously developed model. Based on the data generated by the model, the shell egg is embryo is predicted to be an alive male, an alive female, an infertile egg, or an egg containing a dead embryo.

The present invention is directed to a method of treating poultry hatchlings in a hatchling tray. The method comprises of providing a soft gel form capable of being dispensed through a spray nozzle, providing a spray dispensing apparatus, the apparatus being capable of delivering a predetermined volume of the gel as a plurality of small beadlets through a plurality of nozzles, placing the hatchling tray containing the hatchlings beneath the nozzles of the dispensing apparatus, dispensing the predetermined volume of the soft gel containing the therapeutic agent as small beadlets into the hatchling tray and allowing the hatchlings to consume the beadlets. The present invention is also directed to a dispensing apparatus for dispensing a therapeutic agent in a soft gel into a hatchling tray of poultry hatchlings.

A system for determining the gender and/or fertility status of avian eggs including a sampling apparatus and an electromagnetic radiation transmitter and detector. In certain embodiments, the transmitter operates in the terahertz range. The sampling apparatus can be coupled to an avian egg. The sampling apparatus includes a vacuum source, a gas collection device, and a membrane that can be positioned in the passageway coupling the vacuum source to the gas collection device. The membrane is capable of capturing volatile organic compounds. The sampling apparatus applies a vacuum from the vacuum source to the gas proximate to the avian egg and directs the gas captured from the vicinity of the egg toward the membrane. Subsequently, the membrane is positioned within the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter, generating a spectrum which can be analyzed to determine whether the egg is fertile or infertile, and if fertile, whether the egg is male or female. In an embodiment, the captured volatile organic compounds are transferred to a sample chamber where the captured gas is analyzed.

A system for determining the gender and/or fertility status of avian eggs including a sampling apparatus and an electromagnetic radiation transmitter and detector. In certain embodiments, the transmitter operates in the terahertz range. The sampling apparatus can be coupled to an avian egg. The sampling apparatus includes a vacuum source, a gas collection device, and a membrane that can be positioned in the passageway coupling the vacuum source to the gas collection device. The membrane is capable of capturing volatile organic compounds. The sampling apparatus applies a vacuum from the vacuum source to the gas proximate to the avian egg and directs the gas captured from the vicinity of the egg toward the membrane. Subsequently, the membrane is positioned within the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter, generating a spectrum which can be analyzed to determine whether the egg is fertile or infertile, and if fertile, whether the egg is male or female. In an embodiment, the captured volatile organic compounds are transferred to a sample chamber where the captured gas is analyzed.