TRABALHO DE CONCLUSÃO DE CURSO E ARTIGO TÉCNICO MANEJO DE COLETA, SELEÇÃO E ARMAZENAMENTO DE OVOS FÉRTEIS EM GRANJAS DE MATRIZES DE CORTE

Abstract

Poultry farming is fundamental to the development of Brazilian agribusiness. The country holds a prominent position on the global stage, being the world’s largest exporter of chicken meat and the second-largest producer, behind only the United States, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA, 2017). This performance reflects the strength of the national poultry sector, driven by the wide availability of grains, a qualified workforce, and favorable climatic conditions. In this way, Brazil has established itself as one of the world’s leading powers in chicken meat production, thanks to its high productivity and, above all, the quality of its meat and eggs.

The production of fertile eggs represents a major challenge for poultry farming, as it requires constant dedication from professionals to achieve a balance between production, reproduction, and quality. It is from these fertile eggs of broiler breeders that the broiler chickens will be produced. Since these animals generate living beings rather than direct-consumption products, the process becomes even more demanding (FURTADO et al., 2011). In this context, the role of the veterinarian is essential, providing technical guidance to staff and promoting good management practices. After all, every fertile egg production system depends on a well-trained and qualified team to ensure efficiency and quality in the results.

Hatcheries play an important role in producing high-quality chicks capable of achieving good productive performance. However, this result does not depend solely on the work carried out in the hatchery, as the success of the incubation process is directly related to the quality of the eggs used (LAUVERS; FERREIRA, 2011). Thus, every stage prior to incubation — from collection to storage of fertile eggs — has a significant influence on embryonic development and bird performance after hatching. Therefore, these steps require special care and must be well understood to ensure standardization (OLIVEIRA; SANTOS, 2018).

The main objective of this technical paper is to clearly and systematically describe the stages involved in the handling, collection, selection, and storage of fertile eggs observed in 84 broiler breeder farms visited during the supervised internship, highlighting the importance of each stage in ensuring the quality of eggs intended for incubation.