Effect of hydrogen peroxide disinfection during incubation of chicken eggs on microbial levels and productivity.

Hatchery sanitation has a significant impact on chick quality. The proper use of disinfectants is essential. Aerosol bacterial counts, egg moisture loss, hatchability, chick quality, and broiler productivity were measured in eggs exposed to hydrogen peroxide fogging and compared with eggs not exposed to disinfectant during the incubation period. Hydrogen peroxide was also evaluated in the presence of a severe challenge with Staphylococcus aureus-contaminated eggs. A significant reduction was found in aerosol bacterial counts within the hatcher when incubators were fogged with 3% hydrogen peroxide when compared with water-fogged machines even in the face of high bacterial challenge. Eggs exposed to hydrogen peroxide lost a significantly greater amount of moisture during incubation, but hatchability was not affected. The use of hydrogen peroxide as a hatchery sanitizer did not affect broiler livability, body weight, or feed conversion but did reduce the incidence of retained yolk sacs in 42-day-old chickens.