Hatchery Technician

The Hatchery Technician is responsible for supporting daily hatchery operations, including egg receiving, grading, setting, incubation, hatching, chick handling, vaccination, sanitation, and equipment monitoring. The role ensures proper incubation conditions and maintains high standards of chick quality, biosecurity, hygiene, and hatchery performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Receive, inspect, and properly handle hatching eggs from breeder farms.
• Check eggs for cleanliness, cracks, damage, and suitability for incubation.
• Operate and monitor incubators, hatchers, setters, and other hatchery equipment.
• Maintain required temperature, humidity, ventilation, and turning conditions during incubation.
• Perform egg transfer from setters to hatchers according to the hatchery schedule.
• Monitor hatch development and identify abnormal or delayed hatching.
• Handle newly hatched chicks carefully and maintain proper chick quality.
• Assist with chick vaccination, debeaking, sorting, counting, and dispatch activities as required.
• Remove and properly dispose of unhatched eggs, shells, and hatchery waste.
• Maintain strict biosecurity and hygiene procedures throughout the hatchery.
• Clean and disinfect hatchery rooms, equipment, trays, carts, and work areas.
• Monitor hatchery equipment and immediately report any malfunction or abnormal operating conditions.
• Maintain accurate records of egg quantities, fertility, hatchability, chick quality, mortality, vaccination, and dispatch.
• Assist in investigating hatchability problems and identifying possible causes of poor hatch results.
• Follow company SOPs, health and safety requirements, and poultry welfare standards.
• Coordinate with breeder farm, production, quality, maintenance, and chick dispatch teams.
• Support routine maintenance and calibration checks of hatchery equipment.

Requirements

• Diploma or Bachelor's degree in Poultry Science, Animal Science, Agriculture, Veterinary Science, or a related field preferred.
• 2–5 years of experience in a commercial poultry hatchery.
• Practical knowledge of incubation, hatching, chick handling, and hatchery operations.
• Experience with automatic/incubation machines and hatchery monitoring systems.
• Good understanding of poultry biosecurity and sanitation procedures.
• Ability to maintain accurate production and hatchery records.
• Willingness to work in shifts, including weekends and holidays when required.
• Good physical fitness and ability to work in a hatchery environment.
• Ability to identify abnormalities in eggs, embryos, and newly hatched chicks.