IPPE: Hatchery immunization is the first line of defense for broiler health
Zoetis’ Dr. Marco Quiroz explains how proper vaccine handling and application in the hatchery impacts flock performance, processing and profitability
15 October 2025
4 minute read
By: Dr. Marco Quiroz, senior manager of Technical Field Service at Zoetis, spoke to The Poultry Site’s Sarah Mikesell at the International Processing and Production Expo (IPPE) 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA about optimizing bird health with hatchery vaccination.
Interventions and processing protocols at the hatchery can impact much more than the chick’s ability to fight off disease challenges. Dr. Quiroz shares the impact of quality vaccination protocols and considerations to help optimize chick health and set chicks up for productive grow out and smooth processing at harvest.
Both in ovo and spray vaccinations are important steps designed to help protect chicks, but there's more to them than simply applying the vaccine. What steps should hatcheries take to help ensure effective in ovo vaccination?
Yes, I always like to talk about immunization rather than just vaccination because immunization refers to protection. It's not only about the vaccine application. In fact, I have a formula. You must have the proper vaccine and the right antigen that you want to protect against the challenges in the field. Next, you must mix and handle the vaccine properly or, you might run the risk of damaging the vaccine. Finally, the vaccination is part of the application side of it. If you have all three components together, you can have good immunization.
Why do we immunize the chicks in the hatchery? Currently, around 98% of the vaccine applied in broilers is applied in the hatchery – either by in ovo or spray application. The important thing to know is why do we immunize those broilers in the hatchery? We want to protect against disease spreading, mortality and lesions. We also want to protect the birds against losses in performance. We want to protect against condemnation because we have a great responsibility in the hatchery to make sure that we send properly immunized birds from the hatchery into the field.
When we have failures in the field such as mortality and loss of performance, we must figure out what happened. We can have other secondary infections that are the result of failures in the hatchery, but it doesn't stop there — it goes all the way to the processing plant.
Sometimes we have condemnations, which slow down processing plant activities. The most important things are the economic losses, the loss of meat sales, and potentially, the reputation of the company because they couldn't supply the birds that they committed to supply to their customers.
In the hatchery, we have this great responsibility to make sure that we take care of the chicks and immunize them properly so the whole supply chain can be successful.
What about spray vaccination – is there anything different that needs to be done to help protect chicks?
The concepts apply for both in ovo and for spray applications. Spray application is for respiratory vaccines as well as vaccination for coccidiosis, Salmonella, E. coli, etc. The concepts are especially important, and we need to maintain the integrity of the vaccine. It doesn't matter if you have the best quality vaccine, if they don't effectively handle, mix or apply the vaccine, they can damage the vaccine and then you may see problems in the field. There are a lot of considerations both for in ovo as well as for spray application.
What's the impact of a quality vaccination process in the hatchery for both in ovo and spray cabinets?
It's not only impacting the cost in the hatchery, but it could dramatically impact all the way through the broiler supply chain. If we fail to properly immunize the birds, then things may happen in the field, such as mortality, condemnations and feed conversion losses. Everything translates to economic losses and potentially animal welfare or food safety issues. That is the importance of having proper immunization in the hatchery.
How does Zoetis help customers ensure their chicks are protected?
We have a great team at Zoetis, and we are customer oriented. We want to make sure that we work for their success. We are all dedicated to make sure that our customers have a better probability of success by taking care of the processes in the vaccination. There are multiple ways that things can go wrong, and we want to make sure our team professionally trains the operators and customers. We collaborate with our customers and ensure that the devices are properly maintained.
A lot of planning that goes into this process, right?
It is a lot of planning from the hatchery standpoint and from the Zoetis standpoint as well because we have a big team. We are dedicated to making sure our customers have a wonderful experience with us. We also want to make sure they properly immunize the bird, so they can reduce the risk of having issues in the field and optimize their investments with vaccines and biodevices.
Is there anything that we missed?
Customers can gain more information by contacting their local Zoetis sales rep or technical services rep or by visiting our website.
All trademarks are the property of Zoetis Services LLC or a related company or a licensor unless otherwise noted.
© 2025 Zoetis Services LLC. All rights reserved. NA-04194
Sarah Mikesell
Sarah Mikesell grew up on a five-generation family farming operation in Ohio, USA, where her family still farms. She feels extraordinarily lucky to get to do what she loves - write about livestock and crop agriculture. You can find her on LinkedIn.
