The first Aviagen® Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) School of 2015 took place in Istanbul, Turkey, recently with a module focused on optimising hatchery performance.

Now in its third year, it was the first time the educational event has been held in Turkey, where it welcomed 37 students from 23 countries including Canada, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Hungary, France, Spain and Japan.

The module, which aims to strike a balance between classroom learning and practical demonstrations, was led by Dinah Nicholson, global manager for hatchery development and support.

The focus for the first day was on “Fertility and Hatching Egg Care” which included workshops run by two Aviagen incubation specialists. Day two looked at “The Science of Incubation” with insights into humidity, calibrations, temperature and turning. The third and fourth days covered “Incubation Conditions” and topics ranging from data handling, hatchery design, to chick transport and investigating hatch failure.