Administering oasis hatching supplement prior to chick placement increases initial growth with no effect on body weight uniformity of female broiler breeders after three weeks of age

Extended transportation times for broiler breeder chicks can cause chicks to become weak and dehydrated prior to placement. Arbor Acres Classic pullets were used to examine the effects of Oasis nutritional hatching supplement on growth and flock BW uniformity from hatching to 18 wk of age. Processing chicks after hatching required 6 h, and after this time chicks were fed Oasis in granular form or fed no hatching supplement (control) for 30 h. The Oasis posthatch weights were lower than control weights; however, BW were greater for the Oasis vs. control pullets at 1, 2, 3, and 4 wk, as were the BW gains for 0 to 1, 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and 16 to 18 wk. The Oasis treatment showed more variation in BW uniformity at 1 and 3 wk (+/-10%) and 1 and 2 wk (+/-15%; percentage within the flock mean). These results indicate that the Oasis nutritional supplement could be effective for increasing BW during the first few weeks of life with no negative effect on uniformity after this time. This may be especially beneficial when breeder chicks are subjected to extended transportation times or when hatching weights of chicks are low.