Diminishing Incidence and Level of Salmonellae in Commercial Broiler Hatcheries

Salmonellae can penetrate egg shells without causing decomposition of the egg. As these chicks hatch, reservoirs of salmonellae can take hold on the commercial hatchery. Our study in 1990 sampled eggshells from hatching trays, belt swabs, and paper pads from three commercial hatcheries and found 75.5%, 90.9% and 66.7% contamination, respectively. This study in 1995 repeated these samples, but found 22.5%, 52.2%, and 12.1% contamination, respectively. The decline in salmonellae contamination is both dramatic and encouraging, resulting from several important factors.