Hatchery and Incubation Management Course

Aviagen Turkeys is pleased to announce the completion of its Turkey Hatchery and Incubation Management Course. Twenty-seven students from twelve countries participated in this intensive four day course held at our new Select Genetics hatchery in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Through a mix of classroom work and practical sessions in the hatchery, students gained a better understanding of factors that impact hatch and poult quality. Course Director, Dr. Michelle Behl, Director of Poult Quality for Select Genetics, worked with the Select Genetics Hatchery group and the Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. Technical Services Team to develop this
comprehensive program. According to Dr. Behl, “The goal of the course was to provide information and experience in areas that will have a real impact on hatchability, poult quality, and subsequent commercial turkey performance.”

Christy Puffenbarger, Vice President of Technical Services for Aviagen Turkeys, said, “When we started talking about a hatchery course, Michelle was the natural choice to be the director. She has a real passion for poultry and hatcheries and loves to tell the story of grow ing up incubating and raising ducks and chickens and studying embryonic development.” Dr. Behl has over 22 years of experience in the poultry industry and earned both a MS and a PhD in Poultry Science from Texas A&M University.

“The purpose of our Technical Services Team is to work with our customers to achieve the best possible performance from their Nicholas and B.U.T. turkeys”, Christy noted. “We believe that courses like this Hatchery and Incubation Management Course are a good way to accomplish this goal. The diversity of the students provided a unique learning experience that contributed to the overall success of the course and was greatly appreciated by everyone. We look forward to providing additional courses on this and other aspects of turkey production in the future.”