The second part of the publication is a powerpoint presentation depicting commercial egg production and processing. It is distinctly different from many other animal industries. Keep in mind, there are a number of ways to rear laying hens. It would be very unlikely that any two companies rear layers exactly the same way. However, all companies use a slight variation of the typical rearing program detailed in this section.
Hatcheries deliver chicks to the producer within one to two days of hatching.
At arrival, chicks are either placed in typical layer pens or reared in a pullet house. At the hatchery, chicks are vaccinated according to the producer's specifications. For details regarding a typical vaccination schedule see Table 1. For those chicks reared in layer cages, a biodegradable mat is generally placed in the pen. The mat allows chicks to better locate feed while also providing time for the chicks to slowly adjust to the wire mesh floor.