Artificial incubation in family poultry farming systems in Brazil: technical feasibility and incubation performance

Family poultry farming plays an important role in food security and income generation in rural Brazil; however, chick production in these systems still relies predominantly on natural incubation, which limits productivity and flock renewal. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of artificial incubation in family poultry farming systems by characterizing the socioeconomic profile and knowledge of rural producers regarding artificial incubation, implementing training and incubator distribution, and comparing incubation performance between rural farm and laboratory environments. The research was conducted in four regions of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and involved 87 family poultry farmers operating free-range production systems. Structured questionnaires were applied to characterize producers' socioeconomic profiles, management practices, and knowledge regarding artificial incubation. From this group, 45 producers received theoretical and practical training (20 h) and were equipped with single-stage incubators with a capacity of 100 eggs. A total of 87 incubation trials were performed, including 45 trials on rural farms and 42 trials in laboratory environments. Producers were predominantly aged 50 years or older, had low formal education, and reported poultry farming as their main animal production activity. Although 74.7% were familiar with artificial incubation and recognized its advantages, reliance on broody hens (49.4%) and lack of egg sanitization (60.9%) were still common. There were no differences between farm and laboratory settings regarding hatchability (62.40 ± 2.19% vs. 62.87 ± 2.45%), hatchability of fertile eggs (80.09 ± 1.90% vs. 78.36 ± 2.38%), fertility (77.79 ± 1.81% vs. 80.42 ± 1.99%), stage-specific embryonic mortality, or overall incubation losses. These results demonstrate that family poultry farmers, when provided with appropriate training and technical support, are capable of achieving incubation outcomes equivalent to those obtained under controlled laboratory conditions. Artificial incubation is therefore a technically viable and scalable technology to improve chick availability, support flock renewal, and strengthen family poultry farming systems in Brazil.