The Poultry Fertility and Hatchability Decline: What’s Behind it and How Can We Turn it Around?

Fertility and hatchability concerns are becoming harder to ignore, especially in broiler operations, where the pressure to maintain performance is highest. But these challenges aren’t limited to broilers alone. Across the poultry industry, including layers and turkeys, producers are seeing subtle shifts that raise red flags for chick quality and long-term productivity.

However, these issues didn’t appear overnight. Years of genetic progress, combined with environmental stress and hidden threats like mycotoxins, have created a complex web of factors that can quietly erode reproductive performance over time.

In this blog, we’ll explore what’s driving these declines across species, how they show up in different production systems and what practical steps you can take to help protect fertility, hatchability and profitability moving forward.

How Fertility and Hatchability Work Together

It’s the age-old question. What came first, the chicken or the egg? But in poultry production, it doesn’t really matter. One can’t succeed without the other. Fertility and hatchability go hand in hand, connected by a process that begins in the breeder barn and ends in the hatchery.

It all starts with the birds. Achieving high lay percentages, strong fertility rates and maintaining ideal body weights for both males and females are the building blocks of a productive flock. But healthy birds alone aren’t enough. Precision matters at every step because even small missteps in nutrition, weight control or mating behavior can ripple through the system, showing up later as poor egg quality, reduced embryo development, and weaker chick viability.

From there, the eggs head to the hatchery, where the focus shifts to giving every fertile egg the best chance to become a healthy chick. Cleanliness, precise control of incubation temperature and humidity, gentle egg handling and egg storage are all critical to protect embryo development and prevent contamination.

When the breeder barn and hatchery are in sync, fertility and hatchability can thrive. But today, that balance is under strain on both ends of the system. Nowhere is this more evident than in broiler production, where hatchability rates have dropped to some of the lowest levels in recent history.

A Closer Look at the Divide Across Each Species

What was once a reliable climb in hatchability through the 1980s and 1990s has now reversed course. In March 2025, U.S. broiler hatchability sank to 78.7%, a level that would’ve been unthinkable just a decade ago. (1) For producers, that means fewer chicks for every egg set and higher production costs across the board.

Turkeys face a different kind of pressure. Thanks to routine use of artificial insemination (AI), fertility rates remain relatively stable, with hatchability holding between 82 and 86%. (2) But AI is labor-intensive, costly and requires careful execution. Any missteps in timing or flock handling can quickly offset its benefits. While AI helps manage fertility challenges, it’s not a silver bullet, and turkey operations still walk a fine line to maintain reproductive success.

Layers, meanwhile, are seeing a relatively steady period. In fact, egg-type chick hatchings in early 2025 rose by 2% compared to the previous year. (3) Still, some experts note that a strong emphasis on egg production may be quietly affecting traits like fertility and reproductive longevity. While not an urgent issue now, it’s something the industry may want to keep an eye on.

What’s Behind the Declines? It’s Complicated

Fertility and hatchability are influenced by a complex mix of factors, but much of the current pressure stems from the ongoing tension between modern production goals and the biological realities of reproduction. Years of genetic progress in growth, efficiency and carcass yield have delivered impressive results, but sometimes at the expense of reproduction consistency.

Genetics isn’t the only factor. Management practices haven’t always kept pace with the evolving needs of today’s high-performance birds. Egg quality, for example, remains a key driver of hatch success but is often addressed only after problems emerge. Small eggs, those under 45 grams, face lower hatch rates from the start, and poor yolk development can limit the nutrients available to support a strong, healthy embryo if hens aren’t properly nourished. (4)

Beyond the barn, even the best-laid eggs can falter if hatchery management slips. Storage conditions are another make-or-break factor. Eggs stored for too long, or at the wrong temperature and humidity, are at risk of early embryo mortality, weakened shells and poor hatch rates. As logistical pressures push storage times beyond the best windows, hatcheries are increasingly tasked with protecting egg viability under less-than-perfect conditions.

Mycotoxins and Hatchability Losses

Adding another invisible layer of challenge is mycotoxin contamination, a hidden threat that many producers underestimate. Even at levels considered acceptable by regulatory standards, mycotoxins like ochratoxin and aflatoxin have been shown to increase embryonic mortality by up to 7.5x. (6)

These toxins damage the hen’s liver, disrupting nutrient deposition into the egg. In males, chronic aflatoxin exposure can cause testicular damage, poor sperm quality, and reduced fertility due to oxidative stress. (7) These effects can unfold silently, long before any visible signs appear in the flock.

Turning the Tide: How Can We Reverse this Trend?

While the challenges facing fertility and hatchability are complex, they aren’t impossible to fix. Success will require producers to return to the fundamentals of management and reproduction while also embracing emerging tools that address hidden threats like mycotoxins.

First, it starts with flock management. Getting the basics right can have an massive impact on fertility. One of the most effective tools is sex-separate feeding, which allows males and females to be fed according to their distinct reproductive needs. (8) Over-conditioned males can struggle with mobility and reduced mating drive, while under-conditioned males may produce poor-quality semen. Similarly, hens outside their ideal body weight range may lay fewer eggs with lower shell strength and yolk nutrient content. Work with a poultry nutritionist who understands the unique needs of each bird, and how to implement a cost-effective, sex-separate feeding program for your operation.

Weight management, while simple on paper, can be one of the most overlooked levers producers have to protect reproductive longevity, especially in broiler breeders, where fertility declines rapidly after 45 weeks of age.

For these flocks, spiking programs, or introducing younger males into your flock between weeks 35-40, have been research proven to be highly effective at restoring flock vigor and maintaining fertility before steep declines set in. (9) Well-timed spiking, guided by historical flock data, helps avoid the costly fertility crashes that often catch producers off guard.

Nutrition is another cornerstone to success. Fertility isn’t just about calories in a feed; it’s also about precision nutrition that supports reproductive health at every level. That includes trace minerals, vitamins and fatty acids that influence everything from sperm quality to yolk formation and embryo development. Cutting corners on nutrition is a gamble that few operations can afford to take, especially under mounting production pressures.

And then there’s mycotoxin management, an area where many producers still struggle. While traditional flow agents may trap some toxins, they also bind essential minerals and nutrients, compounding the problem by creating hidden deficiencies. That’s why natural solutions like Ralco’s IntegraFlo™ can help.

Using unique silicates and ion-exchange properties, IntegraFlo neutralizes harmful substances without locking up minerals. It’s also designed to work alongside medications and includes added vitamins to support birds under stress, giving producers a more targeted approach to managing this silent fertility threat. It’s also not bentonite-based like other binders.

Research shows IntegraFlo outperforms competitors by binding mycotoxins like aflatoxin, zearalenone, ochratoxin A and DON (vomitoxin) across varying pH levels.

Key research findings include:

• 100% binding efficiency for aflatoxin.

• 60-80% efficiency for zearalenone.

• Superior binding for ochratoxin at higher inclusion rates

 

Genetics: A Long-Term Investment for the Industry

While management and nutrition offer immediate solutions, the industry must also invest in the long-term fix: genetics. Leading breeding companies are already working to reintegrate reproductive traits into modern lines, though it’s a slow process that will require years of focused breeding, data collection and refinement.

In the meantime, research is helping to unravel the complex causes behind fertility and hatchability declines, offering hope for more targeted interventions in the future.

Ralco is also playing a role in this broader research effort, conducting trials that explore how essential oil and prebiotic-based technologies can support quail fertility with promising results. That work extends to swine as well where studies are showing improved semen quality in boars fed essential oils. It’s further proof that the right nutritional tools can influence reproductive health across species.

Though poultry and swine may seem worlds apart, these cross-species insights are helping unlock new strategies that could strengthen fertility, efficiency and profitability across the entire livestock industry.

 

Want to speak with a poultry nutritionist? Contact Ralco’s poultry team at 1-800-533-5306 or email us at info@ralcoagriculture.com.

 

IntegraFlo - Helps Maintain Quality Feed

IntegraFlo is a feed additive for use when feed quality concerns arise, helps restore vital nutrients and maintain health.

Learn More

References

1. USDA Broiler Hatchery Report (2025). Retrieved from https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/brls1225.pdf

2. US Poultry Industry Manual - turkey hatching. The Poultry Site. Retrieved from https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/turkey-hatching

3. USDA Chicken and Egg Report (2025). Retrieved from https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/ckeg0325.pdf

4. Considerations for better hatchability. Hendrix Genetics. Retrieved from https://layinghens.hendrix-genetics.com/en/news/considerations-better-hatchability/

5. Storage of Hatching Eggs. The Poultry Site. Retrieved from https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/storage-of-hatching-eggs

6. Understanding the dangers of mycotoxins for breeder hens. EW Nutrition. Retrieved from https://ew-nutrition.com/tr/mycotoxins-effects-breeder-hens

7. Genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of aflatoxin on the reproductive system: Focus on cell cycle dynamics and apoptosis in testicular tissue. ScienceDirect. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0300483X24000544

8. How concerned should we be about broiler breeder fertility declines? The Poultry Site. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125002317

9. Cobb Breeder Management Guide: Spiking Males. The Poultry Site. Retrieved from https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/cobb-breeder-management-guide-spiking-males-during-production