As a manual operation, one or more operators may be used, work- 

 ing independently of each other. A standard output is 1,800 eggs per 

 man-hour. 



Egg traying with a vacuum lift machine requires one or two oper- 

 ators. With one operator, a standard output is 3,750 eggs per man-hour. 

 As a two man operation, one operates the machine while the second 

 performs the other duties. A standard output is 4,700 eggs per man-hour. 



Placing Eggs in Incubators 



Racks containing trays of eggs are wheeled into the incubator room, 

 and the trays are transferred to racks in incubators. Output and crew 

 size vary with the type of incubator. With the type of incubator selected 

 for this study, one man performs the operation, and a standard output is 

 30,000 eggs per man-hour. 



Transferring Eggs 



On the 19th day of incubation, the trays of eggs are transferred from 

 the incubating area, to the hatching area. Guards are placed on each end 

 of the tray. Eggs that have been in incubation less than 19 days are 

 moved down in the incubator racks. Labor productivity and crew size 

 for this operation again vary with the type of incubating and hatching 

 equipment. With the type of equipment selected for this study, one man 

 is required and the standard output is 14,800 eggs per man-hour. 



Removing the Hatch 



On the 21st day of the hatching process, the trays containing chicks 

 and unhatched eggs are removed from the hatching area. The trays are 

 taken to work benches by cart where the chicks are removed, graded, 

 and counted into chick boxes-. Lids are secured on the filled boxes, and 

 the boxes are tied together in pairs. The boxes are placed on carts and 

 wheeled to the shipping area. Workers remove the labels from the trays 

 as they are emptied and record information concerning hatchal)ility. The 

 trays are placed on carts and taken to the tray wash area. Generally 

 two or more woi-kers are used to perform this operation, and the stand- 

 ard output is 3,000 broiler chicks per man-hour. 



Loading Chicks for Shipment 



Boxes of chicks are loaded into trucks and stacked in columns. As 

 each column is filled, the boxes are secured to prevent shifting. One 

 or two men are used, and a standard output is 300 boxes or 30,000 chicks 

 per man-hour. 



Washing Trays 



Trays are cleaned by one of two methods. One method consists of 

 dumping the contents of a tray into refuse cans, washing the tray in a 



- The standard chick box has a capacity of 100 chicks. 



49 



