Global Guide to Best Practices in Air Transport of Hatching Eggs, Day-Old Chicks, Poults and Ducklings

Palletized DOC The air carrier or freight forwarder's personnel must palletize the DOC before loading them onto the aircraft. Boxes should be loaded onto clean and dry pallets and secured with spacers between the stacks to stabilize them and to keep the boxes separated during transport thus allowing air movement in and around the boxes. For cardboard boxes, corner posts can be used to prevent the netting from damaging the boxes. Boxes with corner posts Built in chimneys The spacers guarantee more stability of the pallet during take-off, in-flight turbulence and landings. It also ensures that all boxes have at least one side open to a larger air space to increase airflow to the DOC. All pallet configurations are carefully designed to permit maximum airflow for the DOC during their journey. Some of the spacers can be removed if chimneys are inserted into the pallet configuration. After palletization is complete a cargo net must be placed on every pallet to ensure that chick boxes do not move during shipment. The cargo net should fit snugly over the pallet but not so tightly that boxes begin to bow under the pressure. Please ensure that all obstructions attached to the netting are removed or restricted to safeguard the airflow. Loose-loaded DOC Consignments of loose-loaded DOC must never be loaded directly on the floor of the holding area. The loose-loaded DOC can be loaded onto clean and dry pallets using Styrofoam strips or pallets. On the plane, loose-loaded chick boxes must always have ventilation underneath the lowest chick boxes and along the sidewalls of the aircraft (especially charter flights). Boxes must be stacked according to the booking agreement. Similar to palletized DOC, spacers ensure the boxes are stabilized and kept separate, allowing air movement in and around the boxes. Spacers must remain in place during DOC holding and transport. Chimneys 11