Effects of Warming End of Lay Broiler Breeder Eggs During the Storage Period on Hatchability

Autor: Dowden, Jennifer Michelle
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2009
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Popis: Due to necessary storage of hatching eggs in commercial hatcheries, the embryo is being regressed. End of lay broiler breeder eggs have the poorest hatchability and are most affected by pre incubation storage. Warming these eggs is the only way the embryo can develop. The objective of this study was to study the effects of daily warming of end of lay broiler breeder hatching eggs during the storage period on embryo mortality and hatchability. Six trials were conducted, three trials warmed for three of the four day storage period and three trials warmed for five of the six days storage period. There were six warming treatments for each trial; 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes daily. All eggs were from Hubbard Classic broiler breeders 50-58 weeks of age. Hatch time was recorded for trials 3 and 6. Two hundred and eighty eight randomly selected males were used in trial 5 to study the effects of daily warming on chick growth. They were fed a starter broiler diet and grown for 13 days in a Petersime starter battery. In all hatchability trials percent fertility, percent fertile hatchability, percent total hatchability, percent early dead, percent mid-dead, percent late dead, percent pips, and percent total embryonic mortality was not affected (P>0.05) by any of the daily warming treatments. Hatch time and chick growth were not affected by any of the daily warming treatments. Eggs could be warmed for as much as 150 minutes daily during storage without affecting hatchability which contradicts to management procedures. These results suggest that it is unnecessary for refrigerated trucks to transport eggs from the farm to the hatchery.
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