Effects of Eggshell Temperature and Oxygen Concentration on Embryo Growth and Metabolism During Incubation

Abstract

Embryo development and heat production (HP) were studied in eggs of similar size (60 to 65 g) that were incubated at normal (37.8 degrees C) or high (38.9 degrees C) eggshell temperature (EST) and exposed to low (17%), normal (21%), or high (25%) O(2) concentration from d 9 through 19. High EST initially increased HP, but gradually O(2) became more important for HP than EST. Finally,HP was highest for the combination of high EST with high O(2) and lowest for the combination of high EST with low O(2). High EST decreased hatch time, BW, yolk free BW, and relative heart weight. The EST had no effect on residual yolk weight, chick length, or relative liver weight. Increased O(2) increased yolk free BW and chick length and decreased residual yolk weight at hatch. No interactions between EST and O(2) were observed with regard to embryo development and hatchling characteristics. If embryo development is reflected by HP, it can be concluded that high EST primarily increased embryonic development until the second week of incubation. During the third week of incubation, O(2) had a greater effect in determining embryo development than EST.

The Effects of Different Eggshell Temperatures Between Embryonic Day 10 and 18 on Broiler Performance and Susceptibility to Ascites

“…In contrast to our findings, Yalcin et al (2010) reported that chick weights are not influenced by incubation temperature. The results of the present study generally agree with various studies reporting that incubation temperatures influence broiler performance (Shafey, 2004;Lourens et al, 2005Lourens et al, , 2007Meijerhof, 2009a). Hulet et al (2007) demonstrated that different eggshell temperatures significantly affected the feed conversion ratio of 44-d-old broilers, with values of 1.91, 1.86, and 1.87 for eggs incubated at 37.5, 38.6 and 39.7 o C, respectively.…”

“…Many difficulties in broiler production, such as ascites, are related with cardiovascular development and function problems (Leksrisompong et al, 2007). Differences in embryo temperatures result in differences in the development of specific organs, such as the heart muscle both in embryos and chickens (Wineland et al, 2000a(Wineland et al, , 2000bShafey, 2004;Leksrisompong et al, 2007;Lourens et al, 2007). The reduced heart weights at hatch due to higher EST may increase the susceptibility to and the incidence of metabolic disorders related with cardiovascular development later in life, such as ascites (Wineland et al, 2000a, Leksrisompong et al, 2007.…”

“…French (2000) reported that even small temperature differences of 0.5 or 1 o C (from 37.5 to 38.0 or 38.5 o C) during the period of three to 25 days of incubation can significantly affect the embryonic development of turkeys. Several studies have shown that incubation temperature influences embryo development and post-hatch performance (Lourens et al, 2005(Lourens et al, , 2007Meijerhof, 2009b;Molenaar et al, 2011). In studies that compared normal eggshell temperatures (approximately 37.8°C) to high shell temperatures (38.9 to 39.5°C), chick hatching weight was lower when eggs were incubated at high eggshell temperature at the end of incubation (Lourens et al, 2005;Joseph et al, 2006; (Hulet et al, 2007;Meijerhof, 2009b).…”

Effect of Embryo Thermal Stimulation on the Serum Levels of Immunoglobulins and Corticosterone, and Organ Histopathology of 1 day-old Broilers

“…According to Lourens et al (2007), embryo heat exchange directly influences its metabolism. Different heat production by embryos incubated at the same temperature indicate differences in embryo temperature due to differences in metabolism, which makes it difficult to estimate heat exchange.…”

Quality assessment chicks from different hatcher temperatures with different scoring methods and prediction of broiler growth performance

“…As a result of this, growth rate is deteriorated, utilization of albumin proteins is repressed and embryo goes under stress. At hatching, higher late-term embryonic mortalities, lower hatchability, worse quality of chicks and post-hatch early period chick mortalities could occur (Deeming 2000;Lourens et al 2005Lourens et al , 2007.…”