Hatching distribution and embryo mortality of eggs laid by broiler breeders of different ages

Abstract

This study investigated the hatching distribution of eggs from broiler breeders of different ages in distinct periods of incubation. Eggs were incubated in a single-stage experimental incubator. A number of 3.510 eggs were distributed into 3 treatments with 13 replicates of 90 eggs each. Treatments corresponded to breeder age: young (34 weeks), intermediate-age (44 weeks) and old (72 weeks) breeders. Eggs were transferred to the hatcher at 432 incubation hours, hatching was first checked at 449 hours, after which the number of hatched chicks was counted every 6 hours up to 515 incubation hours. After each count, hatched chicks were removed from the hatcher. Data were submitted to analysis of variance using measures repeated. A significant interaction between breeder age and incubation time was found. The total period required to hatch all incubated fertile eggs was not influenced by breeder age, which, however, affected hatching distribution. Eggs from old breeders hatched later as compared to young and intermediate-age breeders. More than 71% of the eggs had already hatched at 485 incubation hours, and 94% at 491 hours. Eggs laid by old breeders presented higher infertility and total embryo mortality, resulting in lower hatching percentage

Inheritance of hatchability in broiler chickens and its relationship to egg quality traits

“…Almeida et al (2008) observed that older hens laid more infertile eggs and had higher embryonic mortality, which could be the reason for increased dam PE variance. The heterogeneity of total variance across ages and observed changes of variance components with age indicate that the use of random regression methodology is essential for the analysis of repeated measures of hatchability as the flock ages.…”

Caracterización de mortalidad embrionaria en pollos de engorde

“…This study allowed to describe the EM according to the ages of the breeder flocks, determining aspect in the evaluation of the EM and that has been widely discussed in multiple experimental studies (5,12,16). The EM was higher in eggs from the 64 weeks old breeders, followed by the 40, 28 and 47 weeks.…”

“…Este estudio permitió describir la ME de acuerdo con la edad de las reproductoras, aspecto que es determinante en la evaluación de la ME y ha sido ampliamente discutido en múltiples estudios experimentales (5,12,16). La ME fue más alta en los huevos de las reproductoras de 64 semanas, seguida de las de 40, 28 y 47 semanas.…”

Effect of Hatching Time on Yolk Sac Percentage and Broiler Live Performance

“…Therefore, posthatch BW loss may not be exclusively the result of dehydration. Dehydration as a result of extended post-hatch holding has been associated with poor post-hatch performance (Joseph & Moran 2005;Almeida et al, 2008). It has been reported that chick BW at pull time was significantly influenced by time of emergence from the shell as chicks that hatched early lost BW while waiting to be pulled and subsequently weighed less than later hatching chicks at pull time (Reis et al, 1997;Sklan et al, 2000;Joseph & Moran, 2005;El Sabry et al, 2013).…”