Influence of temperature stimulation during the last 4 days of incubation on secondary sex ratio and later performance in male and female broiler chicks

Abstract

1. In 6 incubation trials a total of 9883 eggs (Ross 308) were incubated from d 1 to 17 under normal incubation conditions (37Á2-37Á4 C) and then sorted into three hatch incubators (control: 37Á2-37Á4 C; chronic warm incubation: 38Á2-38Á4 C, 24 h daily; short-term warm stimulation: 38Á2-38Á4 C, 2 h daily) in incubation trials 1 and 2 or two hatch incubators (control and short-term warm stimulation) in trials 3-6. 2. The one-day-old chicks were selected by sex and chick quality was analysed in random samples using the Pasgarß score. A total of 120 male and 120 female one-day-old chickens from each incubator were used for a 35-d fattening period. 3. Neither chronic nor short-term increase in incubation temperature had a negative effect on hatchability and chick quality. Short-term warm stimulation improved hatchability by more than 1Á5% and was associated with a significantly higher proportion of hatched male chicks. 4. In the subsequent broiler growth trial, the mean daily weight gain of the short-term warm stimulated male broiler chicks was significant higher than for the control group, which results in a body weight increase of 2Á9%. 5. Feed conversion (feed:gain ratio) of the short-term warm stimulated male and female broilers was significantly lower than in the males and females of the control and chronic warm incubated groups. 6. In conclusion, an incubation temperature profile which includes short-term temperature variation can be important in improving poultry performance (European patent pending since March 2008).

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

“…Studies on the effect of excessive heat during incubation showed that embryos are able to adapt to high temperatures (Moraes et al, 2003;Yalçin et al, 2008), which may increase final embryo weight (Willemsen et al, 2008), and hatchability (Tzschentke & Halle, 2009). However, there is a lack of research at commercial scale on the association of heat stress during incubation on incubation and live performance results and on the development of the immune system.…”

Effects of thermal manipulations during embryogenesis of broiler chickens on developmental stability, hatchability and chick quality

“…It has been suggested that high temperature and humidity in various frequencies and intensities increases the liveability during the growing period of broilers, and decreases the decline in performance caused by strain in the early or late incubation periods (Yalçin et al, 2005 andPiestun et al, 2008;Tzschentke and Halle, 2009). Most of the conducted studies are intended to demonstrate the effects of epigenetic adaptation during growing periods.…”

“…This application, which is also defined as an 'epigenetic adaptation', is based on lifelong permanent changes caused by various environmental manipulations on physiological control systems of the organism . The main purpose of the studies in this direction was † E-mail: dnarinc@nku.edu.tr Animal (2016), 10:8, pp 1328-1335 © The Animal Consortium 2016 doi:10.1017/S1751731116000276 animal 1328 to gain resistance to stress caused by high temperatures and humidity to the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during embryonic development (Uni and Yahav, 2010).It has been suggested that high temperature and humidity in various frequencies and intensities increases the liveability during the growing period of broilers, and decreases the decline in performance caused by strain in the early or late incubation periods (Yalçin et al, 2005 andPiestun et al, 2008;Tzschentke and Halle, 2009). Most of the conducted studies are intended to demonstrate the effects of epigenetic adaptation during growing periods.…”

Cyclic variations in incubation conditions induce adaptive responses to later heat exposure in chickens: a review

“…The different strategies used for TM of embryos are summarized in Table 1. Periods of TM from very early embryogenesis (E0 to E8; Yalçin and Siegel, 2003) to the last days of incubation (E21; Janke et al, 2002) have been tested; the fluctuations applied for incubation temperatures ranged from 38.2°C (Tzschentke and Halle, 2009) to 41°C (Yahav et al, 2004b), relative humidity (RH) was increased in some studies and the duration of cyclic increases per day were from 2 (Tzschentke and Halle, 2009) to 24 h/day . The effects of different TM are summarized in Table 2 in terms of hatchability, body temperature at day 3 and at marketing age, and long-lasting thermal resistance.…”