Research Note: Effect of egg storage length on spread of hatch window, chick quality, and organ development in Transylvanian naked neck chickens

Influence of egg storage length and orientation on hatching traits and spread of hatch in Transylvanian naked neck chickens

“…Chick weight and yield were not affected by egg storage length in the present trial. Abioja, Akinjute, et al (2020) had given a similar report on chick weight and yield in FUNAAB‐alpha chicken eggs. Other authors also reported no difference in chick weight from eggs stored between 1 and 7 days (Tona et al, 2004), 4 and 16 days (Goliomytis et al, 2015), 0 and 10 days (Senbeta, 2016), 1 and 14 days (Addo et al, 2018) and yield (Goliomytis et al, 2015).…”

“…Eggs of TN chickens are noted to be sensitive to the extension of storage period. A recent report by Abioja et al (2022) stated that storage for 3, 6 and 9 days had already caused a reduction of 18.2%, 40.4% and 42.5% respectively in hatchability. Other reports had shown similar trend with consistent decline in hatchability without any peak as days of post‐ovipositional storage extend (Khan et al, 2013, 2014).…”

“…Eggs stored for 5 days commenced hatching earlier than those stored for 1 day. Abioja, Akinjute, et al (2020) gave a report on FUNAAB‐alpha chicken eggs stored for 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 days. The authors found out that eggs stored for 4 days started hatching earlier than others.…”

“…Previous studies had shown that quality traits in eggs and hatching characteristics, such as hatchability, chick weight and length deteriorate as eggs age in storage (Addo et al, 2018; Khan et al, 2014; Tona et al, 2003, 2004). A great decline in albumen height, haugh unit and hatchability was reported by Day 12 of storage in naked neck chicken eggs compared to shorter storage lengths (Abioja, Akinjute, et al, 2020; Addo et al, 2018). One of the earlier indicators of changes occurring during storage is weight loss in eggs (Addo et al, 2018; Khan et al, 2014).…”

“…The best combination of egg storage duration and orientation have not been reported for TN chickens. Abioja et al (2022) had examined the effect of storage length at 3-day intervals (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 days of storage) and discovered that hatchability and other hatching traits kept decreasing at every interval. The authors reported that to ensure good hatchability and quality chicks, TN chicken eggs could be stored for 3 days, but not beyond 6 days without interventions.…”