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Present study evaluated the effect of lighted incubation on pre- and post-hatch performance of Japanese quail. In a completely randomized design, 1200 eggs were evenly divided into 4 treatments groups having six replicates (each tray was considered as replicate), 50 eggs each. Different dichromatic lights (Green + Red; GR, Green + Blue; GB, and Blue + Red; BR) of 250 lux were provided during incubation for 12 h daily and effects of these lights very evaluated on hatching results and post-hatch growth. After hatch, 600 quail chicks were divided into 4 treatments, 6 replicates, and 25 birds each. Regarding hatching traits, better hatchability was found in the GR group compared to GB, BR, and dark group; while early embryonic mortality was lower in BR, GB, and dark group than GR; mid embryonic mortality was lower in dark group and late embryonic mortality was noted in the GR group than those of other treatment groups. In addition, moisture loss during incubation was minimum in BR and dark groups; however, chick spread was better in the GR group. In terms of growth performance, weight gain was better in the GR group; feed intake in dark, feed conversion ratio in BR, and livability were better in BR and GR group. In morphometrics, keel and shank length were higher in all the colored groups (GB, BR, and GR) whereas body length, wing spread, shank circumference, drumstick length, and circumference were higher in the GR group. Regarding serum chemistry, glucose, albumin, and globulin levels were higher in the GR group. It was concluded that under the experimental conditions, GR light at the prenatal stage to Japanese quail eggs positively influenced hatching performance and post-hatch growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented study explored the promising alternatives of in ovo injection with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP) and galactooligosaccharide (GOS) in the poultry industry. The study aimed to assess the effects of probiotic and prebiotic on various aspects of poultry production. The study involved 300 Ross broiler eggs, individually candled on Day 7 of embryonic development. The eggs were sorted into four groups: negative control (no injection), positive control (0.9% physiological saline injection), GOS 3.5 mg/egg and LP 1 × 10 6 CFU/egg. The groups used during the incubation period were the same for the animal trial; each pen/group had 25 chickens. At the end of the experiment, 8 chickens from each group were slaughtered for tissue sample collection and 12 chickens were slaughtered to determine slaughter yield, carcass and meat quality. All data were analysed by one-way ANOVA or repeated measured ANOVA except for the parameters that did not meet the assumption of normality, the Kruskal-Wallis test (Dunn's test) was used. Key findings revealed that hatchability remained unaffected across groups, indicating the safety of the in ovo injections. Both LP and GOS enhanced chick quality, as evidenced by improved body weight, Pasgar score and chick length. The in ovo administration of LP increased the body weight of the chickens during the first-week post-hatch (7 days of age) without impacting feed intake and feed conversion ratio in the later stages. The study demonstrated no adverse effects on meat quality due to the in ovo injection of LP and GOS. Additionally, a positive impact on caecal histomorphology was observed and early gut colonization of beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacteria spp.) indicated potential benefits for intestinal health in broilers. In conclusion, the in ovo inoculation of 1 × 10 6 LP and 3.5 mg of GOS per egg increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. and showcased promising enhancements in chick quality without compromising growth performance, meat quality and caecal histomorphology. These findings suggest a positive outlook for these substances as a viable alternative for improving poultry health and productivity., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background The hatch window that varies from 24 to 48 h is known to influence post-hatch performance of chicks. A narrow hatch window is needed for commercial poultry industry to acquire a high level of uniformity of chick quality. Hatching synchronization observed in avian species presents possibilities in altering hatch window in artificial incubation. Methods Layer eggs which were laid on the same day by a single breeder flock and stored for no more than two days started incubation 12 h apart to obtain developmental distinction. The eggs of different initial incubation time were mixed as rows adjacent to rows on day 12 of incubation. During the hatching period (since day 18), hatching time of individual eggs and hatch window were obtained by video recordings. Embryonic development (day 18 and 20) and post-hatch performance up to day 7 were measured. Results The manipulation of mixing eggs of different initial incubation time shortened the hatch window of late incubated eggs in the manipulated group by delaying the onset of hatching process, and improved the hatchability. Compared to the control groups, chick embryos or chicks in the egg redistribution group showed no significant difference in embryonic development and post-hatch performance up to day 7. Discussion We have demonstrated that eggs that were incubated with advanced eggs performed a narrow spread of hatch with higher hatchability, normal embryonic development as well as unaffected chick quality. This specific manipulation is applicable in industrial poultry production to shorten hatch window and improve the uniformity of chick quality.

The effect of in ovo feeding (IOF) in ameliorating the adverse effects of feed deprivation (FD) was studied in egg type chickens (White leghorn). The experimental design was a 3 x 3 factorial design with three treatments (in ovo, sham and un-injected control) and three types of feeding (immediate fed or fasted for 24 h and 36 h) as factors. Response criteria were embryonic weight, digestive organ development, growth performance, intestinal and villi morphology. Embryonic weight at 20 d (% of pre incubated egg) in IOF group was significantly higher compared to un-injected control group. IOF chicks had higher body weight (BW), proventriculus weight, duodenal villi length (VL) and villi width (VW) at 24 and 36 h post hatch (PH) than the sham control and un-injected control chicks. Immediately fed and 24 h FD chicks had significantly higher BW than 36 h FD chicks, while organ weight was higher in immediately fed chicks compared to FD chicks. The IOF and 24 h FD chicks had higher digestive organ weight, BW and VL than the un-injected and immediately fed chicks. IOF and 36 h FD chicks had comparable performances with un-injected control and immediately fed chicks. It is concluded that in ovo supplemented chicks can withstand early post-hatch feed deprivation and had improved PH performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of a periodically low eggshell temperature exposure during incubation and dietary supplementation of arginine on performance, ascites incidence, and cold tolerance acquisition in broilers. A total of 2,400 hatching eggs were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups (16 replicates of 75 eggs per treatment). The eggs were incubated at a constant eggshell temperature (EST) of 37.8oC throughout the incubation period (CON) or were periodically exposed to 15°C for one hour on days 11, 13, 15, and 17 of incubation and the EST was measured (periodical low EST; PLE). After hatching, 240 one-day-old male broiler chicks from both treatment groups were reared for 42 d with or without dietary arginine supplementation in a completely randomized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. In order to induce ascites, all chicks were exposed to a 15°C room temperature from 14 d onwards. Results showed that second grade chicks and yolk sac weight were decreased, and final body weight was increased in the PLE group. Ascites mortality rate was decreased only in the PLE group and dietary arginine supplementation had no apparent effect. In the PLE group, the packed cell volume (PCV) percentage and red blood cell (RBC) count were decreased. In conclusion, the results showed that the PLE treatment during incubation was associated with improved hatchability, chick quality, and productive performance of broilers and decreased ascites incidence during post hatch cold exposure. Dietary arginine supplementation had no beneficial effects in cold exposed broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early life experiences can be important in determining offspring phenotypes and may influence interaction with the environment and hence health, welfare, and productivity. The prenatal environment of poultry can be divided into the pre-lay environment and the egg storage/incubation environment, both of which can affect offspring outcomes. The ability to separate maternal and egg/incubation effects makes birds well suited to this type of research. There are many factors, including feeding and nutrition, environmental conditions, husbandry practices, housing system, social environment, infectious environment, and maternal health status, that can influence both the health and performance and behavior and cognition of the offspring. There are some aspects of the environments that can be changed to produce beneficial effects in the offspring, like addition of certain additives to feed or short changes in incubation temperatures, while other aspects should be avoided to reduce negative effects, such as unpredictable feeding and lighting regimens. Measures of offspring characteristics may prove to be a useful method of assessing parent stock welfare if known stressors result in predictable offspring outcomes. This has the advantage of assessing the parent environment without interfering with the animals and possibly affecting their responses and could lead to improved welfare for the animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to study (1) the correlation between egg weight, embryo sex and day-old chick weight with hatch time; and (2) the effect of hatch time on chick quality, body weight and pododermatitis during rearing. Eggs from ROSS 308 breeder flocks were incubated in two 9600 egg-capacity incubators in three experiments. In each experiment, forty eggs (focal eggs) were randomly selected, individually weighed and incubated. The exact hatch time of the focal chicks was determined using video recordings. At take-off, each focal chick was weighed, sexed and marked with a non-toxic colour spray and reared in pens with other chicks. The number of chicks per pen was adjusted to have a final stocking density of 39 kg/m² at slaughter age (Day30). During the rearing period, the focal birds were individually weighed once a week, and scored for pododermatitis at Day14, Day21 and Day28. The sex of embryos had no significant correlation with hatch time, egg weight or chick weight during the first two weeks post hatch, but males were heavier than females from Day14 post-hatch onward. Lighter eggs resulted in lighter chicks at take-off, these eggs hatched predominantly in the middle of the hatch window (500 h to 507 h). Late-hatched chicks (after 507 h) were of poorer quality score than the others (hatched chicks before 507 h). Late-hatched chicks grew less than the early-hatched chicks during the first eight days of rearing, which could be explained by a poor utilisation of the yolk sac followed by an increase in satiety and less feed intake for late-hatched chicks. After 9 days of rearing, the hatch time had no significant effect on body weight or pododermatitis score. Further studies are needed to confirm the mechanism of yolk utilisation and growth during the first days post-hatch and its potential link with hatch time and feed intake delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of dosage and application mode of l-carnitine on plasma lipid and egg-yolk cholesterol of breeder turkeys, hatchability of eggs and post-hatch growth response was investigated using 180 breeder hens. The hens were assigned to six dietary treatments in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangements of two application modes of l-carnitine (diet and drinking water) supplemented at 0, 50 and 100 ppm (mg/kg or mg/l) levels, respectively. Each treatment was replicated five times with six hens per replicate. Dietary inclusion of 50 ppm l-carnitine showed the lowest (p < 0.01) plasma total cholesterol ( TC) and low-density lipoprotein concentration ( LDL). Breeder hens offered 50 ppm l-carnitine with no regard to application mode recorded the highest (p < 0.01) plasma high-density lipoprotein ( HDL). Hens offered 50 and 100 ppm l-carnitine irrespective of application mode also showed reduced (p < 0.01) egg-yolk TC concentration at 32 weeks of age. Dietary supplementation of 50 ppm l-carnitine for breeder turkeys recorded the lowest (p < 0.01) egg-yolk triglyceride ( TG) at 40 weeks of age. Hens offered 50 ppm l-carnitine irrespective of application mode recorded the highest (p < 0.05) hen-day egg production. Incidence of dead-in-shell also reduced (p < 0.05) with increasing dosage of l-carnitine. Dietary supplementation of 50 ppm and oral application in drinking water of 100 ppm l-carnitine for breeder turkeys resulted in highest (p < 0.05) egg fertility. Offsprings from breeder hens fed diets supplemented with l-carnitine recorded no post-hatch mortality. Highest (p < 0.05) post-hatch final live weight and weight gain was obtained with poults obtained from hens fed diet supplemented with 50 ppm l-carnitine. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 50 ppm l-carnitine for turkey hens showed improved serum lipid profile, egg fertility, reduced dead-in-shell, egg-yolk cholesterol and resulted in improved post-hatch growth performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the effects of in ovo administration of vitamins A, B and E at later stage of incubation on the post-hatch performance of broiler chickens. It stresses the importance of proper nutrient supply to the developing embryo. Six hundred fertile eggs were studied. The test materials, methods and results are discussed in detail. It was found that in ovo feeding of vitamin B1 and B2 can enhance growth while vitamins A, B1, B6, and E promote immunity of broiler chickens.

Abstract: The effects of exposing meat-type breeder eggs to magnetic field (MF) before incubation on hatchability traits (percents of hatchability and hatchability failures of eggs), chick weight at hatch, and post-hatch performance (weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR)) from 1 to 39d of age were investigated. Eggs from a Ross flock at 38weeks of age were exposed to MF of 18Gauss (1.8mT) at 50Hz for 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75min (MF0, MF15, MF30, MF45, MF60, and MF75) before incubation. Exposing eggs to MF did not influence hatchability of eggs and chick weight at hatch. However, chickens of MF60 and MF75 treatments had lower weight gain and feed intake than those of the non-exposed treatment at 39d of age. MF exposure of eggs did not influence FCR of chickens between 1 and 21d of age, but tended to increase FCR, albeit non-significantly, between 22 and 39d of age. It is concluded that exposing meat-type breeder eggs to MF of 18Gauss (1.8mT) at 50Hz for up to 75min did not influence hatchability traits and chick weight at hatch. However, MF exposure of eggs for 60 and 75min reduced body weight gain and feed intake of chickens over the 39-d experimental period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The hatch window that varies from 24 to 48 h is known to influence post-hatch performance of chicks. A narrow hatch window is needed for commercial poultry industry to acquire a high level of uniformity of chick quality. Hatching synchronization observed in avian species presents possibilities in altering hatch window in artificial incubation., Methods: Layer eggs which were laid on the same day by a single breeder flock and stored for no more than two days started incubation 12 h apart to obtain developmental distinction. The eggs of different initial incubation time were mixed as rows adjacent to rows on day 12 of incubation. During the hatching period (since day 18), hatching time of individual eggs and hatch window were obtained by video recordings. Embryonic development (day 18 and 20) and post-hatch performance up to day 7 were measured., Results: The manipulation of mixing eggs of different initial incubation time shortened the hatch window of late incubated eggs in the manipulated group by delaying the onset of hatching process, and improved the hatchability. Compared to the control groups, chick embryos or chicks in the egg redistribution group showed no significant difference in embryonic development and post-hatch performance up to day 7., Discussion: We have demonstrated that eggs that were incubated with advanced eggs performed a narrow spread of hatch with higher hatchability, normal embryonic development as well as unaffected chick quality. This specific manipulation is applicable in industrial poultry production to shorten hatch window and improve the uniformity of chick quality., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

An abstract of the article " Managing incubation: Where are we and why?," by R. M. Hulet is presented.