Studies on Hatchability of Fertile Eggs from Hens Receiving a Linoleic Acid Deficient Diet

MILLER et al. (1963), Menge et al. (1963, 1965a, b), and Edwards (1963), all reported a reduction in hatchability of fertile eggs from hens receiving linoleic acid deficient diets as compared with fertile eggs from hens receiving from .5 to 3.0% linoleic acid. These findings showed that hatchability of fertile eggs may be reduced to zero when hens receive a diet containing less than 0.02% linoleic acid throughout the growing and laying period (Menge et al., 1963, 1965a,b). Also, early embryonic mortality, 0–7 days, was increased in eggs from deficient hens (Menge et al., 1965a), and there was an increase in hatchability when linoleic acid deficient eggs were incubated for 24 to 26 hours after the normal 21-day incubation period (Miller et al., 1963). Except for these observations, no other characteristics of reduced hatchability from a linoleic acid deficiency in the hen have been reported. This study was designed …