The Influence of Flock Age of Broiler Breeder on Egg Water Loss Incubatıon Duratıon and Chick Development
Keywords:
Broiler breeder, breeder age, incubation duration, external pip, egg water lossAbstract
Broiler breeder age influences quality traits of incubating egg, incubation duration and embryo/chick development. Eggs obtained from Ross 308 broiler breeder genotype at 30 weeks of age, 40 weeks of age, 43 weeks of age, 51 weeks of age and 57 weeks of age were incubated. Prior to incubation, the quality traits of eggs were determined and individually weighed in order to calculate relative egg water loss at 18th day of incubation. External pipping and hatching times were determined between 450 and 520 hours of incubation.
The findings have demonstrated that the quality characteristics of pre-incubation hatching eggs exhibit a direct linear relationship with increasing breeding age. Egg water loss of eggs in 40 weeks of age was significantly higher, while it was significantly lower in 43 weeks of age than eggs from the other ages. The longest external pipping and hatching times were obtained at weeks 30 and 51 of age, whereas the shortest external pipping and hatching times were at weeks 40 and 57 of age. The heaviest and the longest chicks were obtained from the oldest breeders. In conclusion, the characteristics of the eggs that are used in the hatching process, and which are related to the age of the breeder, have a significant impact on both the length of the incubation period related to egg water loss and the subsequent development of the chicks.
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