Effect of storage period and egg weight on hatchability in Prelux-G chickens

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to determine the influence of storage period and egg weight on hatchability of Slovenian provenance Prelux-G eggs. The layer breeders were reared in partially slatted floor pens. At the beginning of the experiment they were 31 weeks old and at the end 35 weeks. Hatching eggs were collected daily and kept in one farm storage compartment at the temperature 15 °C. Eggs were classed by storage period (0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 days) and egg weight size categories (XL-extra large, L-large, M-medium and S-small). The highest hatchability (88.97 %) was obtained at six days storage time. In comparison with this result, the hatchability of fresh eggs (74.63 %), 12 days storage time (74.99 %) and 14 days storage time (62.87 %) was significantly (P 0.05) lower in small sized eggs (78.97 %) and significantly (P < 0.01) lower in large sized eggs (76.72 %) than in medium sized eggs (82.44 %). The highest percentage of dead embryos was recorded at 14 days storage time (26.90 %) and in large sized eggs (19.72 %). The average body weight of the chicks produced from the eggs of older hens was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than those from younger hens.

Keywords

• chickens
• provenance
• Prelux-G
• hatching eggs
• hatchability
• storage