Source: LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
PRESTORAGE INCUBATION EFFECTS ON THE HATCHABILITY OF BROILER BREEDER EGGS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0224747
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jan 1, 2011
Project End Date
Dec 31, 2013
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
202 HIMES HALL
BATON ROUGE,LA 70803-0100
Performing Department
School of Animal Science
Non Technical Summary
Hatchability of broiler breeder eggs declines as birds get older. Due to the development of high yield broilers, the decline in hatchability has increased. This project evaluates egg warming procedures prior to storage as a possible solution to the decline in hatchability.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
3013220102010%
3013220105060%
3053220102010%
3053220105020%
Knowledge Area
305 - Animal Physiological Processes; 301 - Reproductive Performance of Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
3220 - Meat-type chicken, live animal;

Field Of Science
1020 - Physiology; 1050 - Developmental biology;
Goals / Objectives
The objectives of this project are to determine if prestorage incubation of broiler breeder eggs for short periods of time can improve embryo livability of eggs from post peak broiler breeders. A second objective is to determine if there is a broiler breeder strain effect in the response to prestorage incubation. The third objective is to test the results of objectives 1 and 2 in a commercial setting.
Project Methods
An initial experiment will be conducted using hens approximately 40, 50, and 60 weeks of age. Eggs will be collected from at least 2 flocks at each age. Five hundred and seventy freshly laid eggs (less than 1 hour post ovipostion) for each age will be collected and transported to the LSU poultry research farm. Eggs will be randomized within each age group, assigned to their treatment, and placed in an egg cooler set at 15.5˚C for 24 hours. Ten fertile eggs from each age group will be examined to establish the stage of development of the embryo prior to the initiation of the experiment. When the experiment begins, one half of the eggs will be warmed at 37.5˚C for 9 hours. They will then re-join the non-heated eggs in the cooler where all the eggs will be stored for 3 additional days. At the end of the storage period each of the 6 treatment groups will be randomly assigned to each of 9 levels in the setter. Each treatment replication group will consist of 30 eggs which will be the experimental unit. Level in the incubator will be considered a block. The treatments will be arranged in a 2 (heat groups) X 3 (ages) factorial. At the end of 7 days of incubation, the eggs will be candled and infertile and early dead embryos will be removed. Early embryo mortality will be divided into pre and post blood islet formation. Level of the eggs in the setter will be maintained in the hatcher. The dependent variables will be: fertile hatchability; early (pre and post blood islet formation), mid, late (pre and post internal pipping) and total mortality; and pips. Data will be analyzed by GLM, and all percentages will be converted by arcsine of the square root of the dependent variable. When significant treatment effects are found, means will be separated by the Duncan-Kramer test. Data will be tested for significant treatment X trial interactions before combining the data. A prediction equation will be calculated to estimate the effect of age and the response to prestorage warming. A second experiment will be conducted to determine if other breeder strains will respond positively to these procedures. Eggs from end-of-lay hens (approximately 60 weeks of age) will be used. Five hundred and forty freshly laid eggs will be collected for each strain and transported to LSU. All egg handling, storage and heating procedures will be the same as in the initial experiment. The experimental design will also be a 2 (heat treatment) X 3 (strains) factorial in a randomized block design. All incubation, data collection, and data analysis procedures as well as the dependent variables will be the same. If the strains show a significant response at 60 weeks, an additional experiment like the first experiment will be conducted to determine the response at younger ages. If additional strains are available, they will also be evaluated. In order to address the third objective once these data are collected and positive effects are shown, these data will be summarized and tested in a commercial setting prior to recommending adoption by the poultry industry.

Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience is the commercial broiler industry and research faculty at other poultry institutions. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The data have been presented at poultry scientific meetings, as well as discussed with industry personnel and other university faculty. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The results have been dissiminated in abstracts presented at scientific meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period, additional pre-storage warming treatments of broiler breeder eggs will be conducted to determine if the pre-storage warming has any affect on the growout of the chicks that hatch from these eggs.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The results of the experiments with Ross 708 broiler breeders indicate that pre-storage warming may be a means of improving hatchability. Warming fertile eggs for 12 hoursand 9 hours at 37.5C, prior to storage, improved hatchability of eggs from20-30 and 50-60 week old broiler breeder hens, respectively. Up to 10 hours of pre-storage warming at 37.5C did not affect hatchability of eggs laid by 40 and 50 week old broiler breeder hens. No improvement in hatchability was obtained for fertile eggs laid by the Hubbard strain.

Publications


    Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

    Outputs
    OUTPUTS: This project focused on egg warming procedures as they relate to hatchability. The data has been presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Poultry Science Society in Atlanta, GA in January 2012. Other results were presented at the annual meeting of the Poultry Science Association in Athens, Ga, in July 2012. PARTICIPANTS: D.R. Ingram (PI), LSU AgCenter. TARGET AUDIENCES: Commercial broiler companies, Ccommercial primary poultry breeders, incubation companies PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

    Impacts
    The results of the experiment with Ross 708 broiler breeders showed that pre-storage warming could be successful in improving hatchability. Warming eggs for 12 hours while warming for 9 hours at 37.5C improved hatchability in 20-30 week old broiler breeder hens and 50-60 week old broiler breeder hens, respectively. Up to 10 hours of warming at 37.5C did not affect eggs laid by 40 and 50 week old broiler breeder hens. No improvement was found using the Hubbard Classic strain.

    Publications

    • Horil, R.E. and D.R. Ingram, 2012. The effect of pre-storage warming on pre-peak broiler breeder eggs. J Poult Sci 91(Supplement 1);97
    • Horil, R.E. and D.R. Ingram, 2012. The effect of pre-storage warming on the hatchability of eggs laid by 40 and 50 week old broiler breeder hens. J Poult Sci 91(Supplement 1);248-249


    Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

    Outputs
    OUTPUTS: The results of the trials were presented to poultry scientists. PARTICIPANTS: Ingram, D. (PI), LSU AgCenter. TARGET AUDIENCES: Commercial hatchery managers, broiler producers, primary breeder companies, and show bird hobbyists. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

    Impacts
    Five trials using a total of 9,000 eggs were conducted to compare the effects of pre-storage warming of two strains of end-of-lay (59-64 weeks of age) broiler breeders. Ross 708 and Cobb 700 were selected since they are the most commonly used strains in Louisiana. Eggs were warmed for 0, 5, or 10 hours and then stored for three days. No beneficial effect was found when Cobb 700 eggs were used. However warming Ross 708 eggs for 10 hours prior to storage significantly increased fertile hatchability by 4%. Pre-storage warming also significantly reduced percent pips in eggs from the Ross 708 strain. There was no effect on early, mid, or late mortality when considering either strain. These data indicate that different broiler breeder strains, at least during the end-of-lay period, react differently to pre- storage warming. The significant increase in hatchability found with the end-of-lay Ross 708 eggs could result in huge added revenue for commercial hatcheries, if these procedures were adopted.

    Publications

    • No publications reported this period