Modification of embryo nutrition in eggs with a long shelf life

Abstract

Goal. To study the effect of using in ovo technology to inject eggs with a long preincubation shelf life, and to develop a method for correcting embryonic development by modifying the embryo feeding process. Methods. The study was conducted under the standards of breeding, maintenance, and feeding of poultry. Eggs that were laid for storage were selected, taking into account the current requirements of State Standard 8118:2015. During the studies, methods of morphological analysis, embryological, biological control, and variational statistics were used. The study was conducted in two batches of hatching eggs of chickens of egg direction of productivity (Birkivska barvysta) with a shelf life of 14 days (batch I) and 21 days (batch II). Eggs of experimental groups during incubation were injected with solutions of glucose (groups 1 and 3) and probiotics (groups 2 and 4). To study the effect of feeding in ovo on the hatching indicators of young birds, two terms of injection were chosen: 418th and 430th hours of incubation. Results. The optimal incubation time for in ovo feeding of embryos in eggs with different shelf lives was determined. In ovo feeding did not affect the time of hatching. Both in the control and experimental groups, the first hatchings appeared at the 468th incubation hour for eggs from batch I, and at the 472nd hour for eggs from batch II. In experimental groups of eggs injected with glucose, a more friendly brood of young birds was observed. Moreover, it began and ended earlier than in the control. The introduction of a probiotic drug into the egg had almost no effect on the intensity of the brood of young birds. The positive effect of glucose introduced into the egg on the hatchability of eggs with a long shelf life was fixed. As for the effect of the time of introducing the glucose solution into the egg, it was found that in ovo feeding at the 418th hour of incubation had a more pronounced positive effect than at the 430th hour. After the incubation was completed, the resulting young birds were weighed, and their category was determined. Most category I chickens were in study groups 1 and 3, that is, injected with glucose (82.8 and 81.8% in batch I; 77.1 and 73.9% in batch II). In the case of egg injection with a probiotic drug, the share of conditioned young stock in the experimental groups of batch I was 1.4% higher, and in batch II was 3% lower than in the control groups. Assessment of the live weight of chickens of control and research groups did not reveal a likely difference in this indicator. A method for correcting the development of embryos in eggs with a long shelf life was developed, which consisted of the introduction of glucose in ovo at the 418th hour of incubation. Conclusions. Correction of embryo development in eggs with a long shelf life due to in ovo glucose injections on the 18th day of incubation allows for an increase in egg hatchability by 8–11%, and improves the yield of conditioned young stock by 3.9–4.7%. The optimal time for in ovo feeding of embryos in eggs with a long shelf life is the 418th hour of incubation. In the eggs of the experimental groups injected with glucose, the brood took 5–8 hours less time than in the control. A positive impact on egg hatchability and yield of conditioned young stock in a batch with a 14-day shelf life, and a negative effect in a batch with a 21-day shelf life for the use of probiotic drugs was determined. The developed method of correction of embryonic development using in ovo feeding of embryos with a long period of pre-incubation storage had a positive effect on the incubation time, yield, and quality of daily young stock.