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      Influence of temperature and humidity manipulation on chicken embryonic development

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          Abstract

          Background

          Temperature and relative humidity (RH) are very important factors affecting embryo development, hatchability, and posthatch performance. This study aimed at characterizing embryonic metabolic and behavioural response to a harsh incubation environment generated by manipulations (elevations and drops) in these two key factors. This study was aimed at establishing patterns of metabolic and behavioural response, as well as mortality and the development of malformations, all of which can potentially be used in monitoring incubating operations and diagnosing problems with faulty equipment.

          Results

          Of all the parameters monitored throughout embryonic development the ones shown to be most affected were: albumen-weight to egg-weight ratio (AR); yolk-weight to egg-weight ratio (YR); embryo-weight to egg-weight ratio (ER); heart rate (HR); voluntary movements per minute (VMM); mortality rates; malformation prevalence and type.

          The most significant changes in the evolution of AR and YR throughout incubation involved delay and reduction in the amplitude of the expected drop in albumen and yolk levels, reflecting lower nutrient consumption by the embryo. ER tended to grow more slowly and remain lower than the established normal, especially in embryos challenged with temperature treatments. HR and VMM were considered to be strong indicators of embryonic stress, as all treatments applied resulted in elevated heart rate and decreased embryo movement.

          Mortality rates for both temperature-related treatments were higher during the first four days of incubation. Changes in relative humidity have produced less radical effects on mortality. Malformation rates were higher for embryos subjected to high incubation temperatures and were most prominently related to the abdominal wall, head, skull and limbs.

          Overall, manipulations in environmental (incubator) temperature during incubation produced more drastic changes in embryo development than humidity-related manipulations, especially where mortality and malformation rates were concerned.

          Conclusions

          This paper describes changes in embryonic metabolism and behaviour, as well as in mortality and malformation rates, in response to manipulations in environmental temperature and relative humidity. Together with further studies, these patterns may prove helpful in the diagnosis of equipment malfunctions relating to temperature or relative humidity.

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          Most cited references21

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          Effect of eggshell temperature during incubation on embryo development, hatchability, and posthatch development.

          An experiment was conducted to study the effects of different eggshell temperature (EST) profiles during incubation on embryo mortality, hatchability, and embryo development. Furthermore, chicks from different EST profiles were reared under low and high housing temperatures to investigate subsequent posthatch growth and rectal temperature. Two batches of eggs were used in this experiment. Hatching eggs were subjected to 36.7 or 37.8 degrees C EST during the first week, to 37.8 degrees C EST during the second week, and to 37.8 or 38.9 degrees C EST during the third week of incubation. Posthatch housing temperature decreased from 35 degrees C at d 1 to 30 degrees C at d 7 (high) or decreased from 30 degrees C at d 1 to 25 degrees C at d 7 (low). The difference between machine temperature and EST (DT) was used to illustrate the effect of EST on heat production during incubation. DT differed per batch, and was smallest when eggs were incubated at 36.7 degrees C instead of 37.8 degrees C during wk 1. High EST during wk 3 of incubation (38.9 degrees C instead of 37.8 degrees C) reduced DT only in batch 2. Embryo development was most retarded in eggs incubated at 36.7 degrees C EST compared with at 37.8 degrees C during the first week of incubation. However, highest hatchability and embryo development were always found when EST was maintained at 37.8 degrees C constantly throughout incubation. Chicks that hatched from eggs incubated at low EST during wk 1 of incubation had lower rectal temperature after hatching, especially under low housing temperatures, and this effect lasted until 7 d posthatch in batch 1. The highest rectal temperatures were always found in chicks incubated at 37.8 degrees C EST constantly throughout incubation. Eggs and chicks from different batches require different environmental conditions for optimal embryo development, hatchability, and posthatch growth. Rearing temperature and incubation conditions affect the ability of young chicks to maintain their rectal temperature during the first week posthatch.
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            Influence of egg shell embryonic incubation temperature and broiler breeder flock age on posthatch growth performance and carcass characteristics.

            A study was conducted to examine the posthatch growth performance of high-yielding broilers when eggs were incubated at 3 different embryo temperatures from 2 flocks of breeders at different ages (different egg size). Two thousand, four hundred eggs from 2 broiler breeder flocks (29 and 57 wk of age) of the same high-yielding strain (Cobb x Cobb) were incubated in the same incubator for 16 d at 37.5 degrees C. Following candling, the eggs from the 2 flocks were transferred into 3 hatcher cabinets at starting temperatures of 36.5 degrees C (low, L), 37.6 degrees C (middle, M), and 38.7 degrees C (high, H) and adjusted to achieve a shell temperature of 37.5 degrees C (L), 38.6 degrees C (M), and 39.7 degrees C (H) using an infrared thermometer. All chicks were taken off at 21 d of incubation, randomized into floor pens, and reared for 44 d. Body weights, feed intake, and feed conversion were determined at 21, 35, and 44 d of age. Body weight of birds from the H treatment was significantly less at 21, 35, and 44 d compared with the M birds. Birds in the L group weighed significantly less at 35 and 44 d compared with the M birds. Progeny from the older breeder flock had significantly greater BW at 1, 21, and 35 d of age, but had only numerically greater BW at 44 d when compared with birds from the younger flock. Feed conversion for the H birds was significantly higher from 0 to 21 d of age compared with the M and L birds. Broilers from the 29-wk-old breeder flock had lower cumulative feed conversion values than the birds from the 57-wk-old flock. No significant differences in mortality were observed. Posthatch performance appears to be affected by hatcher environment as determined by embryo shell temperature.
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              Broiler incubation. 1. Effect of elevated temperature during late incubation on body weight and organs of chicks.

              Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of increased egg temperature during the final third of incubation on BW, yolk sac, heart, and digestive organs of broiler chicks at hatching. Egg temperatures were found to be approximately 1.0 to 1.5 degrees C higher than incubator air temperature. Elevated egg temperature (39.5 degrees C) after embryonic day 14 generally accelerated hatching time but decreased the relative weight of the heart in all 3 experiments, whereas BW and relative weights of the gizzard, proventriculus, and small intestines were significantly smaller in 2 of 3 experiments as compared with the control (approximately 38.2 degrees C). Relative weights of the yolk sac or liver were significantly larger due to elevated egg temperature in single experiments only. A striking feature of the chicks that developed at an elevated egg temperature was their white color as compared with the yellow color of chicks from eggs incubated at more normal temperatures.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                rute.noiva@gmail.com
                acbn.menezes@gmail.com
                mcpelet@fmv.utl.pt
                Journal
                BMC Vet Res
                BMC Vet. Res
                BMC Veterinary Research
                BioMed Central (London )
                1746-6148
                1 October 2014
                1 October 2014
                2014
                : 10
                : 1
                : 234
                Affiliations
                [ ]Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon (CIISA/FMV/ULisboa), Lisbon, Portugal
                [ ]Laboratório de Anatomia Patológica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, Lisboa, 1300-477 Portugal
                Article
                234
                10.1186/s12917-014-0234-3
                4189721
                25267350
                2b43a040-b21c-41ff-b6f5-f3773ed323f6
                © Noiva et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2014

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

                History
                : 17 April 2014
                : 22 September 2014
                Categories
                Research
                Custom metadata
                © The Author(s) 2014

                Veterinary medicine
                chicken,embryonic development,temperature,humidity,incubation
                Veterinary medicine
                chicken, embryonic development, temperature, humidity, incubation

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