Effect of pre-incubation heating on hatchability

Storing fertilized eggs is a common practice that allows the broiler industry to synchronize the hatchability of eggs from different flocks. However, storage time is inversely related to hatchability and chick survival.

Jordan Smith, a student at the University of Southern Arkansas, designed an experiment to evaluate the effect of heating before incubation and including eggs stored for 10 days. The study was presented at the International Poultry Science Forum 2023.

A total of 400 fertilized eggs were collected from the parent stock at 37 weeks of age. All eggs were divided into four treatments: PC eggs were stored for 4 days; NC eggs are stored for 10 days; T1 eggs are stored for 10 days and are turned over every 8 hours; T2 eggs were stored for 10 days, turned every 8 hours, and pre-hatched at 85°F for 5 hours on day 5 of storage.

Chicks were reared for 21 days and body weight, feed loss and feed conversion were measured at 7, 14 and 21 days. Statistical analysis was performed using the general linear model of the statistical software SPSS, version 21.

The highest hatchability was observed in the control group (97% hatchability), followed by T2 (70%); the negative control had a hatchability of 61%.

Statistical trends were observed where T2 birds tended to have higher body weight gain compared to NC birds, which had the lowest weight gain. In addition, there was a trend towards a better feed conversion rate in T2 birds, while the highest feed conversion rate was observed in the NC group (P = 0.09).

Smith noted that pre-incubation warming can have a significant impact on the hatchability and post-hatch performance of broiler chickens and can be used as a method to improve performance.