Abstract
ABSTRACT The effects of three egg-turning regimes during the pre-incubation storage period on egg weight loss, hatchability, embryonic mortality, chick weight at hatching and incubation length of red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) compared with unturned eggs were investigated. Two hundred eggs were allocated to four 50-egg batches stored at 15oC and 80% RH that being turned one, four and 24 times a day or remaining unturned, respectively. Eggs were incubated at 37.8oC and 55% RH during the first 21 days and at 37.5oC and 75% RH until hatching. Fertility was 70.5% and a good hatchability performance was obtained, characterised by 81.6% hatchability of fertile eggs, and weight losses of 0.78% during storage and of 10.04% during the first 21 days of incubation, 13.6 ±0.1 g hatchling weight, and incubation length of 23.45 ± 0.07 days (mean ± SEM). Hatchability, embryonic mortality developmental stage, egg weight loss during storage and incubation, hatchling weight and length of the incubation period were not affected by the turning frequency or the absence of turning during storage. Higher hatching synchrony was observed for eggs turned four times a day compared with unturned eggs and eggs turned once a day. In conclusion, turning red-legged partridge eggs during medium-term storage periods does not improve egg viability compared with unturned eggs.
Highlights
Red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) are raised in Mediterranean European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France) to provide birds in order both to ensure hunting stocks and to restock game reserve
Scientific assessment of several aspects of red-legged partridge egg handling during storage before incubation is still lacking. One of these aspects is egg turning during storage before incubation, which is a management practice applied in other poultry species to promote embryonic development and performance during subsequent incubation
Egg turning improves the interaction of the chorioallantoic membrane with the inner shell membrane, allowing adequate chorioallantoic membrane development when the typical incubation temperature is reached (Elibol et al, 2002; Damaziak et al, 2018)
Summary
Red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) are raised in Mediterranean European countries (Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France) to provide birds in order both to ensure hunting stocks and to restock game reserve. This has given rise to a well-developed subsector of game farms (GonzálezRedondo et al, 2010). There are two keys to enhance A. rufa game farming productivity: egg handling before incubation and their artificial incubation These aspects have been recently researched in order to review, assess, and improve the farmers’ empirical know-how (e.g., González-Redondo & De la Rosa Sánchez, 2009; González-Redondo, 2010; Gómez-de-Travecedo et al, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c; GonzálezRedondo & Díaz-Merino, 2016). There is no consensus in the poultry literature regarding the mechanisms involved in the effects of egg eRBCA-2018-0882
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