Does in Ovo Injection of Two Chicken Strains with Royal Jelly Impact Hatchability, Post-Hatch Growth Performance and Haematological and Immunological Parameters in Hatched Chicks?

Taha Taha,Hussein Hussein,Attia Attia,El-Hack El-Hack,Swelum Swelum,El-Karim El-Karim,El-Edel El-Edel,Saadeldin Saadeldin,Abdallah Abdallah

doi:10.3390/ani9080486

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe present investigation examined improvements in egg hatchability and the growth performance of hatched chicks of two strains upon injection with increasing concentrations of royal jelly (RJ). The results showed positive effects of RJ injection on all parameters. Limited impacts of the different chicken strains were observed on the tested parameters. The study revealed that varying the chicken strain could alter the response to the in ovo injection with RJ.The hypothesis of the present work was that the effects of in ovo injection may differ in different chicken strains. The influence of in ovo royal jelly (RJ) injection on hatching, growth and blood parameters in two chicken strains (Dokki-4 and El-Salam as example for different strains) was evaluated. A total of 1080 eggs were used. On the seventh day of incubation, the eggs were randomly allocated into six experimental groups in a 2 × 3 arrangement that included the two chicken strains and three concentrations of RJ (0, 0.25 and 0.5 mL RJ/egg). Injection with 0.5 mL RJ/egg improved hatchability compared to the other treatments. The El-Salam strain exhibited significantly higher body weight and body weight gain than the Dokki-4 strain. Injection with 0.5 mL RJ/egg significantly (p < 0.05) improved chicken body weight and daily weight gain compared to the control treatment. RJ injection decreased blood lipid profile parameters and the numbers of monocytes and eosinophils and increased total protein, globulin, haemoglobin (Hb) and lymphocyte levels compared to the control treatment. The Dokki-4 strain showed significantly higher antibody titres against avian influenza virus (AIV) (p < 0.05) and sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) (p < 0.0001) than the El-Salam strain and RJ injection enhanced antibody titres against AIV, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and SRBCs. Therefore, the Dokki-4 strain was superior to the El-Salam strain for the tested parameters and injection with 0.5 mL RJ/egg produced the best hatching parameters, growth performance and health-related traits. RJ in ovo injection was much more effective in the Dokki-4 strain than in the El-Salam strain, which supported the hypothesis of the study that varying the chicken strain could alter the response to the in ovo injection with RJ.

Highlights

Embryonic growth in poultry can be manipulated through in ovo administration of nutrients and natural bioactive compounds [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
No differences were recorded in the hatchability of the total eggs and fertile eggs (p < 0.05) between the two studied strains
The improvement in hatchability may be due to the enriched nutritive values of royal jelly (RJ), which contain vitamins and essential amino acid that enhance chick embryonic growth and hatchability

Summary

Introduction

Embryonic growth in poultry can be manipulated through in ovo administration of nutrients and natural bioactive compounds [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. In ovo injection of such substances influences the pre- and post-hatching physiological status of broiler embryos, leading to improved hatchability, superior nutritional status of hatchlings, greater vigour and higher post-hatch growth [8,9]. RJ in fresh form consists of water (60–70%), protein (9–18%), carbohydrate (7–18%), fat (3–8%), mineral salts (calcium 1.5%), 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (1.4%), fructose (3–13%), glucose (4–8%), sucrose (0.5–2.0%) and Ash (0.8–3.0%). While the lyophilised form contains

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Discussion

Conclusion