Effect of Turning and Age of Egg on Hatchability in the Pheasant, Chukar, and Japanese Quail

Abstract

Eggs from pheasants, Chukar partridge and Japanese quail were stored 1 to 28 days in a cold box where temperature and relative humidity were maintained at approximately 16°C. and 70 percent, respectively. Half the eggs from each species was turned once daily from a 45° angle from the vertical to the opposite angle. Turning eggs prior to incubation had no appreciable effect on hatchability of eggs stored up to 28 days. Length of storage for eggs from the pheasant and quail was critical, with significant declines in fertility in eggs stored beyond 14 days. Storage of Chukar eggs up to 28 days had little effect on subsequent hatchability, and their holding quality was comparable to that for commercial strains of chickens and turkeys.