Abstract
This investigation was carried out to study egg traits (weight, specific gravity and eggshell thickness), and neonatal chick parameters (weight, blood, cardiac and lung parameters) from breeder at different ages. After hatching, neonatal chicks, male and female, from broiler breeder at three different ages (30, 45 and 60 weeks) were sacrificed and blood (red blood cell number, hematocrit, mean cell volume, blood viscosity, and haemoglobin), cardiac (right ventricle and total ventricle weights, cardiac index) and lung (mean pulmonary pressure, fresh relative lung weight) parameters were measured. No significant differences in eggshell thickness or specific gravity were observed in eggs from the three different breeder age. The incubated eggs and neonatal chicks showed heavier absolute weights with increasing breeder age. Broiler breeder age did not affect blood parameters or cardiac index, but affected right ventricle and total ventricle absolute weights. Red blood cell number and hematocrit were higher and lung weight and lung weight:chick weight index were lower for female neonatal chicks. The findings of this study revealed that breeder age affects neonatal chick parameters such as body weight, heart and lung absolute weights, but not blood parameters.
Highlights
Several factors can affect the poultry egg characteristics, including hen age, environment, nutrition and genetics
2 h after hatching the chicks were separated by sex, and egg, blood, cardiac and lung parameters measured
No significant differences in eggshell thickness or specific gravity were observed in eggs from the three different breeder age groups
Summary
Several factors can affect the poultry egg characteristics, including hen age, environment, nutrition and genetics. Hen age affects the proportion of yolk, albumen and eggshell (Fletcher et al, 1981; Akbar et al, 1983; Danilov, 2000). The egg specific gravity and eggshell thickness decrease with advancing breeder age. This occurs basically because the egg size increases more quickly than the shell weight (Butcher et al, 1991) and because there is an increase in egg size rather than calcium deposition in the eggshell (Curtis et al, 1985). There are many reports in the literature showing the influence of broiler breeder age on eggshell quality. The relationship between eggshell quality and the physiological parameters of embryos, especially those potentially involved in triggering metabolic diseases such as ascites or sudden death syndrome, has been poorly studied
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