Impact of in ovo Injection of Certain Vitamins to Improve the Physiological Conditions of Hatching Chicks

Abstract

Exposure of breeder hens to hyperthermia causes disturbances in the breeder's eggs due to insufficient nutrient deposition from heat-stressed hen into the egg. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that the adverse effects of heat stress on hatchability, embryonic growth and hatchling health status could be ameliorated by in ovo injection of certain vitamins. A total of 270 fertile eggs from Fayoumi breeders (45 weeks) were randomly assigned to 6 groups (45 eggs/group). During the egg collection period in the summer season, birds were maintained at 9-13°C above the standard thermo-neutral temperature. The experimental groups were: negative control (eggs not injected either with vitamins or Sterile Deionized Water (SDW)), positive control (eggs injected with 0.1 mL of SDW/egg) and four other treatments in which vitamins A, E, D3 and folic acid were injected (1 mg of each vitamin dissolved in 0.1 mL of SDW/egg). The eggs were incubated at 37.7°C and 65% relative humidity in an automatic incubator. The residual yolk, embryo length and weight and hatchability% were improved (p<0.01) in all vitamins in ovo injected groups compared with both controls. Hatchling weight and the assessed health status indices were increased (p<0.01) in all vitamins in ovo injected groups compared with both controls. It is concluded that direct injection of vitamins into eggs laid by heat-stressed breeders is an effective way of reducing the disturbance in eggs resulting from inadequate nutrient deposition from hen to egg.