Pectin-based drug for the treatment of quails’ hatching eggs

Abstract

The treatment of hatching eggs plays an important role in ensuring the epizootic well-being of the poultry enterprise. For disinfection of hatching eggs, chemicals that have a negative effect on the developing embryo, service personnel and the environment are widely used. In this regard, the search for effective antimicrobial agents is an urgent area of veterinary medicine science and practice. An alternative to chemical preparations can be antibacterial agents of plant origin. The purpose of the research was to study the effectiveness of a plant-based drug based on pectin for the treatment of quails’ hatching eggs. The research has been carried out in the department of veterinary medicine of agricultural poultry in Siberian Scientific and Research Institute of Poultry – a branch of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution “Omsk Agrarian Scientifi c Center”on hatching eggs of quails of Pharaoh breed. In order to treat the hatching eggs of quails of the experimental group, a 1 % solution of the drug based on pectin was used before setting and on 15,5 days of incubation when transferring from the incubation cabinet to the hatchery. In the control group the eggs have been treated with formaldehyde vapors according to the generally accepted method. It has been found as the result of the conducted studies that the drug based on pectin in comparison with formaldehyde reduces the total microbial contamination of the shell by 58,7–73,8 %, the species diversity and the intensity of the release of the microflora of the shell by 20,0–40,0 %. Reducing the microbial background has the positive influence on the embryonic and postnatal development of quails, increasing the hatchability of eggs by 2,5 %, the output of young quails by 2,9 %, stimulating metabolism, increasing the live weight of quails by 3,3–4,1 % and livability by 2,0 % over the period of 1–14 days of life. The proposed method is harmless and environmentally friendly.