Reducing infertile eggs and dead embryos during egg hatching based on respiration

Abstract

Respiration plays a crucial role in the physiological development of embryos throughout the entire incubation process and serves as a vital indicator for discerning unfertilized eggs and embryos that have stopped development. This article explores the relationship between egg respiration, fertilization status, and chicken embryo viability. First, it studied the changes in respiration of fertilized and unfertilized eggs during the early stages of incubation (Day 1–3) and found that the CO2 production of fertilized eggs gradually increased, while those of unfertilized eggs gradually decreased. Moreover, significant differences in respiration between fertilized and unfertilized eggs were observed on the second day of incubation. Next, we employed Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) models to differentiate between fertilized and unfertilized eggs. Notably, the SVM algorithm exhibited exceptional performance in discriminating between fertilized and unfertilized eggs, achieving a remarkable test set accuracy of 98.41 %. Finally, a Bayesian algorithm was applied to classify embryos as either dead, weak, or viable in middle and later stages of incubation. Bayesian discriminant analysis yielded compelling results, achieving a 100 % detection rate for deceased embryo eggs. The outcomes of this study provide a robust theoretical foundation and empirical data to advance non-destructive testing methodologies for poultry eggs.