Hatchery industry indeed can be classified as backbone of poultry industry, and optimising hatching condition to increase quantity and quality of chicks produced can lead to significant improvement in profit margin. There are several factors that contribute to better hatching performance and chick quality and can be categorized in live bird factors, egg storage and transportation, and hatching conditions of the eggs. Keeping this in view, a comprehensive Ph.D. study title: “ Hatching Performance of Different Broiler Breeder Strains At Four Production Phases With Three Egg weight And Storage Periods’’ was undertaken at a commercial hatchery under the supervision of renowned poultry scientist Prof. Dr. Muhammad Akram and Dr. Abdul Waheed Sahota involving some live bird factors (strains, production phase, egg weight categories), and storage duration of eggs and their effect on hatching performance, chick quality and embryonic mortality to come up with the sound findings for the scientists and the poultry industry.
The study revealed a large egg weight category through pre-peak to post peak and medium at post-peak and terminal phases had better chick quality. Longer storage periods than 4-days had adverse effect on chick quality. Eggs can be safely stored up to four days without any negative impact on hatching performance; as storage up to 7 days increases embryonic mortality. Early and late embryonic mortality is quite often in small sized eggs whereas late embryonic mortality is more common in medium and large sized eggs. Best fertility, hatchability and hatch of fertile (%) were observed in medium weight eggs through all production phases. One and four day stored eggs had maximum percent fertility, hatchability and hatch of fertile.
Moreover, 4 days egg storage resulted in higher economic returns followed by 1 and 7 days. Thus it is suggested that best hatching performance and good quality chicks can be obtained by reducing embryonic mortality in all stages with optimum size of fertile eggs i.e. Large at pre-peak and peak, Medium at post-peak and Small at terminal production phases. It is recommended that set the fertile eggs in incubators within 3-4 days. Longer storage increase moisture losses, decrease the quality of fertile eggs internally and destroy the embryo at cellular level and diminish its post development ultimately decrease the chick quality and number. To obtain best hatching results and good quality chicks in small sized eggs, increase the level of moisture in incubators especially during pre-peak and peak phase of production.
HAFIZ MUHAMMAD ISHAQ
UVAS, Lahore
