The effect of eggshell translucency on egg weight, embryonic development, hatching traits, chick quality, post-hatch growth, carcass, and organ traits in Ross 308 fast growing broiler strains at 7 days of age

Abdallah N., KURŞUN K., BAYLAN M.

Tropical Animal Health and Production, cilt.58, sa.2, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 58 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s11250-026-04899-w
  • Dergi Adı: Tropical Animal Health and Production
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Environment Index
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Broiler, Carcass, Eggshell, Embryogenesis, Post-hatch, Translucency
  • Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study investigated the effect of eggshell translucency on egg weight, embryonic development, hatching traits, chick quality, post-hatch growth, carcass, and organ traits at 7 days of age in broiler chickens. A total of 300 hatching eggs of broiler breeders at 33 weeks of age was used. The experimental groups consisted of A (eggs with a translucency score of 0, opaque), B (eggs with a translucency score of 1), and C (eggs with a translucency score of 3). The egg weight before incubation (EW-BI) and at different embryonic age (ED) and egg weight loss (Ew-L) at ED0-18 did not significantly vary among the groups (P > 0.05). The Ew-L at ED0-7 and ED0-14 nearly reached a significant level, which was highest in Group C (P = 0.066 and P = 0.062 for Ew-L at ED0-7 and ED0-14, respectively). At ED 14, the embryo length (Em-L) was highest in Group A; however, the embryo width (Em-W) was highest in Group C (P < 0.05). At ED 18 the thigh length (TH-L) nearly reached a significant level, which was highest in Group C (P = 0.057). The beak length (BL) at ED 18 also nearly reached a significant level, which was lowest in Group C (P = 0.067). The hatchability of fertile eggs (HFE) was significantly highest and lowest in Groups C and A, respectively (P < 0.05). While the activity score of chicks was highest in Group C, the body weight (BW) was highest in Group B (P < 0.05). The rectal temperature (RT) almost approached a significant level, which was lowest in Group A and highest in Group B (P = 0.076). The carcass traits, body weight gain (BWG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), hatchability of set eggs (HSE), chick weight at hatch (CWH), embryonic mortality (EM), and chick yield (CY) did not significantly differ among the experimental groups (P > 0.05). It was concluded that eggshell translucency could negatively affect embryonic development and hatching traits, post-hatch performance, and thermoregulation in chicks.