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Hatching eggs from Rhode Island Reds (R.I.R.) and White Plymouth Rocks (W.P.R.) hens were subjected to ten pre-incubation storage treatments for 24 weekly hatches to investigate storage time × storage temperature interactions. The alteration of temperatures during different storage time periods as compared with constant storage temperatures had no significant effect on the hatch of fertile eggs. The results confirm that constant temperatures of 15° C. to 16° C. and 10° C. to 11° C. for short and long time preincubation storage respectively are optimum. For all treatment groups combined, malpositions and malformations were responsible for approximately 15% of the total embryonic mortality. Length of storage times and storage temperatures did not have a significant effect on chick body weight gains during the first ten days post hatching.

KOSIN (1956) reported that pre-incubation warming of chicken and turkey eggs improved their subsequent hatchability. The treatment which was most effective for turkey eggs was a single warming period of 2–5 hours at incubation temperature, followed by storage, at 53°F. Kosin also reviewed the pertinent literature. Subsequently Kosin (1957) observed that overnight holding of the eggs at room temperature (72–74°F.) before storage at 53°F. also improved hatchability of turkey eggs. Becker and Bearse (1958) reported that both White Leghorn and Dominant White × White Rock Cross chicken eggs were improved in hatchability by (1) warming for five hours at 100°F., (2) for one hour at 100°F. and, (3) leaving overnight in a room at 70–73°F. METHODS Following publication of Kosin's (1956) work all turkey eggs incubated at Larro Research Farm in 1957 were warmed for five hours at 100°F. on the day following production. The hatchability for …

FUNK (1934) recorded mortality among birds of known incubation period, finding that the last 10 percent of the hatch had an 8-week mortality rate nearly 3 times that of the earlier hatched chicks. Henderson and Champion (1948) found a significant negative correlation between speed of hatching and 8-week weight in Rhode Island Reds. Other breeds indicated the same relationship, but estimated correlations were not significant. Henderson (1944) found significant positive regressions of age at sexual maturity on speed of hatching in White Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds, but his estimates for other matings were not significant. Hays (1941 a, b) summarized observations on 4,730 Rhode Island Red chicks hatched over a 3-year period. Salient points of his conclusions were that females predominated among early hatched chicks, mortality to 6 months increased with length of incubation period, there was no relationship between speed of hatch and laying-house mortality, early hatched pullets . . .

THE hatchability of turkey and chicken eggs usually increases when the eggs are subjected to certain pre-incubation warming treatments. Kosin (1956) reviewed the relevant literature and also obtained evidence in a series of experiments with chicken and turkey eggs indicating that warming procedures generally improved the hatchability of fertile eggs. He found that a single five hour warming period at 99 3/4°F. was effective with turkey eggs. Subsequently Kosin (1957) observed that placing eggs in a 72–74°F. environment overnight also improved the hatchability of turkey eggs. Because these two treatments were not tested with chicken eggs, it seemed desirable to observe the effect of these warming treatments upon the hatchability of chicken eggs. METHODS Four trials were conducted as follows: 1. For the first trial eggs were saved for a 22-day period from a flock mating of White Rock ♀ ♀ × Synthetic Dominant White ♂ ♂ and the . . .

THE apparent increase in hatchability of turkey eggs when submitted to a pre-incubation period of warming as reported by Kosin (1956) and of chicken eggs as shown by Jackson (1912) and Becker and Bearse (1958) raises the question as to whether there is a genetic effect on this response. If such an effect exists, it may be a clue as to why certain sire families exhibit higher hatchability than do other families. This study was designed so as to determine if there are sire family differences in the response to pre-incubation warming. PROCEDURE The stock used in this study was the trapnested Station flock of Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys. In 1958 there were 136 females started in 11 single male mating pens, and in 1959 there were 110 females started in 10 single male mating pens. The eggs were all marked in the usual manner with the hen number, pen …

HATCHABILITY of fertile eggs is lowered and hatching time is lengthened when hatching eggs are stored for long periods before setting. These effects have been found in both chickens (Funk, 1934) and turkeys (Asmundson, 1947; Kosin, 1950). In addition, it has been noted that storing eggs reduces the 8 and 9 week post-hatching body weights of chickens (Becker, 1960; Zawalsky and Merritt, 1961). Because of the similarity of the influence of storage in both species, an experiment was performed to determine if storage of turkey eggs affected post-hatching turkey body weight. The results of that research are reported herein. MATERIAL AND METHODS Four lines of Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys developed from a base generation in 1954 (Kosin and Becker, 1959) were hatched in 1960 and mated during the 1961 breeding season. The lines were: line 1—random control; line 2—individually selected for large 24-week body weight; line 3—selected…

THE hatchability of turkey eggs is reduced when stored for more than several days and several methods are often used to offset this loss (Sampson and Wilson, 1944; Asmundson, 1947; Kosin, 1950, 1954). These include holding eggs at 55°F. and also pre-incubating the eggs (Kosin and St. Pierre, 1956), although the pre-incubation treatment may not be effective when hatchability is high (Kosin, 1960; Milby and Sherwood, 1960). Another factor which may affect the hatchability of stored turkey eggs is the gaseous environment surrounding the eggs during the storage period. A technique useful for maintaining egg quality was used by Becker (1964) with chicken eggs to reduce the hatchability loss when eggs were stored before incubation. In that study, eggs were placed in polyethylene and polyvinylidene chloride copolymer (Cryovac) bags and stored up to 15 days. It was observed that the hatchability of the eggs stored 8–15 days was highest…

THE possibility of infection in newly hatched chicks from Newcastle disease virus present in the eggs of sick, recovered or vaccinated hens has received the attention of several investigators. Van Roekel (1946), Jungherr (1946 Jungherr (1947), and Thompson and Osteen (1948) isolated Newcastle disease virus from fresh eggs. Beaudette et al. (1948) isolated the virus from the ovarian yolk of affected hens. De Lay (1947) obtained Newcastle disease virus from incubated infertile eggs and from embryos which died on the 15th and 17th days of incubation. Hofstad (1949) isolated Newcastle disease virus at the 10th day of incubation from infertile eggs and dead embryos. Prier et al. (1950) isolated the virus from eggs laid on the 4th and 5th days following vaccination with living virus vaccine. De Lay (1947) reported isolation of Newcastle disease virus from the yolk-sac content of four-day-old chicks hatched from eggs collected from infected flocks. This investigation . . .

The main objective of the present study was to examine the effect of storing White Leghorn eggs in Cryovac bags and in CO2-enriched air (1.5% CO2) on the livability of embryos during subsequent incubation. The secondary objective was to study the pattern of CO2 concentration in the egg albumen following oviposition and its possible relationship to embryos’ viability. The eggs were kept for 0, 2, 3, and 4 weeks at 15.5°C. The results (1) pointed to a “sparing” effect of plastic bag storage and a depressing effect of the CO2 treatment on hatchability, and (2) showed that during storage in “normal” air, the egg suffered a rapid loss of CO2 from its albumen. Two principal conclusions were reached: (1) under the conditions of the study, the beneficial effect on hatchability derived from storing eggs in Cryovac bags was attributed to increased humidity within such environment and (2) the CO2 concentration in the egg albumen is not a major factor for maintaining the inherent capacity of the egg to hatch following an extended period of pre-incubation storage.

IT IS a common practice in the turkey industry today not to extend the presetting storage period beyond the seventh day. In fact, many commercial hatcheries aim to set eggs after only 3 or 4 days of storage. This is based on the widely held belief among practical breeders that the hatchability of turkey eggs drops rapidly after 4 days of storage and, certainly after 7 days. Contrary to the earlier observation of Scott (1933) who found that hatching eggs of standard bred Bronze turkeys could withstand storage for several weeks, Asmundson (1947) concluded that hatchability may be adversely affected after only 3 days of storage. In a later paper, Asmundson and MacIlraith (1948) concluded that there was no advantage in setting eggs the same day as laid. In fact, their data suggested that “eggs set the same day as laid do not hatch as well as eggs held several …

RECENT publications on the subject of pre-incubation treatments for hatching eggs have indicated that (1) holding eggs at room temperature or (2) heating eggs at incubator temperatures for short periods may be beneficial to hatchability. Hutt and Pilkey (1930) suggest that incubating eggs four to five hours directly after laying could result in the development of the embryos beyond the critical stage associated with pre-gastrulation. Hays and Nicolaides (1934) reported that eggs from hens with high hatchability contained more advanced embryos than eggs from low hatching hens, while Taylor and Gunns (1935) reported no correlation between the size of the embryo in the unincubated egg and hatchability. An increase in hatchability through the use of warming treatments applied to hatching eggs prior to incubation was reported by Kosin (1956) and by Becker and Bearse (1958). The work reported here was carried out to obtain further information on this subject through …

Experiments were conducted to examine the influence of length of pre-incubation storage and turning eggs during a storage period on hatchability of Bobwhite quail eggs. Storage of eggs greater than 21 days significantly reduced hatchability, while turning the eggs during the pre-incubation storage period did not affect hatchability.

WARMING of hatching eggs prior to the regular incubation period resulted in improvement in the hatchability of chicken and turkey eggs (Kosin, 1956; Becker and Bearse, 1958). Milby and Sherwood (1960) showed that pre-incubation warming only increased hatchability of turkey eggs produced from hens whose hatchabilities were below the average of the population (Milby and Sherwood, 1960). The usual warming procedure is to subject eggs to a period of five hours at 99.5°F. the day after they are laid, after which time the eggs are returned to the egg holding room for the remainder of the storage period. The question arises as to whether greater benefit could be obtained if warming is applied, instead of on the day after lay, somewhat near the middle of the storage period. Or, the five-hour warming might be given in the form of two or more doses with approximately equal intervals between applications. In …

Usually the transit environmental temperature of hatching eggs is approximately 23°C. when shipped by air. When such eggs arrive at destination 1 to 3 days prior to setting in incubators the question arises whether they should be retained at 23°C. or cooled and prewarmed prior to incubation to maintain maximum embryo viability. An experiment was designed to estimate the effects on hatchability of reducing egg storage temperature from 23°C. to 11°C. for 24 and 48 hours with and without prewarming at 23°C. compared with retention at 23°C. on eggs held 7 and 14 days prior to incubation.…