Search

In waterfowl farms used for producing meat and eggs, a problem of discerning double-yolked (DY) and single-yolked (SY) eggs is rather actual. While in some parts of the world DY eggs are popular as a food product, DY eggs are undesired for hatcheries due to their lower fertility and poorer hatchability. After examining the morphological parameters of duck and goose DY and SY eggs, we determined a suite of their measured and calculated variables. We developed mathematical formulae that can be used to calculate the estimated quantity of yolks in duck or goose eggs. In this experiment, this innovative analytical approach enabled us to achieve 8.4% of erroneously placed SY eggs in a DY ‘basket’ for ducks and 3.2% for geese. We also considered options to increase further their identification accuracy. This study provides an instrumental prerequisite for developing respective practical analytical techniques for sorting waterfowl SY vs DY eggs.

The present study was aimed to seek algorithms for prior identification of goose eggs unsuitable for incubation that, otherwise, turn into to hatching waste. These included infertile eggs and those in which the embryo did not survive by the hatch time. The algorithm development was based on egg parameter measurements taken before and during incubation. As a result, a complex of egg's geometrical parameters, i.e., its length, breadth and diameter at a point 1/4 of the length from the pointed end, were established as the best predictors and used for producing four novel indicators. The above parameters were incorporated into the first indicator called the Emergency Geometrical Index (EGI). Its use prior to incubation enabled to correctly identify 14–26% of eggs within the hatching waste category. The second indicator was the ratio of air cell volume to egg weight. The respective preincubation measurements enable to correctly identify ∼38% of unsuitable eggs. When combining the first two indicators, the third one was developed and called the Emergency Hatchability Index (EHI), with the correct identification rate being ∼65% of unsuitable eggs. Egg density (D) during incubation was proposed as the fourth promising indicator. This was expressed as the tangent of the slope for a trend line based on D data calculated for successive days of incubation. Collectively, the proposed four indicators and few other new methodological approaches used for their derivation will be instrumental in predicting hatchability of goose and other poultry eggs before incubation to reduce hatching waste.