Pre-incubation and turning during long storage as a method of improving hatchability and chick quality of Japanese quail eggs

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effect of modification of 12 d storage conditions of quail eggs from two flocks: at 17–20 weeks of life (A) and 36–39 weeks of life (B) on the incubation time, hatch window (HW), hatching results and chicks quality. The eggs were divided into experimental groups: COI = no pre-incubation (PI); SPIDES = were treated with 4 h PI, delivered at 4, 6, 8 and 10 d of storage; EG SPIDES = were treated with variable time of PI according to the scheme 5 d – 2 h, 7 d – 3 h, 9 d – 5 h and 11 d – 6 h. In addition, in each group, half of the eggs were turned (T) every 12 h, which is indicated as COI T, SPIDES T and EG SPIDES T. Pre-incubation was conducted at 37.8°C and 50–55% RH. It has been demonstrated that both storage profiles contribute to shortened incubation time, yet the HW is deteriorated if T is not applied. The benefits resulting from the EG SPIDES profile is an increase of 2.3 points in the “average score of all chicks” index compared to the COI group. In summary, the use of PI and T, and in particular the EG SPIDES profile with the concomitant use of T during long storage of quail eggs is recommended to obtain a considerable improvement of hatching results and chick quality.