The effect of egg weight on hatching in Pharoah and Italian Japanese quails

Abstract

Quail production has increased in some countries in the last half century, however it is an alternative bird species that has not been among the main producing livestock. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of genotype (Pharaoh and Italian) and egg weight (heavy and light) on egg weight loss and hatching results during the embryo development of hatching eggs obtained from quails. In this study, a total of 754 eggs obtained from Pharaoh and Italian quail flocks reared under the same environmental conditions and 1 male:3 female ratio were used. Eggs are divided into two groups according to the average egg weight of both genotype. The study was arranged according to the factorial experimental design (2 genotypes × 2 weight groups × 3 replicates). The average weight loss was 13.12% and 10.83% in Pharaoh and Italian breeds, respectively, and were statistically different. The average weight loss according to the heavy and light egg weight groups were found statistically different with 11.67% and 12.28%, respectively. Only the mid-term embryo deaths differ from the incubation results of genotypes. In the egg weight groups, heavy eggs provided an advantage of about 6% compared to the lighter ones, and it was determined as 90.14% and 84.48% respectively for heavy and light eggs. As a result, it was determined that as the egg weight increased, the weight loss during the hatchery development period decreased. It has been determined that heavy eggs have a higher fertility and also higher early embryo death.