The effects of hen's age and egg storage time on the frequency of occurrence of physical defects in turkey poults.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the interaction between hen's age and egg storage time on the frequency of occurrence and type of physical defects in turkey poults. The experimental materials comprised 6,048 eggs laid by BUT 6 turkey hens at 32, 38, 46, and 51 wk of age (1,512 eggs per week), which were randomly divided into 4 groups (378 eggs per group) and stored for different periods of time, i.e., 7, 10, 13, and 17 D. After incubation, poults were evaluated individually. Egg weight and the hatch-weight of poults increased with hen's age (P < 0.001). The relative body weight of poults, expressed as a percentage of egg weight, was highest in the group of the youngest hens (70.6%). Prolonged egg storage before incubation contributed to an increase in the percentage of poults with physical abnormalities (P < 0.001). Umbilical abnormalities were most common regardless of the week of the laying season and egg storage time.
['Mróz|Emilia|E|', 'Murawska|Daria|D|', 'Jankowski|Jan|J|', 'Stępińska|Monika|M|', 'Przywitowski|Marcin|M|', 'Otowski|Kamil|K|']
D000375:Aging D000818:Animals D005260:Female D010063:Ovum D013997:Time Factors D014422:Turkeys
hen's age egg storage Turkey poults quality