DOI 10.36461/NP.2024.70.2.021
UDC 636.082.474.5

AGE DYNAMICS OF THE HATCHING QUALITY OF EGGS FROM HENS OF THE PARENTAL FORMS OF THE CROSS "ROSS-308"
A.I. Daryin, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor
Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Penza State Agrarian University", Penza, Russia, tel. (8412) 628-367,
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The age of the laying hens is one of the most important factors influencing the hatching quality of the eggs. The purpose of the study was to analyse the incubation parameters of eggs of the parental forms of the cross "Ross-308" in the age dynamics. Egg incubation indicators were studied in the following age groups of laying hens: 24-26, 28-32, 33-36, 40-43, 50-52, 53-58 and 59-61 weeks of life. The studies evaluated fertilization, egg hatchability, chicken hatchability and incubation losses. The average fertilization rate of the eggs in all groups was 86.92 %. The highest egg fertilization rate of 97.30 % was found in the group of laying hens aged 33-36 weeks, the lowest rate of 77.43 % in the group aged 59-61 weeks. The average hatchability of the eggs was 87.04 %. The highest hatchability of 89.69 % was observed in the group of laying hens aged 33-36 weeks, the lowest - 83.54 % – at the end of the biological cycle of egg production of the hens aged 59-61 weeks. A decrease in hatchability of the eggs was observed in the group of laying hens aged 40-43 weeks. As the hens get older, there is a consistent trend towards an increase in the number of eggs in the "defective" category. The lowest incubation loss rates (blood ring, dead embryos at 8-14 and 15-18 days of age, infected eggs, suffocated chicks, weak and deformed chicks) were found in hen groups in the middle of the biological cycle of egg production. High incubation loss rates were observed in young poultry that are not yet fully developed physiologically. As the age of the parent flock increases, the reproductive function of farm poultry decreases, resulting in a significant increase in incubation losses.
Keywords: laying hens, fertilization, hatchability, chicken hatch, incubation losses.

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