Influence of air composition during egg storage on egg characteristics, embryonic development, hatchability and chick quality

Inge Reijrink*, Gilian van Duijvendijk‡, Ron Meijerhof†, Bas Kemp‡, and Henry van den Brand‡

*HatchTech Incubation Technology B.V., P.O. Box 256, 3900 AG Veenendaal, the Netherlands; ‡Adaptation Physiology Group, Wageningen Institute of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, the Netherlands; †Poultry Performance Plus, Kleine Enkweg 1, 7383 DB Voorst, the Netherlands.

Egg storage beyond 7 days is associated with an increase in incubation duration and a decrease in hatchability and chick quality. Negative effects of prolonged egg storage may be caused by changes in the embryo, by changes in egg characteristics, or by both. An adjustment in storage air composition may reduce negative effects of prolonged egg storage because it may prevent changes in the embryo and in egg characteristics. An adjustment in storage air composition may reduce negative effects of prolonged egg storage because it may prevent changes in the embryo and in egg characteristics. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of high CO2 concentrations or a low O2 concentration in the storage air on egg characteristics, embryonic development, hatchability, and chick quality. Download the entire article via the button below.