Effects of incubation temperature and in ovo supplementation of glucose and vitamin D3 on eggshell temperature, embryonic mortality, hatchability, chick quality, and post-hatch performance in broiler chickens

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Introduction Incubation temperature and embryonic nutrient availability are critical determinants of successful embryogenesis and early post-hatch performance in broilers. In ovo feeding has emerged as an effective strategy to enhance embryonic nutrient supply. However, the efficiency of nutrient utilization by developing embryos may be dependent on the incubation conditions. Therefore, the present study investigated the interactive effects of incubation temperature and in ovo supplementation of glucose or vitamin D 3 on eggshell temperature, hatchability, chick quality, and post-hatch growth performance of broilers. Methods A total of 1,200 fertile eggs obtained from 58-week-old Arbor Acres breeder hens (62 ± 1 g) were incubated in an automatic dual-system incubator (Senjie DZ 47-53) at three machine air temperatures (36.5°C, 37.0°C, or 37.5°C), with relative humidity maintained at 60%. The assigned thermal treatments commenced on embryonic day (ED) 1 and were maintained continuously through ED18, with eggs remaining at their respective incubation temperatures (36.5°C, 37.0°C, or 37.5°C) throughout this incubation period. Each temperature treatment consisted of 400 eggs with four replicates. After candling on ED10, eggs within each incubation temperature treatment were randomly allocated to one of three in ovo treatments: a control group (eggs that were perforated but uninjected), a glucose injection group (5 mg/ml), or a vitamin D 3 injection group (25 mg/ml). Thus, each incubation temperature group was subdivided into the three in ovo treatment groups on ED10, allowing the effects of incubation temperature, in ovo treatment, and their interaction to be evaluated. Following completion of the thermal treatment on ED18, all eggs were transferred to the hatcher for completion of embryonic development and hatching. The eggshell temperature was monitored throughout the incubation period, and the embryonic mortality, hatchability, chick quality traits, and post-hatch growth performance were evaluated. Results The results showed that the incubation temperature significantly influenced the eggshell temperature, with higher values recorded at 37.0°C and lower values at 36.5°C ( p < 0.05). However, in ovo feeding also affected the eggshell temperature, which was generally lower in glucose-treated eggs and highest in vitamin D 3 -treated eggs ( p < 0.05). Hatchability increased with increasing incubation temperature, reaching the highest value at 37.5°C (81.92%). The greatest hatchability (89.86%) was observed in glucose-injected eggs incubated at 37.5°C. In addition, embryonic mortality was significantly higher in the control group, whereas the glucose group exhibited the lowest mortality compared with the vitamin D 3 and control groups ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, incubation at 37.5 C significantly reduced embryonic mortality compared with the 36.5 C and 37.0 C treatments ( p < 0.05). The chick hatching weight was highest in the vitamin D 3 -treated eggs incubated at 37.5 C (51.72 g). The incubation temperature × in ovo feeding interaction significantly improved feed intake, with the highest intake recorded in birds from the glucose-injected eggs incubated at 37.0°C, proceeded by birds from the vitamin D 3 -injected eggs at the same temperature. Furthermore, for the post-hatch growth traits, broilers originating from eggs incubated at 37.0°C exhibited the greatest final body weight (1,283.52 g) and body weight gain (1,234.80 g; p < 0.05) at 42 days of age. Conclusion Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the incubation temperature significantly influenced eggshell temperature, whereas in ovo glucose and vitamin D 3 administration at 37.5°C improved hatchability, whereas incubation at 37.0°C supported superior post-hatch growth performance. The combined optimization of incubation temperature and embryonic nutrient supplementation may therefore enhance the embryonic response, hatchery efficiency, and broiler production outcomes.

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