Effects of Age of Broiler Breeders and Egg Storage Duration on Blastodermal Growth of Chicken Embryo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51791/njap.vi.5217Keywords:
Age, broiler breeders, blastoderm, diameter, storage durationAbstract
The study evaluated the effects of age of broiler breeder and storage duration on blastodermal growth. A total of 320 eggs were collected from Marshall® broiler breeders of two ages 43 weeks and 65 weeks and randomly alloted to four storage durations of 0 (control), 4, 7 and 10 days at 160C and 80% RH. Blastodermal diameter measurements were collected. Data were subjected to analysis of variance in a 2×4 factorial arrangement using SAS (2003). Eggs collected at 43 weeks had higher (p<0.05) central disc and area opaca diameters than those from 65 weeks old birds. The central disc (CD), area pellucida (AP) and area opaca (AO) diameters of the blastoderm were significantly (p<0.05) affected, increasing the length of storage. The results showed that diameter of the CD was highest (p<0.05) for eggs stored for 10 days from both 43 weeks and 65 weeks old breeders. Diameter of AP was largest for eggs stored for 10 days at 65 weeks and lowest for eggs not stored (0 days) at 65 weeks, while AO diameter also increased with storage lengths being largest for eggs stored for 7 and 10 days at 43 weeks and 10 days at 65 weeks. The study concluded that eggs stored longer for 10 days from 43 weeks old broiler breeders had greater blastodermal expansion indicatinggreater disposition for rapid embryonicgrowth and prolonged storage allowed a larger surface area for expansion.