The article deals with the preparation for the experiment on long-term monitoring of the temperature of eggs and brooder-hens, the heart rate and the motor activity of the embryos and the motor activity and the behavior of brooder-hens during natural chicken brooding in laboratory conditions. The issues of laboratory premises selection and their internal layout are discussed. We suggest protecting the hardware from dust and excessive humidity by installing it in an isolated chamber in the immediate proximity to the cages with birds. The factors influencing the results of the experiments that involve living animals are analyzed. Some ready-made solutions are suggested to arrange the power supply of the laboratory. We also describe the appropriate components of the hardware set for the monitoring of the controlled parameters.

Abstract. The article presents study outcomes of the natural egg incubation of the high-productive meat cross Cobb 500 under brood hens of the Bantam breed, as well as indicators of the subsequent offspring growth. The purpose of research is to obtain data on the success of natural egg incubation and the subsequent offspring growth of meat cross-breeding of chickens to determine the practicability of studying the parameters of natural incubation with modern technical means, to identify the most important parameters of natural incubation and to develop new temperature conditions for artificial incubation. Method of research. The research was conducted in 2019 on the basis of the hatchery “Galichya Gora” of the FSBEI of Higher education “Voronezh State University”. The brood hens were kept in laboratory conditions in separate coops. Each of the 3 brood hens was laid with 4 eggs of the Cobb 500 cross from one batch. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the results of natural incubation and the indicators of subsequent offspring growth were studied for meat cross of chickens, to which natural incubation was not previously applied. Video monitoring of the incubation process has allowed to establish a significant motion activity of the brood hens during the incubation process. Results. As a result of the study, it was found that the decrease in egg mass during the incubation period is 12.1 ± 0.20 %, the average weight of the chicken from the initial mass of the incubation egg is 71.2 ± 0.34 %. The offspring was evaluated at 9.8 points according to the Pasgar©Score system. On the 40th day, the live weight of broilers was 2471 ± 19.4 g. Based on the study, it was concluded that natural brooding provides high incubation rates and offspring quality of high-productive meat cross Cobb 500. The practicability of studying the parameters of natural incubation of meat cross eggs with modern technical means is established.

The article deals with the problem of artificial incubation of eggs of bird species, whose incubation is carried out for the first time and for which there are no data on the optimal temperature regime. The question of the need for using the methods allowing individual monitoring of the embryo is raised. The data from the literature on non-invasive methods of biological control of incubation, allowing changing the heart rate of a bird embryo to control its condition, are presented. It was found that the heart rate of embryos decreases as they develop. A similar effect on the heart rate, regardless of age, provides a decrease in temperature and lack of oxygen. Motor activity of the embryo creates interference check of the heart rate. The results of testing the device for determining the heart rate of the embryo of birds by the optical method are presented. The circle of factors influencing the accuracy of measurements is defined. The possibility of lifetime determination of the duration of hypoxia of the embryo of birds by monitoring the heart rate is experimentally confirmed. The possibility of using the method of heart rate control to detect the degree of hypoxia of the embryo in order to determine the exact time of human operational intervention in the process of hatching of rare bird species is discussed.