To evaluate the effect of breeder age and egg size on yolk absorption and embryo development, a total of 4,800 Ross 308 hatching eggs were subjected to 4 treatments arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial randomized complete block design using 2 breeder ages (29 and 53 wk of age, or young and old) and 2 egg sizes (57-61 g and 66-70 g, or small and large). A significant interaction between breeder age and egg size was found for egg composition. Yolk weight increased with flock age, whereas a larger egg size resulted in higher albumen content. A significant interaction between breeder age and egg size was found for yolk-free body (YFB) weight only at d 7. Until the fourteenth day of incubation, eggs from the old flock yielded greater YFB weight than did eggs from the young flock. At hatch, chicks of both age groups had comparable wet YFB weight, chick weight, wet and dry residual yolk weight, and chick length. Dry YFB weight of chicks from the old flock was higher than that of chicks from the young flock. Compared with the small eggs, embryos and chicks of the large eggs had greater YFB weight from d 14 to hatching. At hatch, these chicks were also heavier, longer, and had higher wet and dry YFB and residual yolk weight. Yolk absorption at d 18 and at hatch of embryos and chicks of the old flock was higher than that of the young flock, both in absolute values and percentages. Rates of absolute and percentage yolk absorption through d 18 and percentage yolk absorption at hatch were higher in the small eggs than in the large eggs. It can be concluded that egg size influences chick length at hatch and embryo development when expressed in terms of total and YFB weight. Although yolk availability and rate of absorption may have influenced dry YFB weight, they did not influence hatching chick length or total and YFB weight.

Two experiments were conducted to study the interaction between breeder age and egg size on the energy utilization (experiment 1) and heat production (experiment 2) of broiler embryos. In experiment 1, a total of 4,800 Ross-308 hatching eggs from 2 breeder ages (29 and 53 wk of age, or young and old) and, within each age, 2 egg sizes (57 to 61 g and 66 to 70 g, or small and large) were used. In experiment 2, a total of 240 Ross-308 hatching eggs from 2 breeder flocks at 29 (young) and 53 (old) wk of age, and which were selected from the same egg weight range (58 to 61 g), were tested in 2 replicate chambers. In experiment 1, it was shown that the amount of yolk relative to albumen was higher in the old flock eggs, and this effect was more pronounced in the large eggs. The old flock eggs, especially the larger egg size, contained more energy as a result of a greater yolk size. Energy utilization of the embryos was positively related to yolk size and the amount of energy transferred to yolk-free body (YFB) was largely determined by the available egg energy. The efficiency of converting egg energy into chick body energy (E(YFB)) was equal for both egg sizes and both breeder age groups. Chick YFB weight of young and old flock eggs was equal. However, dry YFB weight of chicks from old flock eggs was higher than in chicks from young flock eggs, which was associated with more protein and fat content and thus more energy accumulated into YFB. As a consequence, embryos derived from old flock eggs produced more heat from d 16 of incubation onward than those of the young flock eggs. In conclusion, the higher energy deposition into chick YFB of old flock eggs, leading to higher embryonic heat production, is the result of a higher amount of available energy in the egg and is not due to changes in E(YFB).

Highlights Trehalose improved intestinal morphology. Trehalose improved broiler growth performance without antibiotics. Trehalose's effects may depend on feeding conditions.

No abstract

The study was conducted to determine the optimum dietary concentration of arginine relative to lysine on the basis of the performance, carcass traits and blood characteristics of 1–35-day-old broilers using a randomised complete block design. One-day-old broilers (n = 1200) were allocated to five dietary treatment groups receiving different arginine:lysine (Arg:Lys) ratios, where the proportion of Arg was progressively increased by increments of 10%, and the concentration of lysine was kept constant; the final ratios were 0.85, 0.95, 1.05, 1.16 and 1.26. Each diet treatment was composed of eight replicates (4 males and 4 females), with 30 chickens each replicate. All broilers were fed in three phases, namely starter, grower and finisher, at 1–10, 11–24 and 25–35 days of age respectively. An increase in the Arg:Lys ratio in the diet from 0.85 to 1.26 linearly (P < 0.001) increased bodyweight gain by 7% and improved feed conversion ratio by 6%. Feed intake and mortality were not significantly (P > 0.05) different among the treatments. Increasing the Arg:Lys ratio in the diet linearly (P < 0.0001) and quadratically (P < 0.05) improved the carcass yield and relative chilled carcass weight respectively. The percentages of breast meat and creatinine and insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations also linearly (P < 0.0001) increased by 5.5%, 23.0% and 18.0% respectively, with an increasing dietary Arg:Lys ratio. The results of the present study indicated that the highest dietary Arg:Lys ratio (1.26) improved bodyweight gain, feed conversion ratio, breast meat, creatinine and insulin-like growth factor-1. However, the optimum dietary Arg:Lys ratio to improve carcass yield and weight gain in the grower phase (Days 11–24 of age) was at 1.05.