Embryonic developmental plasticity of the chick: increased CO(2) during early stages of incubation changes the developmental trajectories during prenatal and postnatal growth.

This study investigated the effect of non-ventilation of the incubator during the first 10 days of incubation on carbon dioxide (CO(2)) concentrations in the incubator and its effects on the embryonic and post-hatch development of the chicken (Gallus gallus). Two different incubation conditions were created, one incubator was kept at standard conditions, with adequate ventilation (V) and a second incubator was non-ventilated (NV) during the first ten days of incubation, allowing the CO(2) to rise. After the first 10 days, both incubations were continued under standard conditions.