Effects of on-farm hatching versus hatchery hatching on growth performance, gut development, and intestinal health and function in broiler chickens.

An alternative hatching system known as hatch on-farm (HOF) provides early access to feed compared to hatch in hatchery (HH) system. Early feeding may promote favorable gut development, potentially improving intestinal health and broiler performance. Previous studies have assessed the effects of HOF on chick quality, welfare and performance, its impacts on gut health remain inconclusive.

Linking gastrointestinal tract structure, function, and gene expression signatures to growth variability in broilers: a novel interpretation for flock uniformity.

Variation in body weight (BW) within broiler flocks is a significant challenge in poultry production. Investigating differences in gut-related parameters between low (LBW) and high BW (HBW) chicks may provide insights into the underlying causes of BW heterogeneity. 908 day-old male broiler chicks were reared until d 7 and then ranked into LBW and HBW groups.

Assessing the impact of hatching system and body weight on the growth performance, caecal short-chain fatty acids, and microbiota composition and functionality in broilers.

Background: Variations in body weight (BW) remain a significant challenge within broiler flocks, despite uniform management practices. Chicken growth traits are influenced by gut microbiota, which are in turn shaped by early-life events like different hatching environments and timing of first feeding. Chicks hatched in hatcheries (HH) experience prolonged feed deprivation, which could adversely impact early microbiota colonization.

Allantoic Fluid-Based qPCR for Early Onset Sexing.

The day-old male chick culling remains a welfare issue in the poultry industry. Several governments have prohibited this practice, pushing hatcheries to seek alternatives. Although different solutions exist for solving this problem, sex determination during the embryo's incubation ( sexing) is considered the most suitable one among the consumers and industry.

Noninvasive Assessment of Chicken Egg Fertility during Incubation Using HSSE-GC-MS VOC Profiling.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) carry crucial information about chicken egg fertility. Assessing the fertility before incubation holds immense potential for poultry industry efficiency. Our study used headspace sorptive extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze egg VOCs before and during the initial 12 incubation days.

Non-destructive egg breed separation using advanced VOC analytical techniques HSSE-GC-MS, PTR-TOF-MS, and SIFT-MS: Assessment of performance and systems' complementarity.

Over the past decade, advanced analytical techniques have been utilized to examine volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in eggs. These VOCs offer valuable insights into factors such as freshness, fertility, the presence of cracks, embryo sex, and breed. In our study, we assessed three mass spectrometry-based systems (headspace sorptive extraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; HSSE-GC-MS, proton transfer reaction time-of-flight-mass spectrometry; PTR-TOF-MS; and selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry; SIFT-MS) to analyze and identify VOCs present in intact hatching eggs from three distinct breeds (Dekalb white layer, Shaver brown layer, and Ross 308 broiler).

Increasing the Robustness of SIFT-MS Volatilome Fingerprinting by Introducing Notional Analyte Concentrations.

Selected ion flow tube-mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) is an analytical technique for volatile detection and quantification. SIFT-MS can be applied in a "white box" approach, measuring concentrations of target compounds, or as a "black box" fingerprinting technique, scanning all product ions during a full scan. Combining SIFT-MS full scan data acquired from multibatches or large-scale experiments remains problematic due to signal fluctuation over time.

Trends in in ovo sexing technologies: insights and interpretation from papers and patents.

Numerous researchers and institutions have been developing in ovo sexing technologies to improve animal welfare by identifying male embryos in an early embryonic stage and disposing of them before pain perception. This review gives a complete overview of the technological approaches reported in papers and patents by performing a thorough search using Web of Science and Patstat/Espacenet databases for papers and patents, respectively. Based on a total of 49 papers and 115 patent families reported until May 2023 worldwide, 11 technology categories were defined: 6 non-optical and 5 optical techniques.

Non-Destructive Eggshell Strength Assessment Using Hertz Contact Theory-Part II: Implementation and Validation.

Eggshell strength is a critical quality factor for consumption eggs as it affects the probability of breakage in practice. In this study, a fast and low-cost methodology for the non-destructive determination of eggshell strength is presented. The method utilized a small steel ball to impact the egg and a microphone to analyse the impact characteristics.

Non-Destructive Eggshell Strength Assessment Using Hertz Contact Theory Part I: Theory and Applicability.

In the egg industry, fast and highly reliable quality measurements are crucial. This study presents a novel method based on Hertz contact theory that allows for non-destructive determination of eggshell strength. The goal of the study was to evaluate the material strength (Young's Modulus) and structural strength (stiffness) of eggshells.

In ovo sexing of eggs from brown breeds with a gender-specific color using visible-near-infrared spectroscopy: effect of incubation day and measurement configuration.

The culling of day-old male chicks is an animal welfare issue within the laying hen industry that raises substantial ethical concern. Alternative methods are sought to pre-select males during embryonic development. This method is called in ovo sexing and allows more humane male culling.