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Original scientific paper UDC: 598.261.7
THE EFFECTS OF EGGSHELL COLOUR AND EGG WEIGHT ON HATCHABILITY AND EMBRYONAL MORTALITY IN PHEASANTS
(PHASIANUS COLCHICUS)
Uğurlu M.1,Daş YK.2, Akdag F.1, Atmaca E.2, Salman M.3, Teke B.1, Arslan S.4 Abstract: This study was performed to investigate the effects of egg weight and amount of protoporphyrin (PR) and biliverdin (BV) in the eggshell on hatchability and embryonal mortality in pheasants. A total of 1 898 eggs obtained from 48 weeks old pheasants were used in the study. The eggs were divided into three colour groups (dark brown, light brown and green) and two weight groups (up to 32 g and above 32 g). For the weight groups there were significant differences in the hatchability of fertile eggs (HFE) (P<0.01) and late period embryonic mortality (LPEM) (P<0.05). The highest hatchability and the lowest embryonic mortality were in light eggs up to 32 g. In term of eggshell colour groups, there were significant differences in hatchability (HR) (P<0.01), hatchability of fertile eggs (HFE) (P<0.01), early (EPEM) (P<0.01), middle (MPEM) (P<0.05) and late period (P<0.05) embryonic mortality. The highest hatchability was in the dark brown eggshell group.
Furthermore, the lowest (except for MPEM) embryonic mortality rate was in the dark-brown eggshell group. For all groups, the differences in fertility rate (FR) were not significant (P>0.05). With respect to the protoporphyrin and biliverdin levels in the pheasant eggshells, a significant difference was not found for protoporphyrin (P>0.05) while a significant difference was found between the weight groups for biliverdin (P<0.01). Also, there were significant differences for protoporphyrin(P<0.001) and biliverdin(P<0.001) levels between eggshell colour groups. That meant that the hatching performance and hatching rates were higher in the dark brown eggs while except for MPEM the embryonic mortality rates were lower in the dark brown eggs.
Key words: Pheasant, egg, hatching parameters, biliverdin, protoporphyrin Introduction
In poultry breeding, profitability and productivity are closely related to the numbers of chicks obtained from hatching eggs and obtaining the maximum number of chicks is dependent on a successful hatching period. The effects of physical characteristics of eggs on a successful hatching period and embryo development are known (Narushin and Romanov, 2002). As in the breeding of all poultry species the effects of physical characteristics of eggs on successful
1Uğurlu Mustafa, PhD. assist. professor; Akdağ Filiz, PhD. assoc. professor; Teke Bülent, PhD. assoc.
professor; University of Ondokuz Mayıs, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Samsun, Turkey
2Daş Yavuz Kürşad, PhD. assoc. professor, Atmaca Enes, PhD. assist. professor; University of Ondokuz Mayıs, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Samsun, Turkey
3Salman Mustafa, PhD. assoc. professor, University of Ondokuz Mayıs, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Nutrition and Nutritional Diseases,Samsun, Turkey;
4 Arslan Serhat, PhD. assist. professor, University of Ondokuz Mayıs, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biostatistic, Samsun, Turkey
Corresponding author: Uğurlu Mustafa, email: mustafaugurlu55@hotmail.com
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hatching are among the most important influences for pheasant (Demirel and Kırıkçı,2009;
Krystianiak et al. 2009).
Egg weight is one of the physical parameters effective on hatchability (Abiola et al. 2008).
Egg weight effects on hatchability or embryonic mortality have been study for hens(Vieira and Jr. Moran, 1998; Abiola et al. 2008) quails (Petek M et al., 2003; Şeker et al., 2004), partridge (Çağlayan et al., 2009) and pheasants (Çağlayan et al., 2010).
Eggshell color is another physical parameter and determined by two pigments of protoporphyrin and biliverdin which are the products of hem metabolism. Protoporphyrin is red colour and cause to brown colour where it is present while biliverdin cause to green colour (Murray and Kurt, 2004). Pheasant eggs can be different colours of dark brown, light brown, grey-white, blue, olive green. In some published studies regarding hatchability in pheasant eggs and poultry eggs having different colours, it was reported that, hatchability (Hullet et al. 1985), fertility and hatchability (Krystianiak et al., 2005; Kozuszek et al. 2009;
Şekeroğlu and Duman, 2011) were higher in the brown colour eggs in comparision with other colour eggs. Also, presence of a relation between the hatchability and eggshell colour and amount of protoporphyrin and biliverdin in the eggshell in poultry (Zhao et al. 2006).
However, research on the relationship between hatchability and the amount of protoporphyrin and biliverdin in the eggshells of the pheasants is rather limited.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of egg weight, eggshell colour on hatchability and embryonal mortality.
Material and Methods
A total of 1 898 (1728 eggs for incubatiaon, 170 eggs for analyses) eggs laid by 48 weeks old pheasants were obtained from the Gelemen Pheasant Breeding Centre of the Forest and Water Ministry of Turkey in 2012. The eggs were collected from small breeding flocks having 1 male and 7 females kept in open cages of 4 m × 5 m. The pheasants were fed ad libitum with 14.70% crude protein and rations that contained 2665 kcal/kg ME. A preliminary study was performed before planning the present study. It determined that the mean weight of pheasant eggs obtained in the previous production period was 32 g. They generally had shell colours of dark brown, light brown or green, which were visually determined. On the basis of the results of the preliminary study, eggshell colour groups (dark brown, light brown, and green) and egg weight categories of light (up to 32 g) and heavy (above 32 g) were designated.
The selected pheasant eggs were placed in trays and kept at 18°C for 7 days, based on their collection days, and then transferred to a 2 500 egg capacity, cupboard type incubator. The eggs were incubated at 37.7°C and 65% moisture for 21 days in the development section, and at 37.5°C and 90% moisture for 3 days in the hatching section. At the end of the 24 day incubation period, the eggs which had not hatched were broken one by one and observed with the naked eye. In that macroscopic examination, the stage of embryo development at death was classified in terms of 4 possible death periods. The classification was done as follows;
EPEM: early period embryonic mortality (embryo developed, filling the eggshell, eyes developed); MPEM: middle period embryonic mortality (feathers developed, more of yolk sackexternal to the body); LPEM: late period embryonic mortality (2/3 or whole of yolk sack in the body of embryo) and LDM: wholely developed embryo in the cracked eggshell (last day mortality) (Fant ,1957). The fertility (FR), hatchability (HR) and hatchability of fertile eggs (HFE) was calculated according to Şeker et al.(2004).
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Protoporphyrin and biliverdin extraction from in the eggshells was performed according to Gorchein et al.(2009) after than protoporphyrin and biliverdin amount in the eggshells was determined according to Kaur et al.(2003).
The chi-square test was used for the comparision of FR, HR, HFE, EPEM, MPEM, LPEM and LDM values for the different colours and weights groups. Least square variance analysis was performed for the comparision of amounts of protoporphyrin (PR) and biliverdin (BV) in the different weight and colour, and determination of the significance of differences between the groups was done with the Duncan test (Anonymous, 1993).
Results and Discussion
The means of egg weight for weight and eggshell colour groups are presented in Table 1. In the present study on pheasant eggs, there was no significant effect of egg shell colour on egg weight. Mean egg weight was 32.53, 32.24 and 32.43 g for dark brown, light brown and green shelled eggs, respectively. According to literature (Krystianiak et al., 2005; Kozuszek al. 2009; Kırıkçı et al. 2005) dark brown egg weight in comparison with light brown and green egg weight had higher egg weight. In term of egg shell colour, mean egg weight in present study was similarly that of in previous study.
Table 1. Mean of egg weights of pheasant egg groups (Mean±S.E.)
P<0.001, NS: not significant
Dbrw: Darkbrown egg, Lbrw: Lightbrown egg, Grn: Green egg
The mean values for hatchability and embryonic mortality rate of pheasant eggs for weight and colour are given in Figure 1 and Figure 2. It was determined that the FR of light eggs was lower than that of heavy eggs. Likewise, it reported that FR for up to 32 g pheasant eggs was lower than for eggs above 32 g (Çağlayan et al. 2010). When the weight groups were compared in terms of HR and HFE, light eggs tended to have higher HR and HFE values than heavy eggs (Figure 1). On the contrary, in broiler (Abiola et al., 2008) and pheasants (Çağlayan et al. 2010) were reported that HR and HFE values for the heavy eggs were higher than those of for light eggs.
Weight Colour Total eggs Mean egg weight
Light 768 30.24±0.62
Heavy 960 34.57±0.57
P ***
Dbrw 672 32.53±0.65
Lbrw 672 32.24±0.65
Grn 384 32.43±0.85
P NS
Grand mean 1728 32.40±0.04
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Figure 1. Hatchability and embryonic mortality rates for weight of pheasant eggs (%)
FR:Fertility, HR: Hatchability Rate, HFE: Hatchability of Fertile Eggs, EPEM: Early Period Embryonic Mortality, MPEM: Middle Period Embryonic Mortality, LPEM: Late Period Embryonic Mortality, LDM: Last Day Mortality
The lowest embryonal mortality rate among egg weight groups was in the light groups; that is, embryonal mortality increased with increasing egg weight. In the present study, when the weight groups were compared for embryonic mortality, the total embryonic mortality rate in the heavy eggs (16.35%) was higher than in the light eggs (10.02%) (Figure 1). Likewise, the total embryonic mortality rate for heavy eggs was higher than for light eggs [Reinhart and Hurnik, 1984; Szczerbinska et al., 1999].
Figure 2 Hatchability and embryonic mortality rates for color of pheasant eggs (%) Dbrw: Darkbrown egg, Lbrw: Lightbrown egg, Grn: Green egg
FR:Fertility, HR: Hatchability Rate, HFE: Hatchability of Fertile Eggs, EPEM: Early Period Embryonic Mortality, MPEM: Middle Period Embryonic Mortality, LPEM: Late Period Embryonic Mortality, LDM: Last Day Mortality
The mean values for PR and BV amounts are presented in Figure 3 and Figure 4. Pheasant eggs generally have brown, light brown or green eggshells (Hulet et al., 1985). Eggshell color is determined by levels of the pigments protoporphyrin and biliverdin which are the products of hem metabolism. Protoporphyrin is red and causes brown colouring and biliverdin causes green colouring (Kaur et al., 2003; Murray et al. 2004). There is a positive effect of egg weight on HR, HFE and embryonal life in this study(Figure 2). It was determined that the PR and BV of light eggs was higher than that of heavy eggs (Figure 3). Solomon reported that the size of egg does not affect the amount of pigment. Accordingly, the amount of pigment per unit area is higher in light eggs than in heavy eggs and may affect the HR, HFE and lower embryonal mortality rate. In that study, PR and BV amounts were 14.87 µmol/g and 5.24
__________________________________________________________________________________
µmol/g, respectively, in the dark brown eggs were higher than in the other colour groups (Figure 4). In the present study, when the FR, HR and HFE values were compared for colour groups, they were higher in the dark brown eggs than in the light brown and green eggs (Figure 2). As in the results of the present study, Kozuszek et al. (2009) reported that the HR and HFE were higher in dark brown eggs than in light brown and green eggs. The higher FR, HR and HFE values for dark brown eggs might be related to the higher amounts of PR and BV in these eggs.
0,00 2,00 4,00 6,00 8,00 10,00 12,00
Light Heavy
BV PR
Figure 3 Biliverdin and protoporphyrin amounts in pheasant egg groups for weight of pheasant eggs (µmol/g)
BV: Biliverdin, PR: Protoporphyrin
In the present study, when the levels of embryonic deaths were compared for the colour groups, the EPEM, LPEM and LDM rates for the dark brown eggshells were the lowest(Figure 2). The positive effects of dark eggshell colour on HR, HFE and embryonal life were also reported in stock broilers (Şekeroğlu and Duman 2011). However, in that study, dark brown eggshells had the highest MPEM rate. Furthermore, it was reported that ambient heat absorbtion by dark eggshells was higher than by light coloured eggshells [Magige et al., 2008]. Therefore, the higher MPEM rate in brown shelled eggs might be due to exceeding the lethal core temperature value.
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Figure 4 Biliverdin and protoporphyrin amounts in pheasant egg groups for colour of pheasant eggs (µmol/g)
Dbrw: Darkbrown egg, Lbrw: Lightbrown egg, Grn: Green egg; BV: Biliverdin, PR: Protoporphyrin
Conclusion
In this study, the hatchability rate and hatchability of fertile eggs were higher in dark brown eggs, while the number of embryonic deaths was lower, except for MPEM. Based on these results, to achieve higher a hatchability rate and hatchability of fertile eggs, and a lower embryonic mortality rate, it may be beneficial to select dark brown pheasant eggs for incubation.
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Original scientific paper UDC: 636.09:599.731.1
DISTRIBUTION OF AI BOARS ACCORDING TO SEMINAL PLASMA
PROTEIN CONTENT ON PIG FARMS IN AP VOJVODINA (SERBIA) Apić J.
1, Vakanjac S.
2, Radović I.
3, Stanković B.
4, Jotanović S.
5, Kanački Z.
3, Maletić M.
2Abstract:
Reduced fertilization capacity of overdiluted insemination doses was frequently demonstrated as a factor of lower fertility in artificial (AI), compared with natural inseminated sows. The aim of the present study was to investigate the distribution of boars, used for AI on intensive pig farm in AP Vojvodina, according to protein content in seminal plasma. Total of 75 ejaculates, from the 64 boars was investigated. Average protein content in seminal plasma, for all boars, were 2.9% (1.2% to 6.5%). Only 31% of the 64 investigated boars has a high (≥
3.6%, average 4.1%) proteine content in seminal plasma. Other boars has low protein content (≤ 3.5%, average 2.3%) in seminal plasma. According to the results obtained in the present study, and the results of other authors, it can be concluded that evaluation of protein content in seminal plasma maybe a useful tool for the determination of ejaculate quality and to selection the higher fertile boars prior to using for artificial insemination.
Key words: boar, distribution, protein content, seminal plasma.
Introduction
In the contemporary conventional intracervical AI, one boar produce 1,200 to 1,500 insemination doses per year. These number of annually doses production per boar has been more often defined as insufficient in modern industrial pig production. Increase of boars reproductive exploitation, requires the formation of a larger number of AI doses per ejaculate, which often result with higher degree of ejaculate extension (Johnson et al., 2000; Stančić, 2000; Singleton, 2001; Stančić et al., 2009; Stančić and Dragin, 2011; Khalifa et al., 2014).
However, it has been frequently demonstrated that overextension of ejaculate is a main factor that reduce fertility in the artificially inseminated, compared to naturally inseminated sows
1Jelena Apić, DVM, Research Assistant, Scientific Veterinary Institute, Novi Sad, Serbia,
2Slobodanka Vakanjac, PhD, Associated Professor and Milan Maletić, MS, Teaching Assistant, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, 18, Belgrade, Serbia.
3Ivan Radović, PhD, Associated Professor, and Zdenko Kanački, Assistant Professor, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Novi Sad, Serbia.
4Stoja Jotanović, PhD, Associated Professor, University of Banjaluka, Faculty of Agriculture, Banjaluka, Republic of Serbska (B and H).
5Branislav Stanković, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Beograd-Zemun.
Corresponding author: Jelena Stančić, e-mail: jelena.a@niv.ns.ac.rs
This study was supported by Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Serbia, within the interdisciplinary Project III 46002.