Author:

Keywords:

Bioresponses, eggshell temperature sensors, hatching detection, videos

Abstract:

Survivability and growth potential of chicks are linked to both the micro-environment around the embryo and the hatching time. Early hatched chicks may be too long exposed to a hostile environment without water and feed access. Industrial incubators often register hatch window around 48 h, which causes non-uniformity problems during rearing. Technologies for hatching detection include the monitoring of embryo bioresponses, as this paper describes a system for continuous measurement of eggshell temperatures (EST) during incubation associated to a video system as a reference method. The objective was to investigate the EST variations during the hatching process. Two small-scale incubators with capacity for 300 eggs each were used for three rounds of incubation trials. A total of 1800 fertilized Ross 308 eggs were used during the study. For each incubation trial, 10 focal eggs per incubator were individually monitored using EST sensors and video recordings. The results indicated EST measurements as a potential monitoring tool for detection of the exact hatching time of individual chicken embryos. Whenever there was an accentuated EST drop (~ 3 °C) during the hatching period (from 472 h to 500 h) it was confirmed as hatching time in the reference videos.