EFFECT OF EGG SIZE ON HATCHABILITY OF BROILER CHICKS

摘要

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of egg size on hatchability, posthatch performance and carcass traits of broiler chicks. A total of 198 hatchable Anak broiler eggs comprising of small (40 g average weight), medium (50 g average weight) and large (60 g average weight) size categories were obtained from a commercial hatchery for the study. Results obtained on egg weight loss were comparable with one another. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in the results recorded for hatchability. Best result of 96.67% hatchability was obtained for medium sized eggs. There was close correlation between egg size and chick hatching weight. Small chicks hatched from small eggs while large chicks hatched from large eggs. In the starter phase, daily feed intake increased with increase in the size of eggs from where the chicks hatched while in the finisher phase there was inverse relationship between feed intake and size of eggs from where the chicks hatched. Best results of dressing percentage (52.63%) and meat/bone ratio (2.60) were obtained for large chicks hatched from large eggs. Medium sized eggs are ideal for setting in order to obtain good hatchability and best result of body weight gain.