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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Poultry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #330912
Title: Effects of in ovo injection of organic zinc, manganese, and copper on the hatchability and bone parameters of broiler hatchlings

Author
item OLIVERIRA, T - Mississippi State University
item BERTECHINI, A - Mississippi State University
item BRICKA, R - Mississippi State University
item Kim, Elizabeth
item GERARD, P - Mississippi State University
item PEEBLES, E - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/14/2015
Publication Date: 10/15/2015
Citation: Oliverira, T.F., Bertechini, A.G., Bricka, R.M., Kim, E.J., Gerard, P.D., Peebles, E.D. 2015. Effects of in ovo injection of organic zinc, manganese, and copper on the hatchability and bone parameters of broiler hatchlings. Poultry Science. 94:2488-2494.

Interpretive Summary: The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of in ovo injection of supplemental microminerals (zinc, manganese, and copper) on the hatchability and the resultant chick quality. In ovo injections are common practice in the poultry industry to vaccinate and to improve hatchability. For this current study, four treatments were utilized, a noninjected treatment negative control group, a diluent injected treatment (positive control), and two additional treatment groups with increasing dosages of Zn, Mn, and Cu. On d 17 of incubation (doi), 1,872 fertile eggs were distributed amongst the four treatment groups, in six replicate trays. Hatchability of fertile eggs was determined at 20.5 and 21.5 doi. On 21.5 doi, hatchability and mean chick hatching weight were determined. One bird from each treatment group was randomly selected, weighed, and necropsied for the extraction of their livers and tibiae. Fresh weight of the tibiae, dry weight, length, width, bone breaking strength and percentage of bone ash were measured. The dry livers were weighed and ashed as well. The in ovo injection treatments were found to significantly hatchability at 21.5 doi. The hatchability of eggs at 21.5 doi injected with the highest amount of Zn, Mn, and Cu were found to be significantly lower than the non-injected control group. All other response parameters were not affected by injection treatments. However, embryos from eggs injected with the highest dosage of Zn, Mn, and Cu resulted in significantly higher percent of bone ash indicating the higher concentration of minerals in ovo may have the potential to improve bone mineralization in baby broilers

Technical Abstract: Effects of the in ovo injection of commercial diluent containing supplemental microminerals (Zn, Mn, and Cu) on hatchability and hatching chick quality variables in Ross × Ross 708 broilers were examined. On 17 d of incubation (doi) eggs were subjected to 1 of 4 treatments using a commercial multi-egg injector. Treatments included noninjected (treatment 1) and diluent-injected (treatment 2) control groups. Those in treatment 3 received diluent containing 0.181, 0.087, and 0.010 mg/mL of Zn, Mn, and Cu, respectively, and those in treatment 4 received diluent containing 0.544, 0.260, and 0.030 mg/mL of Zn, Mn, and Cu, respectively. A total of 1,872 eggs were distributed among 4 treatment groups on each of 6 replicate tray levels. Hatchability of fertile eggs set (HF) was determined on 20.5 and 21.5 doi. On 21.5 doi, HF and mean hatching chick weight (MHW) were determined. One bird from each treatment replicate group was randomly selected, weighed, and necropsied for the extraction of their livers and tibiae. The tibiae fresh and dry weight, length, width, bone breaking strength (BBS), and percentage of bone ash (PBA) were determined. The dry livers were weighed and ashed. Injection treatment had no significant effect on HF at 20.5 doi. However, there was a significant injection treatment effect on HF at 21.5 doi. The HF of eggs at 21.5 doi in treatment 4 was significantly lower than that of the non-injected control group, with treatment 3 being intermediate. Furthermore, there were no significant treatment effects noted for MHW fresh and dry tibia weights, tibia length and width, tibia length to weight ratio, BBS, liver ash content, or percentage of minerals (Ca, P, Mg, Mn, and Zn) in the tibia ash. However, embryos from eggs that received treatment 4 had a significantly higher PBA in comparison to all other treatments. In conclusion, although treatment 4 negatively affected HF, the injection of diluent containing the high micromineral concentration has the potential to improve bone mineralization.