NEW TECHNIQUE OF PRE-INCUBATION SELECTION OF EGGS FROM MEAT QUAIL BREEDS

Abstract

Pre-incubation selection of eggs is an important technological technique
that precedes the artificial incubation of poultry eggs. The purpose of pre-incubation selection
is to increase the hatchability of eggs and the hatching of healthy young birds. A number of
physical parameters of eggs are associated with their hatching qualities. Chicks with greater
weight, which were hatched from larger eggs, grew faster and reached greater live weight at
the end of growing. Successful incubation of eggs depends not only on the mass of yolk and
white, but also on their ratio in the egg. The purpose of the research was to develop a method
for pre-incubation selection of quail eggs with a large yolk mass without breaking the shell.
The research was carried out in the “Poultry Breeding” laboratory of the Department of Farm
Animal Breeding and Animal Technology of Kuban State Agrarian University in 2023-2024.
The subjects of the research were quail eggs of Texas White breed. Monthly, 50 eggs per
group were randomly selected from laying hens at 120 days of age for analysis. For the opening of the eggs, their mass, big and small diameters were determined. Based on these parameters, the egg shape index was calculated. After opening the eggs, the weight of the yolk, white
and shell was determined. As a result of the research, it was found that with an increase in egg
weight by 1 g, the weight of the yolk increases, on average, by 0,29 g with a high reliable level of correlation. The proportion of yolk in a quail egg is no less than 30% of the mass of the
eggs. The optimal shape index for quail eggs varies from 72 to 76%. A formula has been suggested for calculating the absolute mass of the yolk based on the physical parameters of the
whole egg. A table has been developed for determining the proportion of yolk in a quail egg
depending on the shape index and weight of quail eggs.