Extended Storage of Quail, Chicken, and Turkey Eggs

Abstract

INTRODUCTION THE fortuitous observation of elevated frequencies of twins in stored Japanese quail eggs, clustered in only a few related families, prompted us to investigate on a larger scale the effects of extended storage on hatching eggs. Similar studies have been conducted over more than 50 years with chickens (Landauer, 1967; review) and turkeys under a variety of conditions and in a variety of genetic stocks. Data from a storage trial involving chickens and turkeys simultaneously (Abbott, Abplanalp and Asmundson; unpublished) were available for comparative purposes. Their study and our quail experiment were conducted in the same laboratory under identical storage conditions. Comparisons of the three species as to hatchability and embryonic losses after extended storage of eggs are presented in this report. Analyses of embryonic abnormalities, sex ratios, and of genetic parameters will be presented separately. MATERIALS AND METHODS All birds used in this study were maintained by the…