Determination of egg quality characteristics and incubation performance in the maternal lines of akbay and atak-s hybrids raised in colony-type cages

This study was conducted to determine the egg quality characteristics and incubation performance of purebred maternal lines of the local Akbay and Atak-S hybrids. The research was carried out using eggs obtained from Barred Rock-1 and D-229 purebred layer breeder flocks at 52 weeks of age, housed at the Poultry Research Institute. The study was conducted in two stages: the first phase focused on evaluating egg quality parameters, while the second phase examined incubation performance. In the first stage, a total of 500 eggs from each line were evaluated for internal and external quality traits in two replicates, with 250 eggs collected at 15-day intervals. The quality traits examined included egg weight, albumen height, yolk color score, Haugh unit, eggshell breaking strength, shell thickness, shape index, and the incidence of blood and meat spots. In the Barred Rock-1 line, the first evaluation yielded the following mean values: egg weight 55.59 g, albumen height 5.98 mm, yolk color score 10.66, Haugh unit 77.40, shell breaking strength 32.57 N/cm², shell thickness 0.32 mm, shape index 76.09, and blood/meat spot ratio 0.40. In the second evaluation, corresponding values were 55.15 g, 5.93 mm, 10.45, 77.42, 32.89 N/cm², 0.32 mm, 75.98, and 0.43, respectively. In the D-229 line, the first evaluation resulted in: egg weight 55.64 g, albumen height 6.62 mm, yolk color score 9.98, Haugh unit 82.03, shell breaking strength 37.18 N/cm², shell thickness 0.33 mm, shape index 75.87, and blood/meat spot ratio 0.02. In the second evaluation, the corresponding values were 54.74 g, 6.75 mm, 9.87, 83.36, 36.90 N/cm², 0.32 mm, 75.46, and 0.04, respectively. In the second stage, hatching performance was assessed using a total of 2350 hatching eggs. For each line, seven replicates were formed, each corresponding to one tray, with 150 intact eggs placed per tray. Cracked or broken eggs were excluded from the analysis, resulting in 1050 eggs incubated per line. Parameters examined included the number of fertile and infertile eggs, early, mid, and late embryonic mortality, pipped dead embryos, number of live male and female chicks, average chick length and weight, hatchability of fertile eggs, and overall hatchability. In the Barred Rock-1 line, the mean results were as follows: egg weight 56.14 g, early embryonic mortality 0.99%, mid-embryonic mortality 0.68%, late embryonic mortality 12.02%, number of live chicks 109.71, male chicks 57.42, female chicks 52.29, chick length 16.88 cm, chick weight 36.29 g, hatchability of fertile eggs 83.63%, and overall hatchability 76.24%. In the D-229 line, the corresponding values were: egg weight 56.35 g, live chicks 97.14, male chicks 51.00, female chicks 46.14, chick length 16.76 cm, chick weight 36.38 g, early embryonic mortality 0.70%, mid-embryonic mortality 1.63%, late embryonic mortality 7.70%, hatchability of fertile eggs 72.92%, and overall hatchability 67.99%. These results indicated that shell-related problems and mid-embryonic mortalities were higher in the D-229 line, while late embryonic mortalities were more prevalent in the Barred Rock-1 line. Furthermore, although chick length and weight were higher in the D-229 line, Barred Rock-1 demonstrated superior hatchability and hatchability of fertile eggs. In conclusion, statistically significant differences were observed between the Barred Rock-I and D-229 lines in terms of egg quality traits and incubation performance. Keywords: Akbay, Atak-S, Incubation Performance, Local Hybrid, Egg Quality