Egg sanitation with ginger and garlic solutions affects embryonic development, hatchability, blood parameters and post-hatch performance of Japanese quail

This study evaluated the effects of hatching egg sanitation with different solutions contain garlic and ginger oils on embryonic development, hatchability, chick quality, and post-hatch performance of quail chicks. Four hundred and fifty quail-hatching eggs were obtained from a 15-week-old flock over 3 consecutive days and stored for a week in a controlled environment at 18 °C and 75% relative humidity for 7 days. Then, hatching eggs were distributed into five groups of 90 eggs. Eggs of the 1st group served as a control group (sanitized with TH4). The eggs of the 2nd and 3rd groups were sprayed with 1 m and 2 ml garlic / L of water, respectively. The eggs of the 4th and 5th groups were sprayed with 1 m and 2 ml ginger oil / L of water, respectively. Eggs were treated within an hour after collection and then stored for a week. Regardless of the treatment and dose, embryos’ weight, hatchability%, and chick quality parameter values of treated groups were significantly higher than those of the control group. Compared to the control group, blood proteins, thyroxin, and total lipids increased in the treated groups (p ≤ 0.05). While lower liver enzyme and glucose levels were found in the garlic and ginger sprayed groups. At the 2nd week of age, the growth performance of the treated groups’ chicks, including the body weight, feed intake, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio surpassed that of the control group chicks. Conclusively, it seems that garlic and ginger solutions are potential natural-produced disinfectants that could reduce the microbial load on the eggshell and improve embryonic development, hatchability, blood constituents, and early growth performance post-hatch. Moreover, using such natural alternatives is an environmental solution that may reduce the hazards of excessive use of chemicals, and could be a viable alternative to chemical disinfectants in quail hatcheries.