Research Note: The influence of storage duration and short periods of incubation during egg storage on hatching performance of indigenous chickens

Extended duration of fertile eggs severely compromises hatchability and chick quality in poultry. This study evaluated the effect of short periods of incubation during egg storage (SPIDES) in mitigating hatching losses associated with storage for indigenous Beijing-You chickens. A total of 1,440 eggs were used across six treatments representing durations of egg storage (7, 14, and 21 days) and SPIDES treatment. Freshly collected eggs were stored in egg storage room at 16 °C and 65 % relative humidity. The eggs were subjected to a standard SPIDES procedure, which involved 1-h incubation at 35 °C and natural cooling to 28.8 °C. Following the cooling phase, the eggs were returned to the same storage room as the control eggs. SPIDES was performed at day 5, day 5 and 10, and day 5, 10, and 15 for eggs stored for 7 days, 14 days, and 21 days during storage, respectively. Results showed that prolonged storage significantly reduced the hatchability of fertile eggs (89.77 % for 7 days to 54.96 % for 21 days) and the percentage of normal day-old chicks (99.77 % to 78.07 %), and increased the percentage of mid-late-dead embryos (9-21 embryonic day) (4.69 % to 39.04 %). SPIDES treatment dramatically reversed these effects on eggs stored for 21-day by improving hatchability of fertile eggs to 79.87 % (P < 0.05) and the percentage of normal day-old chicks to 89.50 % (P < 0.05), while reducing the percentage of mid-late-dead embryos to 17.09 % (P < 0.05). SPIDES also reduced early embryonic mortality and enhanced hatch synchrony by narrowing the hatch window. These results demonstrated that SPIDES effectively increase the hatching performance by reversing storage-induced embryonic damage. This confirms SPIDES as an essential intervention for maintaining hatching performance in eggs of indigenous chicken breeds subjected to prolonged storage.