Abstract
1. | A clear positive correlation was evident between egg weight at setting and embryo weight at 18 d of incubation for eggs laid at or after 32 weeks of age. | ||||
2. | The weight of embryos from the same size eggs were found to depend upon a curvilinear function of the age of parent flock, with the largest increase in embryo weight occurring between 28 and 32 weeks of age. | ||||
3. | Hatching weight was highly correlated with egg size at setting. Flock age had no effect on hatching weight from a particular sized egg. | ||||
4. | Within any of the five ages studied, chicks from smaller eggs tended to hatch slightly (but not significantly) earlier than those from larger eggs. |
Notes
Present address: Department of Animal Production and Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 1482, Burydah, Qasseem, Saudi Arabia.