Research Article

Assessment of ultraviolet light effect in hatching eggs disinfection on hatchability traits of two breeds of quails and chickens

Karrar I.A. Al-Shammari, Justyna Batkowska, Magdalena M. Gryzińska

University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland

Al-Musaib Technical College, Iraq

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 14(2), 2015, 33‒44

Abstract. This study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of ultraviolet light (UV) (262 nm, 10 mW ∙ cm^–2) used as a disinfectant of hatching eggs for two breeds of chicken; Greenleg Partridge (GP) and Polbar (Pb) and two strains of quails: meat type (MTQ) and laying type (LTQ). Fertility, hatchability, periodical and total mortality of the set were established. Totally, 720 hatching eggs for all breeds: GP, Pb, MTQ and LTQ, 180 eggs per each breed were randomly divided into 3 groups each. The 1st group was negative control (NC), without disinfection, the 2nd group were control (F), fumigated with formaldehyde gas eggs, 3rd group were eggs exposed to UV at for 30 minutes (UV). Then eggs were hatched artificially using a BIOS hatching apparatus under standard conditions of incubation. The results revealed that eggs disinfected with UV did not significantly differ significantly in hatchability and total mortality from NC and F eggs in each strains of both, hen and quail eggs. 1st and 2nd periodical embryonic mortality was not significantly differ between groups in GP, Pb, LTQ but in 1st embryonic mortality the overall quail eggs was effected (P  ≤  0.01) by UV group. In 2nd embryonic mortality, UV was significantly lesser intensive (P  ≤  0.05) in MTQ. According to these the documented results, using UV as a disinfectant for hatching eggs could be potentially as safe disinfectant as formaldehyde without any negative and detrimental effect on hatchability and embryonic development.

Keywords: hens, quails, hatchability, disinfection, UV