Effects of Different Incubation Programs and Types of Incubators on the Hatching Performance of Pigeon Embryos

XU Kunjie; HUANG Xiaofeng; YANG Hongqiu; WANG Ziying; CHANG Kaiyue; CAI Yuanrong; SHAO Linlei; LAN Liubin; HE Haopeng; LIN Chuanghao; LIN Suiyuan; XU Haoze; CHEN Yitian; ZHANG Xumeng; WU Zhongping

doi:10.19978/j.cnki.xmsy.2025.01.13

Abstract：The incubator is an important part of the artificial hatching of embryos in farms to improve production efficiency.An incubator with a reasonable internal structure design can effectively improve the hatching efficiency of the farm.The hatching program controls the incubator to operate automatically at each stage to ensure the relative stability of the environment inside the box.The design of a suitable hatching program should consider five factors such as temperature,humidity,ventilation,egg cooling and egg turning.Among them,temperature and humidity are the key conditions that determine the hatching effect.Formulating a scientific change in temperature and humidity can greatly improve the hatching effect of embryos.In order to understand the influence of different hatching programs and incubators on the hatching effect of pigeon embryos,this experiment set up two hatching programs and used two incubators.A total of 9,000 fertilized pigeon embryos were selected and randomly divided into 3 groups,with 3 replicates in each group and 1,000 in each replicate.The experimental settings are:Group A(a incubator+two-stage constant temperature),Group B(b incubator+two-stage constant temperature),and Group C(b incubator+single-stage variable temperature hatching).The hatching results of the three groups of pigeon embryos,including data such as infertile eggs,dead embryos,healthy chicks,and weak and disabled chicks,were recorded.The results showed that in terms of hatching effect,the hatching rate and dead embryo rate of the single-stage variable temperature group C were better than those of the two-stage constant temperature hatching group B,with a significant difference(P<0.05);the hatching rate of group A was slightly higher than that of group B,with no significant difference(P>0.05).In terms of hatching effect,the hatching rate and healthy chick rate of group A and group C were higher than those of group B,with no significant difference(P>0.05).There is no significant difference in the hatching effect between a and b incubators,but the hatching rate and healthy chick rate are slightly higher than those of b incubators,and the hatching window is slightly longer than that of b incubators.Each has its own advantages.Through the analysis of the hatching and hatching effects of pigeon embryos by two hatching programs and two incubators,the study has proved that single-stage variable temperature hatching is more suitable for the hatching needs of pigeon embryos and can be promoted to actual production as a new hatching program,providing design ideas for the hatching of pigeon embryos at the grass-roots level and the production of incubators.