Effect of thermal manipulation on embryonic development, hatching process, and chick quality under heat-stress conditions

Thermal stress is a risk that threatens poultry welfare and productivity. Thermal manipulation during egg incubation is considered a prevention strategy used to mitigate the detrimental effects of high ambient temperatures on birds. This study aimed to investigate the impact of thermal manipulation, applied to chicken breeder's eggs during the incubation period, on embryonic development, hatching characteristics, and chick quality, as well as posthatch thermotolerance and performance. A total of 1,200 fertile eggs were randomly and equally assigned into 2 groups of 3 replicates (200 eggs/replicate), using a randomized experimental design followed by t test. The first group eggs (G1) were subjected to a commercial setter temperature of 37.5°C with 55% relative humidity (RH) throughout the incubation period (1–18 d) and served as a control, while the second group eggs (G2) were treated the same commercial setter conditions until the 11(th) day of the incubation, then the eggs were exposed to a higher temperature of 39.5°C with 60% RH for 4 h daily from the 12(th) to the 18(th) day of incubation. All eggs in both groups were exposed to the same temperature condition of 37.2°C with 70% RH from the 19(th) to the 22nd days of the incubation (hatching period). Three hundred hatched female chicks per each treatment group were transferred into a closed-system house and distributed randomly into 20 floor pens (15 birds per pen). At the 8(th) week of age, birds were exposed to a daily heat challenge by raising the temperature to 35°C for 6 h until the 18(th) week of the chick's age. According to the results, thermal manipulation at 12 to 18 d of egg incubation positively (P ≤ 0.05) affected several studied traits. It improved some embryonic development traits, such as embryonic weight and tibia length, as well as some hatching parameters, such as hatching time and pipped eggs. It also improved hatched chick quality traits, including the chick's weight, length, and activity. In addition, it enhanced the posthatch chick's thermotolerance and body weight. Hatched chicks of G2 had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher total protein, albumin, IgM, glucose, calcium, total antioxidant, and T(3) than G1 chicks. They also had significantly (P = 0.001) higher body weight (23%) at the 18(th) week of age than G1, as well as a lower feed conversion ratio (20.71%) than G1 chicks at 8 to 18 wk of age. Therefore, it is recommended to apply thermal manipulation during egg incubation, particularly at 12 to 18 d, for its positive effects on the pre- and posthatch performance.