Vol. 9, Issue 10, Part D (2025)

This experiment examined how applying short periods of incubation during egg storage (SPIDES), with or without egg turning, influenced the intestinal histomorphometry of broiler chickens hatched from eggs stored for extended periods. A total of 750 hatching eggs from 33.5-week-old broiler breeders were allotted into five treatments: T1 (Control), T2 (3 SPIDES without turning), T3 (3 SPIDES with 3 turns during each SPIDES), T4 (4 SPIDES without turning), and T5 (4 SPIDES with 3 turns during each SPIDES). All eggs were fumigated and stored for 21 days at 17°C and 75% relative humidity. During storage, eggs in the SPIDES groups were exposed to 37.7°C for three hours every five days. In treatments with turning, eggs were rotated 45° hourly during the heat application. Following storage, eggs were incubated under standard conditions (99.8°F and 55% RH from day 1 to 18). After hatching, 36 chicks per treatment (6 males and 6 females per replicate) were reared under deep litter management and fed according to BIS (2007) standards.
Histomorphometry assessments were performed at five weeks of age. The results indicated that duodenal crypt depth was significantly higher (P<0.05) in SPIDES-treated groups compared with the control. Moreover, the T5 group exhibited the greatest ileal villus length. These outcomes demonstrate that SPIDES treatment, particularly when combined with turning, enhances intestinal development and nutrient absorption capacity in broilers originating from long-term stored eggs.