Effect of In Ovo Ornithine-α-Ketoglutarate Feeding on Early Body Weight and Pectoral Muscle Development of Chicks

This study investigated the effects of in ovo ornithine-α-ketoglutarate feeding on body weight and pectoral muscle development of chicks. On day 18 of incubation, 198 hatching eggs were randomly divided into three treatment groups each with three replicates of 22 eggs each. The treatment groups consisted of a non-injected control group and two treatments with 1 ml of saline each, containing either 0.2% (treatment group I) or 0.4% ornithine-α-ketoglutarate (treatment group II). The chicks were fed after hatching for seven days. Hatchability was reduced due to in ovo feeding of 0.4% ornithine-αketoglutarate. However, in ovo feeding of different levels of ornithine-α-ketoglutarate increased the daily gain, the body weight, the diameter and cross-sectional area of thepectoral musclefibers, the cross-sectional area ofthe pectoral muscle fiber bundles, the proportion of proliferating cells in the pectoral muscle. It is concluded that, in ovo ornithine-α-ketoglutarate feeding can promote early growth and development of pectoral muscles in chicks.