Effect of breed, egg size and shape on fertility, late embryonic mortality and hatchability

In an experiment conducted on various breeds of chicken, it was found that light breeds had higher fertility, better hatchability and less than half embryonic mortality as compared to heavy breeds. Medium sized eggs (50–60 gm) had higher fertility (85%), better hatchability (81.82%) and lower late embryonic mortality (18.82%) than either too small «50 gm) or too large (>60 gm) sized eggs. Fertility, late embryonic mortality and hatchability were significantly affected by breed, size and Shape of eggs. Cylindrical eggs had higher fertility and late embryonic mortality with lower hatchability (FES%) in comparison to oval and roundish eggs. Highly positive correlation exists between egg weight and hatching weight of chicks. Breed and egg size had significant effect on hatching weight.