Large variability of preincubation storage temperature in chukar partridge eggs under normal storage duration: Impact on egg and hatching traits, and embryonic development
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkiye
- 2Faculty of Food and Land Systems, Animal Welfare Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- 3Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Turkiye
- 4Department of Plant and Animal Production, Eregli Kemal Akman Vocational School Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkiye
- 5Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkiye
- 6Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkiye
- 7Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkiye
Abstract
The effect of different storage temperatures on egg traits during storage and incubation, hatching characteristics and embryonic mortality in chukar partridge eggs stored under normal-term storage was investigated in this study. The study was designed as a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with two storage durations (7 and 14 days) and four storage temperatures (3, 9, 15 and 21 °C). After storage, a total of 480 eggs (60 eggs per subgroup) were sent directly to the histology lab to determine the stage of embryonic development. The remaining eggs (50 eggs per each subgroup) were moved to an incubator for 21 d and then transferred to a hatcher basket. On day 26, unhatched eggs were opened to determine the hatching performance and embryonic mortality rate. Lower chick weights and longer incubation periods were observed when the eggs were stored at 15 °C. Almost all the egg and hatching traits were found to be similar among treatment groups. Considering that the probability of a higher embryonic developmental stage was increased in the eggs stored at 21 °C, the occurrence of embryonic development at gastrula stage was found to be similar across both storage duration and temperature groups. Even though storage temperature is recommended to be adjusted between 12–18 °C in poultry industry, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to claim that partridge eggs can be stored from 3 to 21 °C without any serious negative effect in the 14 days of storage period. Most insignificant findings in both hatchability and embryonic occurrence in eggs stored at 21 °C revealed that partridge breeders and game farmers would store their eggs during the short-term storage period by placing them in a room with minor temperature and humidity modifications.
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BibTeX
@article{cam2026large,
title = {{Large variability of preincubation storage temperature in chukar partridge eggs under normal storage duration: Impact on egg and hatching traits, and embryonic development}},
author = {Mustafa Çam and Mehmet Özbek and Zahit Kutalmış Kaya and Harun Karaca and Mahmut Şamil Şamlı and Serdar Güler and Neffel Kürşat Akbulut and Kemal Kırıkçı},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0354754},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354754},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Large variability of preincubation storage temperature in chukar partridge eggs under normal storage duration: Impact on egg and hatching traits, and embryonic development
AU - Mustafa Çam
AU - Mehmet Özbek
AU - Zahit Kutalmış Kaya
AU - Harun Karaca
AU - Mahmut Şamil Şamlı
AU - Serdar Güler
AU - Neffel Kürşat Akbulut
AU - Kemal Kırıkçı
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0354754
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354754
AB - The effect of different storage temperatures on egg traits during storage and incubation, hatching characteristics and embryonic mortality in chukar partridge eggs stored under normal-term storage was investigated in this study. The study was designed as a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with two storage durations (7 and 14 days) and four storage temperatures (3, 9, 15 and 21 °C). After storage, a total of 480 eggs (60 eggs per subgroup) were sent directly to the histology lab to determine the stage of embryonic development. The remaining eggs (50 eggs per each subgroup) were moved to an incubator for 21 d and then transferred to a hatcher basket. On day 26, unhatched eggs were opened to determine the hatching performance and embryonic mortality rate. Lower chick weights and longer incubation periods were observed when the eggs were stored at 15 °C. Almost all the egg and hatching traits were found to be similar among treatment groups. Considering that the probability of a higher embryonic developmental stage was increased in the eggs stored at 21 °C, the occurrence of embryonic development at gastrula stage was found to be similar across both storage duration and temperature groups. Even though storage temperature is recommended to be adjusted between 12–18 °C in poultry industry, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to claim that partridge eggs can be stored from 3 to 21 °C without any serious negative effect in the 14 days of storage period. Most insignificant findings in both hatchability and embryonic occurrence in eggs stored at 21 °C revealed that partridge breeders and game farmers would store their eggs during the short-term storage period by placing them in a room with minor temperature and humidity modifications.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -