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Use of Nonsettable Eggs to Evaluate Turkey Hen Fertility

M. R. Bakst^*, S. McGary, I. Estevez and T. Knapp

^* U. S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350
Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
Wampler Foods, Inc., Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801

M. R. Bakst, E-mail: murray{at}anri.barc.usda.gov

The use of nonsettable eggs (checked, cracked) to perform fresh egg breakouts to estimate true fertility and to assess the rate of sperm penetration of the perivitelline layer overlying the germinal disc was evaluated. Germinal discs and the perivitelline layer overlying the germinal disc were accessible for assessments. The stage of blastodermal development positively correlated (r = 0.65, P < 0.0001) with eggshell thickness. It was also determined that the perivitelline layer of nonsettable eggs could be isolated and stained to determine the presence or absence of sperm holes. True fertility of nonsettable eggs (checked and cracked only) and settable eggs was 90 and 95%, respectively. It was concluded that checked and cracked eggs could be used to estimate the true fertility of a flock.

Key Words: egg fertility • embryo • turkey