Abstract
In modern poultry husbandry, storing fertilized eggs is a common measure to cope with the variable demands of the market and the maximum hatching capacity of the hatchery. However, this measure is harmful to the hatchability of eggs and the quality of newly hatched birds. Knowledge about the effects of storing fertilized eggs on the performance of goslings is still limited. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of storing fertilized eggs on egg quality, hatchability, gosling quality, hatching weight, post-hatching growth performance, and amino acid profile in albumen and newly hatched goslings' serum. A total of 1,080 fertilized goose eggs (Jilin White goose) with a similar egg weight (126.56 ± 0.66 g) were used in this study. All eggs were distributed into 3 groups with 24 replicates per group and 15 eggs per replicate. The differences between groups were the storage duration of eggs (0, 7, or 14 d). We found that the Haugh unit, yolk weight, and eggshell weight decreased linearly, whereas the albumen pH increased linearly, with storage duration. Prolonging storage duration had negative effects on hatchability, hatching weight, post-hatching growth performance parameters, and gosling quality in a time-dependent manner. The analysis of the amino acid profile in albumen and newly-hatched goslings' serum showed that the amino acid content increased linearly with storage duration. Additionally, eggs stored for 14 d had the worst performance for all measured parameters. Therefore, we concluded that the storage of fertilized eggs negatively affects egg quality and post-hatching gosling quality. To produce high-quality goslings, it is necessary to shorten the storage duration for fertilized eggs.