Shell temperature: How shall we tell if a still gosling is under the eggshell?

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Biotechnology
• Engineering

Background:

• Assessing embryo viability in hatching eggs is crucial for reducing waste in the poultry industry.
• Current methods for assessing embryo viability can be invasive or lack accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a non-invasive method for predicting still (dead) versus live embryos in goose eggs.
• To establish mathematical models for estimating eggshell properties and embryo viability.

Main Methods:

• Daily measurement of eggshell surface temperature (T) during natural cooling.
• Calculation of a specific temperature index (STI = TS/W) using temperature, egg weight (W), and surface area (S).
• Derivation of mathematical models for shell weight (Ws) and thickness (t) using non-destructive parameters.

Main Results:

• The specific temperature index (STI) achieved 80% accuracy in identifying dead embryos between Days 8-13.
• Mathematical models demonstrated high accuracy for predicting shell weight (R²=0.908) and thickness (R²=0.593).
• All measurements and calculations were performed using non-destructive methods.

Conclusions:

• The developed non-invasive method using eggshell cooling rates and STI can accurately predict embryo viability.
• These novel mathematical models offer a valuable tool for the poultry industry to decrease hatching waste.
• The research contributes to a toolkit for non-invasive egg assessment in poultry, research, and engineering applications.