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Dead-in-shell positions of near-term ostrich embryos

Brand, Z., Cloete, S.W.P., Malecki, I.A. and Brown, Chris (2017) Dead-in-shell positions of near-term ostrich embryos. South African Journal of Animal Science, 47 (1). pp. 2-6. ISSN 0375-1589

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Abstract

The patterns of embryonic development in ostriches, especially in the last stage of hatching, are still not well understood. This study examined between 3468 and 3484 dead-in-shell (DIS) eggs with chicks that died between day 35 and day 42 of artificial incubation. Most DIS chicks were positioned correctly with their heads towards the air cell (52.6%). DIS chicks that positioned their heads near the equator of the egg amounted to 46.5%, while a small percentage (0.9%) were positioned with their upper body towards the bottom of the egg. More DIS chicks tended to pip internally near the equator of the egg (37.6%) than DIS chicks that pipped internally through the membranes into the air cell (34.4%). Most DIS chicks had their heads turned in the correct position from left to right (54.4%), though their beaks were mostly positioned towards the air cell (52.9%). The highest percentage of DIS chicks had their feet in the upwards position (52.4%), while 46% had their feet across or below the head. The wings of all DIS chicks were positioned next to the body. Results from the study showed that most of the DIS chicks were roughly in the correct position, but were still unable to hatch. This warrants future research to investigate the reasons that prevent correctly positioned chicks from hatching.

Item Type: Article
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The full-text of the online published article can be accessed via the official URL.
Copyright resides with the authors in terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 South African License.
See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/za
Condition of use: The user may copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the work, but must recognize the authors and the South African Journal of Animal Science.

Uncontrolled Discrete Keywords: ostriches, head position, malposition, pipping position, SERG
Subjects: S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions: College of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences > School of Science and the Environment
Related URLs:
Copyright Info: Open access article
Depositing User: Chris Brown
Date Deposited: 11 Oct 2019 09:46
Last Modified: 31 Jul 2020 14:00
URI: https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/8720

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