EFFECTS OF LOWERING INCUBATION TEMPERATURE ON HATCH OF FERTILE AND POST-HATCH PERFORMANCE AND CORRELATION BETWEEN EGG AND CHICK WEIGHTS OF BANABANG KALABAW PHILIPPINE NATIVE CHICKEN

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of incubation temperature on hatch of fertile, day-old chick weight, and livability for the first seven days and establish correlation between egg weight and chick weight in 52-week old Banabang Kalabaw Philippine native chicken. A total of 72 fertile eggs (45 ± 2 g) were randomly distributed into two incubators with constant temperatures of 36.5°C and 37.5°C, respectively, following CRD with three replicates. Chicks were individually weighed upon hatch and group brooded for seven days. Results showed that at 52 weeks of age, Banabang Kalabaw native chicken had an average egg weight of 48.76 g, composed of 61.5% albumen, 30.0% yolk, 8.0% shell and 0.5% shell membrane. The two incubation temperatures had no significant effect on all variables tested. Egg weight had a very strong positive correlation (r=0.95, P<0.01) with chick weight. This study shows that the incubation temperature for Banabang Kalabaw native chicken eggs can be lowered to 36.5°C with no adverse effects on hatch of fertile and 7-day post-hatch performance. Further, egg weight can be used as direct selection criteria for chick weight.