A Model for Promoting Poultry Industry Development in Togo: Part 1. Management Practices and Incubation Conditions

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1 Interntionl Journl of Poultry Science 13 (3): , 2014 ISSN Asin Network for Scientific Informtion, 2014 A Model for Promoting Poultry Industry Development in Togo: Prt 1. Mngement Prctices nd Incution onditions K. Ton, A. Agonon, K. Eklu-Gdegeku, A. Teteh, P. Simons, J. Buyse, N. Everert, B. Kemp, E. Decuypere nd M. Gessor Fculty of Sciences, Lortory of Poultry Science, University of Lome, BP 1515, Lome, Togo 2 Deprtment of Biosystems, Lortory of Livestock Physiology, Immunology nd Genetics, K.U. Leuven, Ksteelprk Arenerg 30, 3001 Leuven, Belgium 3 World s Poultry Science Assocition, Beekergen, The Netherlnds 4 Wgeningen Agriculturl University, Wgeningen, The Netherlnds 1 Astrct: In commercil poultry husndry prctice, the htchery tkes over the incution of ird eggs in order to provide s mny dy-old chicks s needed t ny time to frmers. The min ottleneck for poultry industry development in Togo is the lck of dy-old chick supply. Indeed, there is no proficient htchery which cn cover the needs of the frmers ecuse of lck of informtion out htchery mngement or people trined s htchery mngers. Also, there is lck of informtion out mngement prctice spects, etc. With the im to promote poultry industry in Togo, n interuniversity project [tholic University of Leuven (KUL) nd University of Lome (UL)] s model of poultry industry development ws implemented. Specific ojectives of the current project re to implement reserch nd development ctivities on etter conditions of incution nd dpted mngement prctices focusing minly on (1) Effect of erly trnsferring of lyer reeders htching eggs on emryo prmeters nd htchility, (2) omprison of different chicken genotypes in Emryo Physiology, (3) Effects of het conditioning t d 16 to 18 of incution or during erly roiler rering on emryo physiology, post-htch growth performnce nd het tolernce, (4) Effect of low lumen quntity on chick emryo nd post-htch prmeters, (5) Effects of In ovo-dministrtion of L-crnitine on htching events nd juvenile performnce of lyer-type chick, (6) Interction effects of mixing htching eggs of differentil emryo growth trjectory nd incutor O2 concentrtion on emryo physiologicl prmeters, (7) Effect of delyed feed ccess on production nd lood prmeters of lyer-type chicks nd (8) Induced moulting of lyer chickens. Key words: Poultry development, incution, delyed feeding, crnitine, moulting, temperture tretment INTRODUTION Livestock, especilly poultry, mke sustntil contriution to household food security y providing income, qulity food, fertilizer nd ssets in over 80% of rurl households in developing countries (Bey, 2003). onstrints fced y the rurl producer in resource-poor res include: lck of ccess to mrkets, goods nd services; wek institutions; nd lck of skills, knowledge nd pproprite technologies. As results, oth production nd productivity remin elow potentil nd losses nd wstge cn e high. However, imported reeds cn e dpted nd locl feed resources re ville, long with proven technologies tht include preservtion nd vlue-dded product processing which could sustntilly improve productivity nd income genertion. Togo is primrily griculturl country. The rurl popultion is estimted t 80% of the totl popultion. In the 1970 s, new livestock development policies with development of short-cycle nimls, especilly poultry, s key elements were lunched. However, the species with short cycle re fced with mny constrints in prticulr husndry techniques nd helth thus limiting the socio-economic role of this ctivity for rurl popultion. Although fmily poultry production is still n importnt ctivity nd helps preservtion of within species iodiversity, its commercil impct is decresing every yer whilst commercil poultry production is incresing. But, reeding of high productive chickens is dependent on externl inputs such s dy-old chicks, prophylctic mesures nd specil food components. Among these inputs, only dyold chicks re scrcely ville so tht esides cpitl vilility, supply of dy-old chicks remins the mjor prolem for the frmers. With the im to promote poultry industry in Togo, n interuniversity project [tholic University of Leuven (KUL) nd University of Lome (UL)] s model of poultry industry development ws implemented. The min thrust of this project is to improve poultry industry in Togo nd its neighoring orresponding Author: K. Ton, Fculty of Sciences, Lortory of Poultry Science, University of Lome, BP 1515 Lome, Togo 176

2 countries through dpted mechnisms tht will llow for emryo wet nd dry weights recording t dy 15 nd different chickens lines to perform well under locl 18 of incution. At the end of incution (21 dys), environmentl conditions in order to improve the numer of htched chicks were recorded ccording to economics of production. More precisely, this project their sex nd weighed. Unhtched eggs were opened for ws deling with dpted incution conditions in order mcroscopic nlysis in order to clssify them s to produce dy-old chicks of optiml qulity which cn infertile eggs or egg contining ded emryos. Eggs cope with hot nd wet climtic conditions. Also, the with ded emryos were clssified s erly (0 to 15 current project focused on development of new dys) or lte ded emryos (15 dys onwrd). Lte ded technologies in poultry production nd implementtion emryos were clssified s pipping ded or of reserch on etter conditions of incution nd mlpositioning ded emryos. Emryo wet nd dry mngement prctices. The reserch nd development weights incresed with incution stges in similr ctivities focused on (1) incution conditions of wy, for oth incution tretments. Eggs trnsferred t htching eggs nd rering mngements of htchlings 18 dys of incution hd higher htchility of femle nd (2) evlution nd description of the effects of chicks (45.1% for femle chicks vs. 42.2% for mle delyed feed nd wter ccess on post-htch chicks) while for those trnsferred t 15 dys htchility performnce. More precisely, the project provided of mle chick ws higher (44% for mle chicks vs. relevnt informtion out: 42.1% for femle chicks) (p<0.01). Severl spects of incution conditions of htching omprison of different chicken genotypes in emryo eggs nd rering mngements of htchlings physiology: hicken post-htch performnce is known Evlution nd description of the effects of delyed to e relted to emryonic developmentl prmeters. feed nd wter ccess on post-htch performnce However, strin or genotype differences with regrd to Induced molting of lyer chicken emryo physiologicl prmeters hve received little ttention. Two different studies were conducted to Incution conditions of htching eggs nd rering compre chicken genotypes in emryo physiology mngements of htchlings nd/or post-htch juvenile growth. In first study, totl Effect of erly trnsferring of lyer reeders htching of 1,200 htching eggs produced y Lohmnn Brown eggs on emryo prmeters nd htchility: Besides (LB) nd Lohmn White (LW) reeders of the sme ge temperture nd reltive humidity, the turning were studied. Between 62 nd 150 h of incution, requirements re lso importnt for incution. It my emryo development ws monitored y coustic ffect the physiologicl development of the emryo nd resonnce nlysis s descried previously y oucke hence the htchility. Wilson (1991) pointed out tht et l. (1997). Briefly, the method involved the mechnicl turning involves severl vriles such s frequency, excittion of the egg y mechnicl impctor. The xis of setting nd turning, turning ngle, plnes of impctor hit the egg t its equtor nd the noise of the rottion nd stge of incution. In prctice, it is virting egg ws recorded y microphone positioned common to turn nd trnsfer the eggs from incutor t the equtor t n ngle of 90º to the impcter. The turning trys to htcher trys during the 18th dy of recorded signl ws then sent to dt cquisition crd incution. However, due to mngement prctices in nd trnsformed y fst Fourier trnsformtion to otin htcheries, incuted eggs trnsferring cn tke plce the resonnt frequency for the first sphericl mode of the etween 15 to 18 dys of incution. Studying roiler virting egg. In this experiment, four instntneous htching eggs, Ton et l. (2001) concluded tht trnsfer excittions with phse shift of 90 were pplied t the time hs to e considered in order to optimize equtor zone of the eggs. Also, lumen ph ws htchility nd chick qulity, especilly if the eggs from mesured etween setting nd d 8 of incution. From older flocks re incuted. To our knowledge there is no 10 to 18 dys of incution, remining lumen nd informtion out the effects of lyer reeder eggs emryos were weighed. During the lst dys of trnsferring on htching performnce. Investigtions in incution, htching occurrences were monitored fter our lortory focused on the effects of trnsferring lyer every four hours nd htched chicks were recorded. htching eggs t 15 dys of incution on htching Results indicte tht RF of LW eggs were lower thn tht prmeters. Htching eggs produced y Hisex Brown of LB eggs (p<0.01) nd strting time point of RF lyer reeders provided y Levru Htchery (Belgium) decrese occurred 4 h erlier in LB eggs thn in LW were incuted in forced drft incutors (Petersime eggs. Alumen ph of LB eggs ws lower thn tht of LW incutors 96) t stndrd incution conditions. At d 15 eggs t dy 8 of incution. Remining lumen weight of incution, three replictions of 150 eggs ech were t 14 nd 16 dys of incution ws lower in LB thn in trnsferred from turning trys to htching skets. At dy LW (p<0.05) while emryo weights incresed more 18 of incution nother three replictions of 150 eggs rpidly in LB strin thn in LW strin (Fig. 1). The fster ech were lso trnsferred. Smple of eggs were used growth of LB emryo compred with LW emryo 177

3 Fig. 1: Emryo growth in reltion to post-htch stge nd ccording to strins (LW: Lohmnn White nd LB: lohmnn Brown). At ech incution dy, *indictes difference etween lumen weights lumen ws weighed. During the lst dys of incution, htching events such s internl pipping (IP), externl pipping nd htch were monitored every 2 h. Htched chicks were recorded nd weighed. At IP stge, gs prtil pressures in the egg ir chmer were mesured. Htched chicks were rered for 7 d nd weighed. Results indicte tht RF of Ross eggs were lower thn those of o eggs (p<0.01) nd strting time point of RF decrese occurred 4 h erlier in o eggs thn in Ross eggs. This difference in RF suggests tht o emryo initition ws fster thn tht of Ross emryo. Between d 12 nd d 16 of incution, remining lumen weight ws lower in Ross strin thn in o strin (Fig. 2) indicting tht during this stge Ross emryo utilize lumen fster for growth. Reltive egg weight loss up to 18 d of incution ws lower in o thn in Ross (p<0.05). At IP, prtil pressure of O2 ws higher in o thn in Ross (p<0.05) with shorter incution durtion in o suggesting tht conducting through egg shell is lower for proly due to differentil shell chrcteristics. Between 6 nd 60 h post-htch, het production ws higher in o thn in Ross (p<0.05). At 7 d post-htch, o chicks were hevier thn Ross chicks (p<0.05). More detils out o nd Ross comprison re pulished in Poultry Science (Ton et l., 2010). Effects of het conditioning t d 16 to 18 of incution or during erly roiler rering on emryo physiology, post-htch growth performnce nd het tolernce: This study ws designed to test the effect of pre- nd post-htch temperture conditioning or comintion of oth, on the cquisition of het tolernce during the dult life of roiler chickens. Nine hundred htching eggs produced y o roiler reeders were incuted t Fig. 2: Remining lumen weights ccording to stndrd incution conditions until d 16. Hlf of the incution dy nd strins. At ech incution eggs were sujected to temperture conditioning for 3 dy, *indictes difference etween lumen h/dy (39.5, 65% reltive humidity (RH)) t d 16, 17 weights (Ton et l., 2010) nd 18 of incution (T group) while the other hlf ontrol group ( group) were kept t stndrd oserved up to d 16 of incution lsted until end of incution conditions. From the end of d 18 until the end incution. As result, incution durtion ws 7 h of incution, emryo het production (HP), gs prtil shorter for LB eggs thn tht of LW eggs. This dely in pressure in the ir chmer t IP nd lood prmeters htching of LW eggs ws relted to dely in the (T3 nd corticosterone) were mesured. Also, htching initition of emryogenesis (Becker et l., 1968; Mclury time for individul chick, ody temperture (T) nd ody nd Insko, 1968; Mther nd Lughlin, 1976) nd in weight (BW) nd the numer of htched chicks were decrese in rte of emryo development. recorded. Htched chicks were rised under regulr The second study compred emryo physiology nd conditions. At the ge of 3 d, the chicks of ech post-htch juvenile growth of two roiler lines. A totl of incution condition group were divided into 2 groups: 1,200 htching eggs produced y o nd Ross hlf of the chicks of ech group ( nd T) were roiler reeders of the sme ge were studied. At sujected to therml conditioning (41.0 for 6 h). The setting for incution nd etween 66 nd 130 h of other hlf of the chicks ws used s control. The 4 incution, egg Resonnce Frequency (RF) ws groups of roilers (Fig. 3) were rered until 42 d of ge. mesured s n indictor of the formtion of su- During post-htch period, T, lood prmeters nd BW emryonic fluid. Also, eggs were weighed efore setting were gin mesured. At 42 d ll roilers were het nd t d 18. From d 10 to 18 of incution, remining chllenged t 35 for 6 h. After het chllenge, mortlity 178

4 Fig. 3: Scheme of therml tretments pplied t emryonic stge, 3 d nd 42 d post-htch (Ton et l., 2008) incresed while post-ntl conditioning decresed corticosterone levels. Het chllenge t 42 d post-htch decresed T3 levels in the T group nd incresed corticosterone levels in postntlly conditioned group. Differences etween BW ecome ovious from 28 d post-htch nd t 42 d, the highest BW ws otined in the roilers of T group. Het conditioning t 3 d of ge improved het tolernce in response to het chllenge t 42 d. post-htch wheres prentl tretment hd strong negtive effect. For more informtion see Ton et l. (2008) in Europen Poultry Science. Effect of low lumen quntity on chick emryo nd post-htch prmeters: Htching eggs from Is Brown Fig. 4: Het production ccording to the incution lyer reeders were used in order to evlute the effects durtion nd het conditioning groups (T: of lumen removl on emryogenesis nd chick temperture mnipultion; ont: control group). juvenile growth. Prior to incution, the eggs were Ech dt point represents the men het weighed, numered nd divided into two groups (control production/hr/egg clculted from the O2 nd lumen). Two ml of thin lumen ws removed consumption nd O2 production during 456- from ech egg of lumen group nd ll the eggs of this 510th h of the incution period (Ton et l., group were weighed gin. Then, the htching eggs of 2008) oth groups were incuted rndomly in the sme incutor. During incution, smples of eggs were ws recorded nd lood smples were collected. The used to mesure lumen ph from 1 to 6 dys of results indicte tht therml conditioning during incution nd emryo nd remining thick lumen incution hd no effect on htchility of eggs ut weights etween 11 nd 18 dys of incution. Also, prolonged incution durtion, decresed T3 (t IP), yolk weights were recorded etween 14 nd 18 dys of corticosterone (t IP nd htch), HP (Fig. 4) nd T. incution. From to dys of incution, Overll, t 3 d post-htch, prentl conditioning the htched chicks were recorded every 2 h ccording to 179

5 Fig. 5: hick weights ccording to tretment nd ge nd *indictes difference etween lumen Fig. 6: Incution length ccording to numers of weights (p<0.05) htched chicks nd tretments. For ech incution length, At ech incution time, tretment. hick weight ws determined t htch. All the *indictes significnt differences etween htched chicks were fed for 6 weeks nd were weighed tretments (p<0.05) while **indictes high weekly. In oth tretments, lumen ph decresed significnt differences etween (p<0.01) etween 2 nd 4 dys of incution. But this decrese ws more pronounced in Alumen group thn in the (non injected nd injected with 0.9% of Nl) were lso control group indicting difference in emryo initition. included. Htched chicks were recorded every 4 h, Alumen consumption followed the sme trend in oth eginning t 490 h of incution nd ending t 514 h, for groups so tht t 17 nd 18 dys of incution lumen incution length nd htching spred determintion. At ws completely used, respectively in Alumen group the end of incution, htched chicks were recorded nd in control group. Yolk weight ws not ffected y the ccording to tretment for determintion of htchility. tretment. However, emryo dry or wet weights were At 3, 7 nd 14 d post-htch, chick ody weight (BW) nd similr until dy 16 of incution fter which they strted moridity were recorded. Also, t d 3 nd 7 post-htch, diverting so tht emryos from control group grew etter 14 irds from ech of 2 replicte groups within ech tht those of treted group. Htchility ws negtively tretment were used for intestine nd yolk sc weights ffected y lumen removl while incution time ws determintion. Results indicte tht BW, htchility, or comprle etween groups. The similrity etween reltive intestine weights were not ffected y tretment. incution time my suggest tht insufficient thin However, incution length ws longer while htching lumen do not jeoprdize emryo development. spred ws shorter in L-crnitine groups compred to However t htch, chicks of Alumen group were 2 g control groups (Fig. 6). Also, reltive yolk sc weights lighter thn those of control group. In ddition, during the nd moridity were ffected. Yolk sc reltive weight ws 6 weeks of rering, the chicks of control group continued decresed y tretment with L-crnitine (p<0.05). to grow fster thn those of treted group (Fig. 5) Percentge of chicks showing moridity sign ws lower indicting tht the effects of lumen removl cn in L-crnitine treted groups from d 7 nd onwrd. The negtively ffect post-htch performnce. results of the present study suggest tht in ovo injection of L-crnitine t d 18 of incution delyed htching time Effects of in ovo dministrtion of l-crnitine on ut resulted in nrrower htching spred, fster htching events nd juvenile performnce of lyer- utiliztion of yolk sc content nd improved moridity. type chick: L-crnitine enhnces the trnsport of long For the second study, htching eggs from Ross roiler chin ftty cids through mitochondril memrne. It cn reeders nd Is Brown lyer reeders of 35 wk old e produced y nimls orgnism from lysine nd (600 eggs/line) were used. At d 18 of incution, eggs methionine. However, it ws reported tht chicken from ech genotype were divided into 4 groups i.e., emryos hve limited cpcity to synthesize L-crnitine control eggs (without ny tretment), Sline (eggs during incution. The effects of in ovo injection of L- injected with sline solution of 0.9%), eggs injected with crnitine on htchility nd juvenile performnce were L-crnitine of 500 µmole (L500) or 1000 µmole investigted in two different studies. In the first study, (L1000). For ech solution, 100 µl ws injected in the fertilized eggs were injected in ir chmer with 100 ir chmer. At htch nd t 7 d post htch, lood µl of L-crnitine (500 nd 1000 µmol dissolved in 0.9% smples were collected for plsm triglyceride, glucose, of Nl) t d 18 of incution. Two control groups totl protein, uric cids, triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine 180

6 Tle 1: Effects of L-crnitine dministrtion t d 18 of incution on emryo mortlity, htchility nd chick qulity ccording to chicken genotype Prmeters Htchility (%) hick of optiml qulity (%) Emryo mortlity (%) Tretment Ross Is Brown Ross Is Brown Ross Is Brown ontrol * * * Sline * * * L500 * * * L1000 * * * , Within column men vlues with different superscript letters re significntly different (p<0.05) nd *indictes difference etween Is Brown nd Ross strins (p<0.05) (T4) nd corticosterone concentrtions determintion. From 10 to 18 dys of incution, remining thick Tle 1 shows htchility, proportion of chick of optiml lumen nd emryos were weighed. Blood smples qulity nd emryo mortlity ccording to genotype nd were collected t dy 18 of incution, t internl pipping in ovo injection tretments. Htchility nd percentge (IP) stge nd t htch for T3, T4 nd orticosterone of chick of optiml qulity were higher in Ross thn in levels determintion. Also, prtil O2 nd O2 pressures Is Brown. were mesured in ir chmer t IP stge. Emryo Overll, lyer-type chicks hd higher levels of T4, totl weights were recorded for ll the eggs used for lood protein nd uric cid thn those of roiler chicks. With smpling nd gs pressures mesurements. During regrd to L-crnitine injection, eggs of L1000 groups the lst 2 dys of incution, htching events such s hd the lowest htchility nd this negtive effect ws IP, externl pipping (EP) nd htch of individul egg more pronounced in Is Brown eggs. At htch nd 7 d were monitored every 2 h. At setting, Ross eggs were post-htch, control chicks hd the lowest levels of slightly hevier (61.12±0.16 g) thn those of Is Brown triglyceride nd T 3 ut the highest levels of T4. At 7 d-old (60.10±0.17 g) (p<0.05). But lumen HUs of oth nd irrespective of genotype, the highest nd the lowest genotypes were not significntly different (78.39±1.38 for levels of corticosterone were otined in chicks of Is Brown vs ±1.12 for Ross). The ph vlues of L1000 nd L500 groups, respectively, compred to Ross strin were lower thn those of Is Brown (p<0.05) control nd sline groups. while t dy 6 of incution ph vlues were similr for oth genotypes. From d 12 of incution onwrd, Ross Interction effects of mixing htching eggs of emryos grew fster thn those of Is Brown (p<0.05). differentil emryo growth trjectory nd incutor But t d 14 nd d 16 of incution, only Ross eggs in O2 concentrtion on emryo physiologicl controlled O2 incutor hd lower lumen weights prmeters: Two experiments were designed to compred to ll other tretments (p<0.05). T3 investigte the effects of mixing of egg of different concentrtions of Ross eggs were higher in oth genotype x incutor O2 concentrtion on emryonic incution tretments thn those of Is Brown eggs prmeters. In experiment 1 htching eggs of Ross (p<0.05). Tle 2 indictes tht IP nd EP occurred roiler reeders nd Is Brown lyer reeders of 35 erlier in roiler eggs thn in lyer eggs (p<0.05) with no week old were used. Before setting for incution, eggs differences etween incution tretment. But, were numered, weighed nd smple of eggs were incution times up to 50% of htch were similr used to determine lumen Hugh unit nd lumen etween genotype incution tretment. hick ph. The eggs were mixed t rndom during incution. weights t htched were ffected y genotype s well In experiment 2, only htching eggs of Is Brown were s incution tretment nd were in the following used. For oth experiments, hlf of the eggs were order: Is Brown SV<Is Brown VO2 = Ross SV<Ross incuted in O2 controlled incutor (VO2) during VO2. More detils out interction effects of mixing the first 10 d of emryonic development. In this htching eggs of differentil emryo growth trjectory incutor, O2 concentrtion incresed curvilinerly nd incutor O2 concentrtion on emryo etween emryonic 3 nd 10 d of incution from 0.05 physiologicl prmeters re provided in pper to 1%. The O2 concentrtion ws constntly monitored ccepted for puliction in British Poultry Science using computerized system with O2 sensor (Ton et l., in press). (Visl GMM221, Wrloos, Belgium). The other hlf of In experiment 2, results out lumen ph, weights of the eggs ws incuted t stndrd ventiltion condition emryo, lumen nd chick nd hormones (SV) during the first 10 d. From d 11 until the end of concentrtion followed the sme trend s in experiment incution, ll the eggs were t stndrd incution 1 for Is Brown emryos. But, incution times of VO2 conditions. Smple of eggs were used for lumen ph eggs until IP, EP nd htch were significntly shorter mesurements etween 1 nd 6 dys of incution. thn those of SV eggs (p<0.05). 181

7 Tle 2: Incution time up to internl pipping (IP), externl pipping (EP) nd htching (Htch) stges nd chick weight t htch ccording to tretments in experiment 1 Is Brown Ross SV VO2 SV VO2 50% IP ± ± ± ± % EP ± ± ± ± % Htch ± ± ± ±0.57 hick weight t htch (g) c 43.32± ± ± ±0.44,,c Within row, men vlues with different superscript letters re significntly different (p<0.05) Tle 3: Yolk sc weights, moridity nd mortlity ccording to delyed feed ccess durtion 0 h dely 48 h dely 72 h dely Yolk sc weight (g) D-old 4.89± ± ± d-old 1.27± ± ± d-old 0.19± ± ±0.09 Moridity up to c 3.50± ± ± d-old (%) Mortlity up to c 1.70± ± ± d-old (%),,c Within row, men vlues with different superscript letters re significntly different (p<0.05) Effect of delyed feed ccess on production nd lood prmeters of lyer-type chicks: A totl of 684 Hisex Brown dy-old chicks were studied. The chicks were rndomly ssigned into three groups s follows: (1) chicks with immedite feed ccess; (2) chicks with 48 h dely in feed ccess nd (3) chicks with 72 h dely in feed ccess. For ech group, chicks were ssigned into 4 replictions of 57 irds ech. Prior to feed ccess, the chicks were weighed. Smples of chicks were used to weigh yolk sc t 1, 3 nd 7 dys nd to collect lood t 1, 3, 7, 14 nd 56 dys. Also, rered chicks were weighed weekly. The results indicted tht chick weights decresed during the holding period. Yolk sc utiliztion ws similr etween groups, while moridity nd mortlity incresed linerly with the durtion of dely in feed ccess (Tle 3). The liner reltionship etween the durtion of dely in feed ccess nd moridity or mortlity otined in this study my e due to insufficient development of immune system in chicks with delyed feed ccess. At 56 dys, chicks hving delyed ccess to feed were lighter thn those without dely in feed ccess (Fig. 7). Serum concentrtion of glucose up to 14 dys nd of totl protein nd triglycerides until 56 dys decresed with the incresing durtion of dely in feed ccess. For more informtion, see Gglo-disse et l. (2010) in Act Veterinri Hungric. Induced moulting of lyer chickens: Two different forced moulting progrmmes were tested nd their effects on fether chrcteristics, production nd egg qulity prmeters of Hisex Brown lying hen were investigted. The hens hd 67 weeks of ge t the ody weight decresed up to 20% nd 22%, respectively eginning of the moulting process. The moulting t 20 dys for group 1 nd t 14 dys for group 2 progrmmes were: 182 Fig. 7: hick weights up to 56 d-old ccording to tretments nd ge of chicks. At ech ge, *indictes differences etween 0 h dely group nd 48 nd 72 h delyed groups (p<0.05) while **indictes differences etween 48 h dely nd 72 h dely groups (Gglo-Disse et l., 2010) Feed withdrwl t the first dy followed y feeding with 20, 30, 70 nd 90 g/hen/dy of whet rn, respectively during t the second dy, from 3 to 9 dys, from 10 to 19 dys nd from 20 to 23 dys during the moulting process (group 1) Feed withdrwl during the first 8 dys followed y feeding with 60 nd 80 g/hen/dy of whet rn, respectively from 9 to 18th dy nd from 19 to 28th dy (group 2) The control group ws fed with stndrd lying diet during the experimentl period. Every week, lost nd renewl of primry wing fethers nd the weight of hen were recorded. Also, lying performnces nd egg weights were recorded from the eginning of the second cycle of egg production. Moreover, egg qulity prmeters (lumen Hugh unit, yolk colour nd shell thickness) were mesured. The results indicte tht, etween 14 nd 32 dys during the moulting process, numers of wing fethers lost were comprle for hens sujected to moulting ut were higher thn those of the hens of control group. Hen indicting tht prolonged feed withdrwl resulted in

8 physicl prmeters of the eggs my led to the hypothesis tht incution conditions could e improved in strin- dependent mnner. With regrd to mngement prctices results from this project rought out tht: Moulting process cn e included in poultry frms mngement prctices in order to fce severl difficulties due to vilility nd cost of dy old chicks Delyed feed ccess is detrimentl to the juvenile performnce of lyer-type chicks nd hs negtive ge-relted effect on the serum concentrtions of glucose, triglycerides nd totl protein Fig. 8: Egg production chnge during the moulting process ccording to moulting tretment nd moulting time rpid nd pronounced ody weight loss. As shown in Fig. 8, egg production decresed shrply in oth moulting groups nd ws t ndir level t dy 17 nd t dy 9, respectively in group 1 nd group 2. But the eginning of the next egg production cycle strted erlier in group 2 thn in group 1. These effects of moulting progrmme on egg production suggest reltionship etween ody weight loss nd egg production. In ddition, lumen Hugh units were improved nd eggshell thickness s well s yolk colour ws more pronounced in moulted groups compred to control group (p<0.05). onclusion: From the results of reserch ctivities concerning incution conditions of the current project, we could conclude tht in Togolese poultry mngement spects: Mixing of htching eggs of differentil emryo developmentl trjectory during incution should e voided ecuse of its detrimentl effects on emryonic growth L-crnitine dministrtion during emryonic life ffected differentilly htchility nd lood prmeters during post-htch juvenile growth ccording to genotype nd dose of L-crnitine Het tretment during incution or during posthtch life induces completely different effects. It ws expected tht conditioning would hve incresed metolism nd therefore shorter incution period ut the reverse ws found Erlier trnsferring does not ffect emryo weights ut my influence differentilly htchility ccording to the sex These findings suggest tht differences in physiologicl prmeters during emryonic development nd lso in In ddition, collortive project etween universities or reserch nd development institution with regrd to technology nd knowledge trnsfer etween developed nd developing countries my void widening the gp in knowledge nd reserch cpilities. This is crucil in process of mondiliztion of every spect of life nd economy. AKNOWLEDGMENTS This study ws supported y Flemish Interuniversity ouncil (VLIR) (ZEIN 2006 PR 32). The promoters of the current project thnk KUL, RUG nd UL for fcilitting project ctivities implementtion. The uthors re grteful to IAT, ITRA nd ANPAT for the generous support of project ctivities. REFERENES Bey,.E., Développement de l'viculture villgeoise: Dix nnées d'expérience de VSF u Togo. Réseu interntionl pour le développement de l viculture fmilile, Becker, W.A., J.V. Spencer nd J.L. Swrtwood, ron dioxide during storge of chicken nd turkey htching eggs. Poult. Sci., 47: 251. oucke, P.M., G.M. Room, E.M. Decuypere nd D.E.J.G., Berdemeker, Monitoring emryo development in chicken eggs using coustic resonnce nlysis. Biotech. Pro., 13: Gglo-Disse, A., K. Ton, S. Aliou, M. Deonne, K. Aklikokou, M. Gessor nd E. Decuypere, Effect of delyed feed ccess on lyer chick production prmeters nd lood metolites. Act Vet. Hung., 58: Mther, M.. nd K.F. Lughlin, Storge of htching eggs: the effect on totl incution period. Br. Poult. Sci., 17: Mclury, E.H. nd W.M. Insko, Reltion of preincution fctors nd post-htching performnce to length of incution period. 1. Effect of egg weight nd storge time to length of incution period. Poult. Sci., 47:

9 Ton, K., E. Decuypere nd W. oucke, The Ton, K., O.M. Ongesn, B. Kmers, N. Everert, V. effects of strin, hen ge nd trnsferring eggs from Bruggemn nd E. Decuypere, omprison turning to sttionry trys fter 15 to 18 dys of of o nd Ross strins in emryo physiology nd incution on htchility. Br. Poult. Sci., 42: 663- chick juvenile growth. Poult. Sci., 89: Wilson, H.R., Physiologicl requirements of the Ton, K., O. Ongesn, V. Bruggemn, V. ollin,. developing emryo: temperture nd turning. Pges Berri, M. Duclos, J.S. Tesserud, J. Buyse, E in: Tullett S. G. Avin incution, Ed. Decuypere nd S. Yhv, Effects of het Buhnth-Heinennn, mridge UK. conditioning t d 16 to 18 of incution or during erly roiler rering on emryo physiology, posthtch growth performnce nd het tolernce. Arch. Geflügelk, 72: