Basic and Applied Aspects of Incubation Oriented to the Needs of the Embryos

Dear Colleagues,

The influence of environmental factors during prenatal development on phenotypic diversity across the lifespan is widely recognized, and the phenomena of fetal programming and vegetative imprinting have been studied in several animal species. Even in precocial birds, as all poultry species, environmental factors during incubation can determine the developmental trajectory throughout life.

Therefore, knowledge of embryonic development and organism-environment interactions is essential to optimize the incubation process to improve post-hatching robustness, adaptability, health, and ultimately to ensure primary performance and welfare.

Especially in the hatching period, when the embryos have all the physiological prerequisites to react to environmental influences, environmental stimulation is not only essential for the current development of the embryos, but is also necessary in the long term and thus fulfils an important animal welfare aspect.

Temperature as an important incubation factor has already been investigated in numerous studies in different time windows in the course of incubation (e.g. thermal conditioning, -stimulation, -training), resulting not only in new results but also in new questions as the role of management and the age of the breeder flocks in the success of temperature manipulations during incubation. In the meantime, other factors such as light and the acoustic environment have also become the focus of research.

Hatchery environment, management of embryo development in conjunction with the physiological needs of the embryos become key factors in the poultry production chain. New approaches require new technical solutions and optimizations.

This Topical Collection will be dedicated to new developments in this broad field, both in basic and applied research.

Prof. Dr. Barbara Tzschentke
Collection Editor

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