Effect of egg size on chick hatch weight and subsequent body weights of two strains of Rhode Island chicks under selection

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of egg size on chick hatch weight and the subsequent weights of chicks up to 12 weeks of age in Rhode Island Red and White strains of Chickens. The mean egg size were 50, 54.4 and 59.6 g for small, medium and large eggs, respectively for the red strain, and were 51.7, 57.5 and 63.7g, respectively, for the white strain. The weight of the chicks as a percentage of egg weight was not significantly influenced by the group they were hatched from. However body weight up to 12 to 12 weeks of age differed significantly when eggs were classified into small, medium and large size. Though the body weight of chicks from medium and large size eggs were not significantly (P>0.05) different after the first week of life in either strain.

Key words: Egg size, Growth, Hatch weight, Body weight, Layers