Comparative analysis of early embryogenesis in different breeds of quail

Quail farming is one of the promising areas of industrial poultry farming. This study is devoted to a comparative analysis of the early stages of embryogenesis of quails of three breeds of different productivity trends (Japanese — egg, Estonian — meat-egg, Radonezh — meat). The work used embryos of different incubation periods: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 hours. The eggs were opened after preliminary morphometry. An adapted «Early Chick, EC» technique was used to better visualize the early stages of embryogenesis. In the course of the research, discrepancies in the rates of embryogenesis were established: Japanese quail embryos show the most accelerated rate of development, ahead of the Estonian and Radonezh breeds at stages 1-2 and 2-3, respectively, on the Hamburger—Hamilton scale. The main differences can be observed already in the first 12 hours: Japanese quail embryos show a more active rate of development. However, by the 72nd hour of incubation, a gradual convergence of development rates is observed in all three breeds. At the same time, 100 % and 60 % of the embryos of Japanese and Estonian breeds, respectively, are at the 18th stage. In 40 % of cases, Radonezh quails correspond to the 18th stage, and 60 % correspond to the 17th stage of development. The revealed patterns and breed-specific differences can contribute to the development of differentiated incubation regimes and the establishment of critical marker points during the early periods of embryonic development.

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