Nutrição in ovo: adição de glicerol em ovos embrionados de frangos de corte

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding in ovo with glycerol on post-hatch development of broiler chicks. A total of 408 fertile eggs were distributed into six experimental groups consisting of five 0,9% saline solutions with different concentrations of glycerol 85% (0.0, 12.5, 25.0, 37.5 and 50.0 nmol/ml) and a control group (without inoculation). The inoculations were conducted at 17 days of incubation, in order to evaluate hatchability, embryo mortality, body weight and viscera weight, intestinal epithelial morphometry, glycemia and glycerol kinase activity of liver in chicks at hatching and at 7 days of age. The inoculation of solutions with glycerol did not influence the hatching weight and relative weights of the liver, pancreas, intestine and chest. There was quadratic effect of glycerol levels on the weights of yolk residue and gizzard and and glycemia; as well as increasing linear effect over the weights of spleen and heart, over at the height of the the villus of the duodenum and the ileum, at the depth of the crypts in the jejunum and ileum, and over hepatic glycerol kinase activity. At seven days of age, there was occurred no effect of glycerol over body weight and viscera weight; However, the height of villus and depth of the crypts in the ileum, with decrease glycemia and of the crypts in the jejunum. We conclude that glycerol can be used as substrate for in ovo nutrition of broiler chicks egg at the dose of 12.5 nmol/mL, for improving the conditions of the intestinal epithelial after hatching and yolk reserves in up to seven days after hatching.