MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION AND OTHER HATCHING PROBLEMS CAUSING DEAD -IN SHELL IN OSTRICH (STRUTHIO CAMELUS) EGGS DURING ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Departments of Microbiology Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

2 Departments of Wildlife Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

Complete data of 451 ostrich eggs from commer- cial incubators and hatcheries in Egypt were col- lected. Hatchability rate was only 45 (10%). Fer- tile and infertile eggs were 266 and 185 ( 59% and 41%) respectively. Fertility varied between eggs collected from different farms. Embryonic mortalities were higher at the start and end of in- cubation period (42 days). Most of these mortali- ties took place at the late stage of incubation (10- 14 days) and were found related to percentages of water loss which cause severe oedema and later mass deaths. In fertile eggs (266); broken egg shell, malposition, severe oedema and microbial contamination were the predominant causes of chick mortalities reported with 19, 72, 52 and 78 (7,1%. 27%, 19.5% and 29.3%) respectively. Malpositioning was related to incorrect egg set- ting or inadequate turning and oedema was found to be correlated with egg size and the amount of Water lost from incubated eggs of 266 fertile eggs, 73 showed bacterial (27.4%) and 5 fungal contaminations (1.9%). Salmonella enteritidis, S. typhimurium, S. typhi and S. para- typhi, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudo- monas aeruginosa were the main bacteria isolated from contaminated and poorly handled ostrich eggs; whereas, Aspergillus fumigatus and Mucor species were the main fungal (1.9%) species isolated.In conclusion, application of hygienic measurements, adequate egg turning, sufficient incubator humidity, periodic weighing of eggs for water loss in the incubators and hatcheries and proper egg handling are recommended in ostrich farms to reduce bacterial contamination and obtain significant and successful hatching results.

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