ABSTRACT: A study was carried out to evaluate the effect of in ovo feeding during early-embryonic life with either vitamin C or glucose on hatchability, post hatch performance, carcass traits and gut histology. Two sets of Dandrawi fertile eggs (400 eggs each with average weight 51.1± 0.2g) were used in two separate trials. On d 14 of incubation, eggs of the first set (Trial 1) were examined and those containing live embryos were divided equally into 4 treatments (100 eggs/ treatment) and injected in the amnion as follows: T1 (negative control, no injection); T2 (positive control, injected with 0.1ml saline solution 0.9g/L); T3 (injected with 0.1ml 2.5 % water solved vitamin C); T4 (injected with 0.1ml 5% water solved vitamin C). Eggs of Trial II: T1 (negative control, no injection); T2 (positive control, injected with 0.1ml saline solution 0.9g/L); T3 (injected with 0.1ml 5 % water solved glucose); T4 (injected with 0.1ml 10% water solved glucose). Hatched chicks from each trial were allocated into 3 replicates/ treatment and brooded till 10 weeks old.
Performance of chicks of T4 (Trial 1) hatched from the eggs injected with 5% vitamin C showed significant (P<.01) improvement in BW, BWG, FCR and scored the lowest percent of mortality. However; measurements of carcass traits showed no significant differences among treatments. Furthermore, blood parameters were all within normal physiological values. Histological examination of the gut revealed positive influence (P<.01) of 5% vitamin C injection level on height and width of duodenum villi. Results of the second trial showed significant (P<.01) enhancement in performance of the chicks hatched from the eggs injected with 10% glucose. Also, histological evaluation of the same group scored the highest (P<.01) values of duodenum villi height and width. In conclusion, in ovo injection at d 18 of incubation with either 0.1 ml 5% vitamin C or 0.1ml 10% glucose improved post hatch Dandarawi chicks’ performance and gut histological traits related to nutrient absorption.