Morphometric parameters of eggs from breeds quail for meat

Abstract

The paper shows the results of assessing eggs quality by morphometric and morphological indicators from meat-type quails, identifying significant differences in the quality indicators of the egg, which are responsible for the incubation and commercial qualities of the egg. In total, 360 eggs from 50 females were tested from Pharaoh and Texas White quails per month. Eggs for this study were collected from the age of 90 days. The shelf life of quail eggs was no more than 2 days from the moment of laying; the storage temperature was not higher than 15 ? at an average air humidity was 75%. The collection of morphological parameters (weight of the whole egg and its components) and biophysical parameters (elastic deformation of the egg, strength and thickness of the shell) was carried out on a highly sensitive analyzer Stable Micro Systems, Ohaus laboratory electronic scales and using a caliper. During the analysis of the eggs, significant differences in the morphological parameters of the eggs were established. The Texas White quail was superior to the Pharaoh quail and had at 2% more elongated shape (at the egg index). In both meat breeds shell thickness was 0.27 mm an average, howewer the difference was found in the shell thickness without an under shell membrane, namely the true shell. From the Texas quail it was 1.12 times thinner than from the Pharaoh quail. The color of the yolk in Texas white quails was more yellow, under the same conditions of keeping and feeding. The quality of protein in quails of both genotypes in our study was high, which indicates their suitability for incubation, and corresponds to good commercial qualities. However, it should be noted that the Pharaoh breed was inferior in HU by 3.78%, in IQU by 4.19%, and the protein index was 1.28 times less than that of the Texas quail.