In ovo feeding: a review

Abstract

The Brazilian poultry industry has shown an expressive role for the national economy, ranked as the second-largest producer and largest exporter in the world. This result comes from advances in genetic improvement, animal nutrition, management, and biosecurity. In poultry, the nutrients used during embryonic development are stocked at the egg, and the carbohydrate reserve is scarce after hatching. This restriction can cause damage to embryonic development and negatively affecting the weight of the poultry. Therefore, egg nutrition is a promising technique, which aims to provide nutrients to the embryo by inoculating solutions with beneficial effects on its development. However, further studies are needed to improve the technique and create effective protocols that can be widely used by industry. Thus, the objective of this literature review was to approach and understand the perspectives of the use of the technique of in ovo feeding in the broiler production chain.