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Clues and cues in a Japanese quail egg: What individual variable parameters can be used to identify the hen that laid it?

Narushin, Valeriy G., Volkova, Natalia A., Dzhagaev, Alan Yu., Gagieva, Zarina V., Volkova, Ludmila A., Griffin, Darren K., Romanov, Michael N, Zinovieva, Natalia A. (2025) Clues and cues in a Japanese quail egg: What individual variable parameters can be used to identify the hen that laid it? Biosystems Engineering, 250 . pp. 317-324. ISSN 1537-5110. E-ISSN 1537-5129. (doi:10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2025.01.011) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:108586)

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Abstract

Highlights

• Most quail egg variables are not practicable to identify a specific laying hen.

• Egg surface area-to-volume ratio has the best reproducibility and lowest variation.

• This ratio can be an intraclutch “signature” of eggs generated by any given female.

• Mother quail seems to produce the yolk excessively, not providing its exact amount.

• Produced excess yolk and adjusted shell weight ensures low egg weight variation.

Abstract

Variability in eggs laid by the same bird is well known but remarkably understudied. Ecological, physiological and genetic mechanisms clearly play a role; however, the reasons for the high/low variability of some parameters remain a mystery. Here, with the aim of identifying a wider range of data for analysis of their individual variability, the variability of several egg parameters in F2 Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) hens was studied. The highest variability was noted for the parameters of shell strength (21.4–27.1%), suggesting its unsuitability as an identifier of a single hen. The highest reproducibility (i.e., the lowest variability of 1.5%) was observed for the ratio of egg surface area to volume (S/V). This indicator can indirectly characterise the level of embryonic metabolism and be used as an adaptive feature of the hen body targeted towards maintaining the stability of the S/V value. Excessive formation of the yolk component leads to an “adjustment” of the shell, ensuring low variability of the total egg weight. These findings can be taken into account to advance our understanding of the ecological, physiological, and genetic underpinnings for developing promising intraclutch “signatures” of quail egg production. It could find application in the field of preincubation egg sorting, with artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted classification of individually identified eggs to tailored incubation regimes. Moreover, given that the S/V value is also related to egg contents parameters, identifying laying hens by this feature might allow breeders to categorise separate groups of females, each of which lay eggs of identified nutritional value.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2025.01.011
Uncontrolled keywords: Japanese quail eggs; egg formation; egg shape; variables and geometrical indices; egg surface area-to-volume ratio; metabolic rate; intraclutch egg variability signatures
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science)
Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA440 Geometry
Q Science > QH Natural history > QH324.2 Computational biology
S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Reproduction
Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Biosciences
Depositing User: Mike Romanov
Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2025 18:27 UTC
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2025 14:49 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/108586 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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