The objective of this study was to evaluate whether sanitizing hatching eggs with clove essential oil in the preincubation phase affects broiler performance and influences the hatch window and quality of embryos and one-day-old chicks. Hatching eggs (n = 1280; mean weight = 58.64 ± 0.49 g) from a batch of 37-week-old broiler breeder hens of the CPK (Pesadão Vermelho) lineage were randomly distributed into four treatments in the preincubation phase. The treatments consisted of three different sanitization procedures (spraying with grain alcohol, spraying with clove essential oil, and fumigation with paraformaldehyde) and a control treatment (nonsanitized). The lengths of the embryos and one-day-old chicks (one of the parameters used to assess bird quality) were not significantly different among the treatments, with means of 15.30 ± 1.41 and 18.37 ± 0.76 mm, respectively. Body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption, and feed conversion rate in different rearing periods did not differ significantly among the treatments. However, there was a significant difference in the percentage of survivability during the initial period (1 to 28 days) among the treatments. In conclusion, clove essential oil treatment did not negatively affect the quality of embryos and one-day-old chicks or the performance of broilers.
Keywords: broilers; chick quality; clove essential oil; embryo development; hatching eggs.