The reason for the high embryo mortality rate of pigeons

Embryos have two high death stages during hatching: one is that the 4 days of hatching are concentrated in 23 days, and the other is within two days before hatching. The causes of the increase in embryonic death can be divided into external and physiological causes.

External reasons

1. Abandon the nest. The abandonment of the nest of parent pigeons hatching eggs is common, which can occur at any stage of hatching, resulting in the death of embryos. The abandoned embryo eggs can be transferred and reared within 24 Murray 36 hours, so that the eggs can be rescued.

2. Be frightened. Such as cleaning the pigeon house or working the night shift on a moonlit night to frighten the pigeons out of the nest.

3. Pests and beasts. All kinds of pests and animals, such as lice, flies, mosquitoes, bugs, mice, etc., and some beetle larvae will drill into the newly pecked eggshell to feed on young pigeons or feed directly on young pigeons.

4. The structure of nest box is unreasonable. The nest box should be cup-shaped so that the eggs in the incubation will not roll away from the belly of the parent pigeon.

5. Disinfectants and insecticides. The disinfectant or insecticide sprayed will kill the embryo if it enters the eggshell. For this reason, it is best not to scatter quicklime in the house. When spraying disinfectant, cover the eggs as much as possible.

Physiological reasons

1. Parent pigeons are old, weak and sick. The embryo mortality rate of parent pigeons is higher when they are old, weak and sick, such as the anal egg mortality of old pigeons and sick pigeons.

2. Variety and inbreeding. Some varieties or strains have higher embryo mortality due to genetic reasons. In addition, inbreeding can also increase the death of embryos.

3. Pathological changes. Iodine deficiency can cause goiter, making young pigeons weak or die when pecking at the shell. Embryos can die if they are infected with bacteria or other diseases. Embryos infected with Salmonella typhimurium often die in the shell in the last few days of hatching.

4. The egg is trapped in the fallopian tube. If the egg stays in the fallopian tube for too long, the embryo will die due to hypoxia. Female pigeons are frightened when laying eggs, fallopian tube deformities, endocrine gland dysfunction and so on, can prolong the stay time of eggs in the fallopian tube.

5. Abnormal eggshell. Whether the eggshell is normal or not has a great influence on embryonic development. The eggshell is too thick and high humidity is needed when hatching. For this reason, the thick shell eggs can be soaked in human water for a short time before the squab pecks the shell to soften the eggshell so that the squab is easy to get out of the shell. The embryonic mortality of thin-shell eggs is higher than that of thick-shell eggs in hatching.

6. The fetal position is incorrect. The embryo is not in the right position and the young pigeon cannot get out of its shell, which is especially common in twin eggs. The abnormal fetal position of singleton eggs occurs when the eggs are long and narrow, or when the young pigeons peck at the small head of the eggs.