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Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the hematological and biochemical blood parameters, along with selected egg quality traits, of Turkish Sultan chickens. A total of 90 blood samples collected from 60-week-old hens and roosters and 129 eggs collected from 50 hens were analyzed. The findings showed that hematological parameters such as red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and heterophil-to-lymphocyte (H/L) ratio, as well as biochemical markers such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and uric acid levels, were significantly higher in roosters. The average egg weight, shape index, yolk rate, and shell rate were 47.45 g, 75.14%, 33.46%, and 9.25%, respectively. The thick albumen rate was 41.42%, while the thin albumen rate was 15.86%. The internal egg quality traits were determined as follows: yolk index (45.84%), thick albumen index (5.82%), Haugh unit (70.09%), and yolk density (1.03 g/mL) and thick albumen density (0.98 g/mL). The highest correlation was observed between the Haugh unit and thick albumen height, as well as the Haugh unit and thick albumen index. Moreover, the lower shell thickness and Haugh unit values suggest that a shorter storage period may improve hatching performance. In conclusion, this study demonstrates for the first time the sex-related variations in hematobiochemical parameters, while establishing baseline egg quality traits of Turkish Sultan chickens.

Author ORCID Identifier

MEHMET OKTAY: 0000-0002-1487-0096

RUHİ KABAKÇI: 0000-0001-9131-0933

ALİ KARAPINAR: 0000-0002-6589-1807

GÖKHAN ŞEN: 0000-0001-6222-6986

TAHA ALTUĞ: 0000-0002-7181-4074

YASİN ŞENEL: 0000-0003-0272-2712

DOI

10.55730/1300-0128.4417

Keywords

Sultan chicken, native breed, blood parameters, sex, egg quality traits, ornamental poultry

First Page

113

Last Page

124

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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