In-ovo feeding: a review

The poultry industry plays a large role in the Brazilian economy. In fact,Brazil ranks as the world’s leading exporter and second largest producer ofpoultry meat as the result of genetic improvement, animal nutrition,management, and biosecurity. During the development of bird embryos, thenutrients are stored within the egg, but carbohydrate supplementation isunsatisfactory upon hatching. Poor carbohydrate supplementation candamage the embryo development and negatively affect poultry weight. Inovo feeding is a promising technique to improve the quality of newly hatchedchicks as it uses systems for feeding the embryos by inoculating nutrientsinto the egg amniotic fluid. However, further studies are needed in order toimprove this technique and create effective implementations and protocolsthat can be widely used in the industry. This study aims to both review theliterature on the use of in-ovo feeding and understand the perspectives ofits use in the broiler production chain.