Such mating patterns could mask treatment effects with respect to fertility (Fontana et al., 1992). Total hatched eggs and
percentage hatchability of settable eggs varied from
69.19±1.93 in the 55-59% group to 83.93±1.65 for the
75-80% group, respectively. However, the highest levels
of uniformity also had the highest percentage of cracked
eggs (0.30±0.01) and the medium range of uniformity
also appeared to have had the highest fertility
(86.53±1.56 in the 75-80% uniformity group). The
highest percentage of cracked eggs recorded for the
best uniformity group (75-80%) could be attributed to
their high egg production. These high producers may
have greater needs for nutrients and were unable to
draw upon their-reserves to maintain production and
egg shell quality, especially with respect to calcium. MC.