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. 2020 Oct 9;99(12):6619–6629. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2020.09.088

Table 1.

Effect of a higher eggshell temperature (EST) of 38.9°C during week 2 of incubation (Higher) and/or a lower EST of 36.7°C during week 3 of incubation (Lower) compared with a control EST of 37.8°C (Control) on histological characteristics of follicles within the Bursa of Fabricius and histology of the jejunum of broiler chicks at hatch.

Treatment Bursa follicles
 Jejunum
Follicles/fold1 (no.) Length1,2 (px) Width1,2 (px) Circumference1,2 (px) Area1,2 (px) Cell Density1,2 (%) Villi length3 (μm) Crypt depth3 (μm)
EST week 2
 Control 70 565 412 1,667 186,238 46a 223 97
 Higher 76 569 395 1,589 183,912 39b 235 92
 SEM 5 20 14 53 11,869 2 6 2
EST week 3
 Lower 69 566 389 1,572 176,244 47a 225 91
 Control 77 568 418 1,684 193,905 39b 233 97
 SEM 5 20 14 53 11,877 2 6 2
EST week 2 × week 3
 Control × Lower 65 561 381 1,552 167,496 49 207b 90b
 Control × Control 76 569 444 1,782 204,980 43 239a 104a
 Higher × Lower 74 571 398 1,592 184,993 45 242a 93b
 Higher × Control 77 567 393 1,585 182,830 34 227a,b 91b
 SEM 7 28 20 74 16,751 3 9 3
P-value
 Week 2 0.45 0.88 0.40 0.29 0.89 0.024 0.21 0.14
 Week 3 0.34 0.93 0.15 0.14 0.29 0.007 0.39 0.07
 Week 2 × week 3 0.59 0.84 0.10 0.12 0.25 0.44 0.016 0.016

a-bLeast squares means within a column and factor lacking a common superscript differ (P ≤ 0.05).

1

n = 12, n = 11, n = 12, n = 11 for treatments Control × Lower, Control × Control, Higher × Lower, Higher × Control, respectively.

2

Averaged per 10 follicles. Cell density = the % of area within a follicle that is covered with cells.

3

Averaged per 10 villi or crypt. n = 13, n = 12, n = 11, n = 12 for treatments Control × Lower, Control × Control, Higher × Lower, Higher × Control, respectively.