Formation and changes of the subembryonic liquid from turned, unturned, and cultured Japanese quail eggs.

Japanese quail eggs belonging to the same flock of hens were incubated under different conditions: group 1 eggs were turned 3 times a day, group 2 eggs were left unturned, and group 3 eggs were cultured and left unturned. The results indicate that failure to turn eggs results in a delayed efflux of liquid and glucose from albumen and from the subembryonic liquid. Furthermore, the major difference between unturned and cultured eggs was that in the first group the glucose levels and in the second group the lactate levels of the subembryonic liquid were increased. It is suggested that reduced glucose supply may be involved in the disturbance of development of unturned and cultured eggs.