Thermographic analysis of the radiant heat of chicken and duck eggs in relation to the embryo's oxygen consumption

•We measured the metabolic component of heat (Hmet) of avian eggs by thermography.•In the first half of incubation Hmet was not significant.•Later in incubation Hmet was significant and correlated with the embryos VO2.•Thermography can verify the progression of embryo's incubation and estimate its VO2.

In eggs, the metabolic activities of the developing embryo produce heat (H) that is dissipated in various forms, including radiation. Given that much of the total heat radiated by an egg (Htot) is heat acquired passively, we asked whether it was possible to detect the fraction produced metabolically (Hmetab) and the extent of its correlation with the embryo's metabolic rate. In chicken and duck eggs at various incubation ages, under standardized experimental conditions of heat conduction and convection, Hmetab was measured by thermography as the difference in Htot between fertile and sterile eggs. Then, Hmetab was correlated to the embryo's oxygen consumption (V̇O2), measured by an open-circuit methodology. Heat loss by water evaporation was found to be less than 3% of the total. During the first half of incubation Hmetab was too small to be significantly separated from Htot. In the second half of incubation Hmetab was significant, represented 30–50% of the total energy consumed and correlated linearly with V̇O2 for a good fraction of incubation. We conclude that under standardized conditions of heat conduction and convection, in the second half of incubation thermography offers a simple tool not only to verify the progression of the embryo's incubation but also to estimate its metabolic rate.