Ana Isabel García Ruíz

I. INTRODUCTIONMineralization of the chicken embryo requires calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P)’ macro minerals supplied to the embryo by eggshell + yolk and yolk, respectively. Towards the end of incubation and after hatch, phosphorus in the residual egg yolk is minimal (Li et al., 2014). Yolk calcium reserves at hatch, however, are similar (Yair and Uni 2011) or even higher (Richards and Pack ...

1. IntroductionTrace minerals such as zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) play critical roles in bone formation and eggshell quality [1,2]. Zn supports bone and cartilage integrity by facilitating collagen formation and hydroxyapatite crystallization [3], while Mn contributes to bone development by activating enzymes involved in synthesizing mucopolysaccharides in bone cartilage [4,5]. Cu i ...