Effects of Applying White Mineral Oil to Chicken and Gull Eggs
Blokpoel H and Hamilton RM. 1989. Effects of Applying White Mineral Oil to Chicken and Gull Eggs. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 17(4):435-441
White mineral oil was tested as a population-control technique for ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis). In the laboratory, chicken eggs were coated with white mineral oil at different times during incubation and subsequent embryo survival was determined. Completely covering eggshells with oil at 17 days incubation reduced survival to 4.4%. Applying oil to only a portion of eggshells had little influence on embryo survival. White mineral oil was also used on the eggs of ring-billed gulls in the wild to determineeffectos on hatchability, incidence of abnormal chicks, and extnesion of incubation period. A partial coating of oil wiped on eggshells had no effect on hatchability. Wiping oil on the entire eggshell almost completely suppressed hatchability and spraying oil on eggs reduced hatchability to 0.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Blokpoel, Hans; Hamilton, Robert
- Units
- VOYA
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Eggs, Ontario, Population Control, population increase, Ring-Billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)