Yolk and albumen corticosterone concentrations in eggs laid by white versus brown caged laying hens.

Maternal stress in birds can have permanent transgenerational effects through the transmission of stress hormones to offspring via the egg yolk. Previous studies have shown that White Leghorn hens show a heightened response to stress compared with Hy-Line Brown hens, producing significantly more corticosterone and displaying longer bouts of tonic immobility after handling, whereas baseline levels of corticosterone are similar between the strains. We tested the hypothesis that higher stress responsiveness would correspond to chronic accumulation and thus higher concentrations of corticosterone in egg yolks after exposure to stressors associated with routine maintenance. Eggs were collected from white and brown hens that were undisturbed except for daily feeding and routine egg collections. Corticosterone was quantified in plasma, egg yolks, and albumen and compared between strains. We predicted that corticosterone concentrations in yolk would be higher in eggs from white versus brown hens but that albumen corticosterone would not differ between strains due to the short term of albumen deposition. As predicted, yolk corticosterone concentrations were significantly higher in eggs produced by white hens, approximately twice those found in eggs laid by brown hens. Plasma and albumen concentrations of corticosterone were similar between groups. These results suggest that offspring hatching from eggs laid by White Leghorn hens are exposed to significantly more corticosterone through concentration in the egg yolk, which could permanently imprint offspring physiology and behavior.