UDK 636.5:636.018:616-092.18/.19:577.334 NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS IN HENS’ EMBRYOGENESIS AND ANTISTRESS DEFENCE IN POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT (review) 3 All-Russia Research and Development Institute of Poultry Breeding, RAAS, Sergiev Posad 141311, Russia e-mail: fisinin@land.ru 1 Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), KA7 3BN, Scotland, Great Britain 2 Sumy National Agrarian University, Sumy 40021, Ukraine e-mail: psurai@feedfoodco.uk P. Surai1, 2, V.I. Fisinin3 Received November 26, 2012 S umma r y Evidence is accumulating indicating that a maternal diet can have a profound effect on the hatching egg quality and health status, growth and development of newly hatched chick. <...> Maternal diet determines chicken development during egg incubation and for the first few days post-hatch. <...> Vitamin E and carotenoids accumulation in the chicken liver during embryonic development is considered as an adaptive mechanism to deal with stress conditions of the hatching process. <...> In postnatal development a strategy of antioxidant defence is changed from antioxidant accumulation to the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes with more sophisticated and effective regulation at the gene level. <...> Immune and digestive systems of the chicken are not mature at hatch and are actively developing during first 2 weeks post-hatch and are at risk of oxidative stress and need effective antioxidant protection. <...> Increased vitamin E/carotenoid/Se supplementation of the maternal diet is proven to be beneficial for the embryonic and early postnatal development of the chick. <...> However, maternal dietary manipulation is not able to prevent oxidative stress in early postnatal development and there is a need to address this issue. <...> Therefore, a new antistress composition provided with drinking water is developed and successfully tested in commercial conditions of Ukraine and Russia. <...> The success of modern broiler industry is closely associated with breeding programs aimed at production of broiler chickens that show fast growth, high production yield, and efficient conversion of feed. <...> From a fertilized egg cell to farm housing of chicks, there are various factors (quality of incubation eggs, egg storage conditions, incubation technology, conditions in the period between hatching and delivery to a farm), and their interaction notably affects productivity of reared broilers. <...> In contrast <...>