Explore all the information onPoultry egg quality
Egg quality defines those characteristics of an egg that affect consumer acceptability and preference. Components of quality include shell quality and interior egg quality for shell eggs, and interior egg quality for further processed eggs. The quality of the egg once it is laid cannot be improved. Hence, its maintenance is mostly a preventive process. Egg quality is influenced by several factors including rearing, temperature, humidity, handling, storage, and egg age. Shell quality: There are five major classes of shell defects: integrity, texture, shape, color, and cleanliness. Internal egg quality involves functional, aesthetic and microbiological properties of the egg yolk and albumen. The proportions of components for fresh egg are 32% yolk, 58% albumen and 10% shell. Regarding exterior egg quality, the shell of each egg should be smooth, clean and free of cracks. The eggs should be uniform in colour, size and shape.
     In the rearing aviary, day-old chicks must have easy access to feed and water. The environment should offer an optimal temperature, appropriate lighting, and good ventilation. These conditions ensure that the chicks grow well, and their fluff transforms into well-developed feathers. As the chicks...
 
 I. INTRODUCTION  The laying hen has a considerable requirement for dietary calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) to support optimum egg production, egg quality and other physiological processes. In particular, a high intake of Ca ranging from 4 to 4.5% of the diet is considered important as the laying cycle progresses from early to late lay to achieve optimum egg number and egg shell quality. A capacity for birds to increase Ca intake from a separate Ca source as dietary Ca levels diminish...
 
 Feed represents 65-75% of total production cost while energy represents approximately 50% of the diet cost. Apparent metabolisable energy corrected to zero nitrogen retention (AMEn) is most commonly used in poultry feed formulation. AMEn, however, does not consider energy lost during digestion as heat increment (HI). AMEn minus HI gives net energy (NE) which is energy available to the bird. An equation to predict net energy for production of ingredients for layers has been developed at UNE....
 
 I. INTRODUCTION  Alternative rearing systems are becoming increasingly important mainly because of growing public concerns about intensive systems. Regulations have been established in some countries to restrict or ban the use of conventional systems. The European Union banned the use of conventional battery cage systems in 2012 and alternatively, new enriched colony cages, free range production systems or barn systems have been introduced as substitutes (Leinonen et al., 2014). As a...
 
 The environment in which a laying hen is reared can have long-term impacts on their behaviour, health and welfare later in life (Janczak and Riber, 2015). Alternative housing systems for layers provide access to larger areas and allow greater expression of behavioural repertoires, leading to positive acceptance by consumers. But the complexities of alternative systems can also place greater physical and behavioural demands on the birds, leading to increases in skeletal injuries or inter-bird...
 
 I. INTRODUCTION  Contamination of eggshells by Salmonella Typhimurium is a major public health and food safety issue to the Australian poultry industry. In Australia, the majority of the egg and egg related foodborne outbreaks are caused by S. Typhimurium (The OzFoodNet Working group 2015).  Biofilm formation is one of the survival mechanisms utilised by Salmonella spp. against physical and chemical stress factors in the environment (Steenackers et al. 2012). A biofilm is a...
 
 I. INTRODUCTION  Australia is highly urbanized, with 80% of people living in the major cities (Australian Government Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, 2015) and, although Australians believe that farmers do a good job of looking after their animals (Cockfield & Botterill, 2012), there are low levels of agricultural knowledge among the general public (Worsley et al., 2015). Egg production has become increasingly prominent in public discussions of farm animal...
 
   
 The UGA International Poultry Short Course provides a comprehensive overview of modern poultry production. 
 It is intended for those individuals with limited knowledge of poultry, as well as those who might have considerable experience in one area of poultry production but would like to have a better...
 
 In commercial egg production, production traits such as bodyweight (BW), feed intake and efficiency, and egg quality are targets that are critical to profitability. Assessment of average BW and uniformity are relatively straightforward measurements. Furthermore, it is well known that achieving target BW for the breed standard and minimising BW variation are key to producing greater egg mass and egg quality. It is more difficult to get an understanding of the variation in feed intake, egg...
 
Dr. Ajay Chopra, a poultry consultant, tackles challenges like rising feed costs, viral diseases, and biosecurity. He stresses the importance of vaccination, scattered poultry farming, and farmer education for growth. With low egg consumption and high protein needs in India, he envisions a bright future for the industry, highlighting eggs' role in addressing malnutrition....
 
  1. Introduction   Intestinal health is a crucial parameter in ensuring the health of birds and the optimal use of nutrients because of its various functions, namely the digestion and absorption of nutrients, the secretion of mucins and immunoglobulins, and selective protection against pathogens [1]. This topic has gained even more interest in poultry production because of increasing demands for economic efficiency, animal welfare, food safety, reducing environmental impact, and...
 
 In recent years, in response to consumer concerns regarding welfare of birds, there has been a move from caged to free-range production systems. This change has resulted in increased exposure of hens to pathogens, including parasites, which can compromise the welfare of the animal (Wongrak et al., 2015). Amongst helminths, Ascaridia galli is the most abundant nematode in poultry, and can cause significant economic losses and negative impacts on bird health and welfare (Daş et al.,...
 
 After 15 years of producing brown eggs, UK free range egg farmer Alex Woollam took the decision to switch to white egg production and thanks in no small part to Hy-Line’s W-80, it’s a decision he hasn’t regretted.  Alex, who has 94,000 layers, explains why he made the change to white. “Looking at the data on the white birds it was clear they were prolific layers with an extended laying cycle, very feed efficient and easy to manage. The ease of management was a...
 
    As the global egg industry moves steadily toward cage-free production, ensuring a successful transition from rearing to laying is more critical than ever. Hy-Line pullets raised in environments that prepare them for the complexities of cage-free layer systems are far more likely to meet their full genetic...
 
 I. INTRODUCTION  Modern broilers grow 5 times faster on 40% less feed than they did 60 years ago (Zuidhof et al., 2014). Because high body weight (BW) correlates negatively with reproduction and health (Decuypere et al., 2010), the severity of broiler breeder feed restriction increases every year relative to broiler growth potential. This intensifies competition for feed, resulting in unequal distribution of feed and poor flock uniformity. Achieving and maintaining high flock...
 
 I. INTRODUCTION  Body composition, more specifically breast muscle and the abdominal fat pad, at the end of the rearing period of breeder pullets seems to play an important role in egg production, lay persistency, and fertility in the laying phase. Management of feeding by changing feed allowance or nutrient composition of the breeder pullet’s diet during rearing can alter body composition at the onset of lay. Adequate dietary protein is necessary to have optimum ovary...
 
 Dr. Luke Kramer, Geneticist at Hy-Line International, explores how targeted genetic selection can improve both the production performance and overall welfare of Hy-Line White laying hens. ...
 
 I. INTRODUCTION  The significance of vitamin K (VK) to human health, well-being and ageing is currently receiving worldwide attention. Beyond its role in coagulation, the importance of VK in bone health is well established. Other roles in cardiovascular disease, inflammatory response, neural and cognitive health are currently under investigation (Card et al., 2014). Vitamin K 1  (phylloquinone, VK 1 ), occurs naturally in Fresh, Leafy, Green, (FLG) plant...
 
 1. Introduction  It is well known that the major cost in poultry farming is feed, representing 70% of the total production costs [1]. In order to reduce this cost, the research has recently focused on exploring and evaluating new sources of raw materials from agricultural and industrial by-products for use as animal feed. Key benefits of this practice include lower dependence of animal production on human consumed seeds and reduced waste management costs [2]. Around 2.1 million tons...
 
 Extensive research has investigated the effects of production systems on egg quality; however, confounding problems exist with many of the experimental designs (Chung and Lee, 2014). Insufficient consideration is given to the influence of genotype, hen age, ambient temperature and stress on egg quality. Eliminating the ambiguity created by these effects is crucial when evaluating the effect of production system on egg quality. The present study aims to identify limits to the hen age, so that...