Effect of Storage and Layer Age on Quality of Eggs From Two Lines of Hens

Abstract

Eggs from ISA-White and ISA-Brown hens between 28 and 59 wk of age were stored for up to 10 d to produce a sample of 5,763 eggs differing in the three major determinants of albumen quality. Eggs from ISA-Brown hens were larger and had less yolk, more albumen, and a greater percentage of shell than those from ISA-White hens. Egg size increased with increasing age of the hen, although more for the ISA-White hens than the ISA-Brown hens, and the yolk increased more in size than did the shell and albumen. During storage, albumen weight decreased and yolk weight increased slightly. The height of the inner thick albumen of eggs from ISA-White hens was greater than that of eggs from ISA-Brown hens, and it decreased as the hen age increased and with increasing time in storage. The pH of the albumen was not different between strains, and the effect of hen age was small, but it increased with time in storage. Regression coefficients of the height of the inner thick albumen on the weight of the egg were between -0.058 and 0.102, showing that the fixed regression of 0.05-mm albumen height per gram of egg implied by the Haugh unit is wrong. The statistical association between albumen pH and egg weight was very low. If albumen quality is being used as a measure of freshness, then the albumen height is biased by the strain and age of hen, whereas the albumen pH is not.

Egg quality and age of laying hens: implications for product safety

“…Although egg weight increased with increasing hen age, as has been described previously (Nys 1986;Silversides and Budgell 2004;Zita et al 2009), shell weight did not always increase in proportion. This resulted in percentage shell decreasing with increased hen age as has been described previously (Silversides and Scott 2001;Roberts and Ball 2006). Shell thickness fluctuated among the age groups, being highest in mid lay.…”

Effect of Production Systems on Quality and Chemical Composition of Table Eggs

“…The same result was reported by Sekeroglu et al (2010) between the free range and conventional cages. The causes of lower HU values in organic and free range eggs have to be further investigated since albumen quality is determined not only by egg freshness but also by hen age, genotype and dietary ingredients (Hidalgo et al,2008;Silversides and Scott, 2001). …”

Comparação de métodos de determinação da gravidade específica de ovos de poedeiras comerciais

“…Entretanto, houve diferença significativa entre os valores de GE obtidos para as duas linhagens. Diferenças na qualidade dos ovos de linhagens diferentes numa mesma idade podem existir em função das diferenças genéticas que podem afetar a qualidade da casca (Silversides & Scott, 2001).…”