Effect of Storage Period on the health of Selected Eggs of Domestic Birds in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The marketing of eggs must follow a standard that will check production and storage against the expiration date. There is a need to evaluate the storage period and the health nature of the eggs of domestic birds from different poultry farms in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. A total of 135 eggs were collected aseptically, 3 each from 5 domestic birds in 3 different poultry farms. These eggs were collected on different storage days (1–7, 8–14, and 15–21) and weighed to ensure their healthy nature. The weight of the different eggs was weighed with an electronic weighing balance and compared among storage days. The result showed that the weight of eggs collected from days 1–7 recorded a mean value, ranging from 54.5±1.0-70.6±0.7g for whole egg, 27.0±0.6-37.5±0.9g for Albumin, 20.1±1.2- 24.7±0.3g for egg York and 5.4±0.3-11.2±0.9g for egg shell. For days 8-14, the weight ranging from 48.8±0.4-64.1±0.4g for whole egg, 24.4±0.1-33.0±1.1g for Albumin, 18.2±0.5-24.3±0.3g for egg York and 6.0±0.2-9.5±0.4g for egg shell. The weight of egg recorded for days 15-21, ranges from 43.5±0.6- 60.6±0.9g for whole egg, 20.8±0.6-30.5±0.8g for Albumin, 16.3±0.6-23.6±0.7g for egg yolk and 5.3±0.1-8.9±0.1g for egg shell. The effects of egg weight and qualities do not significantly decrease within days 1–7, but dramatically decrease from days 8–14 and days 15–21 of storage. The weight of eggs increases with egg size and decreases with an increase in storage period