Influence of the Housing System on Physical Quality Indicators of the Internal Content of Laying Hens Table Eggs

Abstract

In this experiment the effects of different housing systems on physical indicators of egg yolk and egg albumen quality of table eggs were studied. Hens of laying hybrid Lohmann Brown Lite were housed in two different housing systems, in enriched cage or on floor housing system. In both systems, the hens were kept under standard bioclimatic conditions. Eggs (n = 540) were collected from the first phase of the laying cycle, at monthly intervals, at the age of laying hens 30-42 weeks. Egg albumen weight (g), egg albumen percentage (%), egg albumen index, Haugh units (HU), egg yolk weight (g), egg yolk percentage (%), egg yolk index, egg yolk color (HLR) were evaluated. The results showed that in egg albumen quality indicators the differences in egg albumen weight (40.5 ± 4.3; 41.4 ± 3.5 mean ± SD) and egg albumen percentage (62.4 ± 3.9; 63.8 ± 6.1 mean ± SD) were significantly higher (P <0.05) for hens housed on the floor. In Haugh's units and the egg albumen index, the differences were statistically insignificant (P ≥ 0.05). Yolk quality indicators, namely the percentage of yolk (27.1 ± 2.4; 25.8 ± 3.1 mean ± SD) and the yolk index (47.4 ± 3.1; 43.5 ± 5.7 mean ± SD) found statistically significant differences in favor of eggs from hens housed in enriched cages. In egg yolk weight and egg yolk color, differences between eggs from both systems were noticeable. The results obtained show that the quality indicators of the internal egg content of both housing systems were comparable.

Keywords

• laying hens
• eggs for consumption
• quality of eggs
• enriched cage breeding
• litter breeding