The ultimate goal of any poultry farmer, particularly the one keeping chicken layers, is to get quality eggs that fetch good prices in the market.
A good quality egg is oval shaped, clean with a smooth shell, firm and has a clear albumen, a yolk ranging from pale yellow to orange, free from blood or meat spots.
The internal quality is assessed using a candler. This is a gadget that has a bright light source which when shone on an egg shows its contents.
Here are practices that will ensure you get quality eggs that have high rate of hatching from your chicken layers.
Fertile eggs
To obtain fertile quality eggs, have one cock for every 10 hens, while for incubation to be successful, follow strictly instructions on incubator conditions because fluctuations such as humidity and temperature affect hatchability.
You will need medium-sized eggs normally 55 to 60g, strong, with smooth shells and without any abnormalities for the eggs destined for incubation.
Egg abnormalities
Watch out for shell-less or thin-shelled eggs, which come about when eggs do not spend enough time in the uterus or are deficient of minerals such as calcium.
Double-yolked eggs and stuck eggs — where an egg delays in the uterus and the second one meets it before shelling commences — are among other abnormalities.
Some eggs can be bloody or yolkless. These eggs can be consumed but do not hatch them.
Cleaning dirty eggs
Clean dirty eggs but do not wash them with water since this removes the invisible, protective layer naturally found on eggs.
If dirty, dry clean the egg by buffing it off with some fine-grit sandpaper or cloth. Wet washing can result in bacteria being sucked into the egg.
The right way of feeding indigenous chickens: chicks, growers and layers
Storage of excess eggs
If all the eggs cannot be sold, they should be stored in a cool (below 20 degrees Celsius) and humid place until the next sale or brooding.
Eggs kept at room temperature of 21 to 27 degrees Celsius lose more quality in a day than in a week under refrigeration. Always store eggs away from foods with strong odours such as onions, apples, cabbage, and potatoes. Finally, sell them in 14 days.
Hens eating eggs
This is a vice that results from improper nutrition, egg breakage, bright light and piling of eggs in laying boxes. De-beaking can help control egg eating vices.
Decline or stop in egg laying
Several factors cause hens to stop laying or lay few eggs.
i) Decreasing day length or insufficient day length
Hens require about 14 hours of day length to sustain egg production. Once day length drops, below 12 hours, production will decrease and frequently stop. To prevent this, provide artificial light to maintain a constant day length of at least 14 hours per day.
ii) Improper nutrition
Inadequate levels of energy, protein or calcium causes decrease in production. Supply laying hens with a nutritionally balanced layers food with 16 to 18 per cent protein.
Feeding whole grains, scratch feeds and table scraps will cause the bird’s diet to become improperly balanced, eventually resulting in other problems like prolapse (egg blow-outs).
Prolapse occurs when the bird is too fat and or the egg is too large and the birds’ reproductive tract is expelled with the egg, causing permanent damage to the hen.
Provide greens like cabbage, cauliflower leaves or spinach daily. Grit should also be supplied as chickens do not have teeth, thus, use it in their gizzard to grind food.
When formulating your own feeds, have in mind that fish meal can give a fishy taste to meat and eggs or may contain excess amounts of salt.
One of the first signs of disease is a drop in egg production. If you suspect a disease, contact a skilled veterinarian to get an accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Your best protection against disease is to buy healthy stock and keep them isolated from other birds.
iv) Aging hens
Production hens can lay efficiently for two laying cycles and decline after two or three years, however, this varies greatly from bird to bird.
A good layer is normally alert and active, that is, the combs and wattles are large, bright and warm; has dull pigmentation on shanks and earlobes and the pubic bones are wide apart and three fingers can fit.
Moulting (or shedding) comes late but is rapid and has wide, moist, oval and warm vent.
A poor layer is dull and droopy; the combs and wattles are small, pale and cold; has bright pigmentation; pubic bones are narrow, with only two fingers fitting; moulting comes early but slow and has a small, dry, round and cold vent.
Removal of non-layers is recommended if economical egg production is your goal.
v) Stress
Stress factors such as moving, handling, changes in environmental conditions or fright can contribute to or be the main cause of egg production declines.
Other factors to consider when you see decrease in egg collection are egg-eating by hens, excessive egg breakage or hens hiding the eggs when able to run free.
Laying performance
Keeping records makes it easy to know successes and problems at an early stage. It is important to spend some time each day observing your flock. In this way, early signs of diseases, malnutrition or other problems may be discovered, and the necessary precautions taken.
Laying occurs for about 18 to 22 weeks reaching the peak at week 30. Fluctuations then occur for two to four weeks and then laying picks up again when all management factors are corrected.
During this period, calculating egg laying percentage is important to enable the farmer determine whether the enterprise is running at a profit or at a loss.
Laying percentage is calculated as: Eggs laid daily x 100
Number of chickens
Moulting then starts at week 45 to 50. This is a sign that the flock is almost reaching the laying cycle.
Once laying percentage falls below 50 per cent, selective culling is recommended to ensure resources are not wasted on unproductive birds.
