Quality of layers’ eggs
Egg quality has a big impact on farm profitability. Good, healthy and consistent egg quality means better, and more marketable table eggs and higher profitability. Some important parameters of overall egg quality are shell and albumen quality, yolk colour, cleanliness, size, uniformity and being free from Salmonella.
How to recognise
Poor eggshell quality leads to a greater number of second-grade eggs, with dirty or cracked shells and sub-optimal breaking strength.
The impact on the farmer
Second grade eggs can’t command the higher prices of first grade eggs, impacting farm revenues with a lower return on the labour needed for egg collecting.
Boosting older hens’ intake of calcium and nutrients is an effective way to help them maintain good eggshell quality.