Factors Affecting Egg production In Laying Hen
The fact remains this, that if the main purpose of setting up a farm is to produce eggs for the populace which requires a lot to achieve.
As a matter of fact you would have invested much in achieving this goal, that is nurturing birds to the point of lay even to start laying. You will feel happy and comfortable seen your bird doing well for the first few months.For the egg industry worldwide, the production of eggs which are of good egg shell quality and good internal quality is critical to the economic viability of the industries.
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| 11 Factors affecting Egg production |
Problems with egg quality currently cost the industries many of millions of dollars per year. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand the factors that affect egg shell quality and egg internal quality.
The general factors that affect eggs productions in laying poultry birds are:
1. Feeding
2. Quality of feed intake
3. Management issues
4. Genetic factors of the breed birds
5. Hen age at egg laying period
6. Diseases
7. Molting flock
8. Housing
9. Egg collection
10. Laying bird behaviors
11. Laying birds (hens) body weight
Feeding as a factors affecting eggs production in layers
Feeding is the first factor to be considered, generally when flock are fed with feed of high nutritive value, they will surly produced good eggs of good quality.
The quality of the eggs depends largely on the green feed and the yellow corn or maize present in the feed. The amount of thick and thin albumen an egg contains at the time it is laid is an inherited characteristic and is not influenced by the feed.
Clean and cool water must always be available to avoid heat stress. Lack of water results in reduced egg production. The amazing part of this is that, they will not eat much when the feed has no taste.
For maximum production of eggs, make feed available at all time for the birds.
Quality of feed intake is one of the factors affecting eggs production in layers
You cannot just be feeding your birds with any how feed and think they will produce eggs to your expectation, if this is your opinion, my dear you totally wrong.
Make available to your birds feed of high quality not quantity. There are some essential elements that must be present in the feed, if they are absent you will not achieved the maximum result from them.
The provision of adequate dietary minerals and vitamins is essential for good eggshell quality. Similarly, as water quality varies from country to country and region to region, the role of drinking water in mineral and trace elements supply should not be under rated.
Management issues is another factors affecting eggs production in layers
Management of the poultry compound is very important and contributes greatly to eggs production in the farm.
If the compound or the entire place it dirty, this will surly welcome some agent that will have negative influenced on the birds. These agents include reptiles, outbreak of diseases among others.
Another thing is to make light available at all time, change the bulb if they are not functioning, bird cannot eat in the darkness as this will result in low eggs production.
Chickens are to be expose to light so that they will produce more eggs and they reach maturity age early when they have more light than less light.
Genetic factors of the breed birds as factors affecting eggs production in layers
Maximum production of high quality eggs starts with a closely controlled breeding program emphasizing favorable genetic factors.
Sex Links are the most productive brown egg layers because they are a mix of two high productive breeds. If you were to breed a very low productive chicken with a high productive chicken, the next generation would not be nearly as productive as their high productive parent.
But if you were to cross a high productive breed with another high productive breed the next generation would be just as productive as or more productive than their parents.
So when selection you pullet for commercial eggs production, do not hesitate to go for high productive breed as this will produce more compare to the less productive once.
Hen age at egg laying period as a factors affecting eggs production in layers
Age of laying birds determine the sizes of eggs produced, early starter lay more eggs of small sizes. The sizes keep increasing as they are getting to more maturity in life, so this early eggs are called starter eggs.
The reason behind this is that they are not fully matured laying birds, with time they will more and bigger eggs.
Diseases as a factors affecting eggs production in layers
Diseases and parasites can cause losses in egg production. Some breeds of birds are resistance to certain diseases which make them superior to those that are easily infected by many diseases.
More over if you want your laying birds for maximum production, do all you could to prevent them against any kind of diseases. In case of any outbreak of diseases treat them immediately so that their production will not be tampered with.
In addition, you would never want to breed an ill chicken they could pass the illnesses down to future generations and you would have a constant battle in your hands.
Always raised the healthiest chickens together the more generations and that have healthy chickens the more resistance they build up to diseases.
Molting flock as a factors affecting eggs production in layers
Molting or less feather is natural phenomenon common to all poultry laying birds regardless of their species and breeds.
Molting is a sign of good health in the poultry farm, so you discover this in your farm, no problem. As the birds are aging this process occur and the production begin to reduced, this is natural, if this happen to your flock when aging, no need to be worried.
Housing is another factors affecting eggs production in layers
This is another important factor that affects eggs production in laying birds. If your hens are comfortable and not stressed they will lay better.
If you free range all day, they are likely going to lay in tall grass and you will be losing those eggs. You can still free range just later in the day after most have laid.
In addition to this, if you allow your bird on the floor, there is high tendency of outbreak of diseases always and this is bad for them. To me, battery cage is the best if you want to have maximum production from them.
Egg collection as a factors affecting eggs production in layers
Collecting eggs several times a day is important especially if you have birds that tend to go broody. The more eggs that are in the nesting boxes and the longer they stay in there the more birds may want to sit on them.
Collecting eggs many times a day also helps keep eggs clean, if there are too many eggs in one nest box they could get broken and soil the other eggs.
Laying bird behaviors
Laying birds behaviors is also an important role in eggs production, as matter of fact is one of the factors affecting eggs production in layers.
As mentioned earlier some birds love being broody. There are also ways to break a broody that include isolation in a wire cage for several day or ice packs under her in the nest.
Another hen behavior that will put a dent in the eggs you are able to gather is egg eating. Egg Eating is a very bad behavior that is hard sometimes impossible to break.
Sometimes eggs get broken accidentally and the chicken will eat it, that does not make them an egg eater, but if they (layers) break the eggs purposely and eat them they are egg eaters.
One more behavior that can affect production is birds guarding the nesting boxes, some birds might guard a nest and chase other birds off and make those birds lay elsewhere.
Laying birds (hens) body weight as a factors affecting eggs production in layers
Generally, optimum body weight during the laying period should be around 1.5 kg, although this varies according to breed and species.
Underweight as well as overweight birds lay eggs at a lower rate. Proper management and the correct amount of feed are necessary in order to achieve optimum body weight.
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Poultry