Production and physical characteristics of eggs in Slovenian traditional breeds of light type laying hens

Abstract

Production traits and egg quality among Slovenian Brown hen, Slovenian Silver hen and Slovenian Barred hen were compared. At 18 weeks of age we encaged 162 hens of each breed in individual cages of 3 deck-batteries. Egg production, feed consumption, body weight and vitality of hens between 20 and 72 weeks of age were recorded. Every 4 weeks physical characteristics of the eggs were measured. During laying period Slovenian Brown hens were the lightest, and had the most eggs (301 eggs per year, 5.63 eggs per week). The Slovenian Brown hen had the lowest daily feed consumption (114.0 g) and the best feed conversion efficiency (2.4 kg of feed/1 kg of egg weight and 137.9 g of feed/egg). The heaviest eggs were laid by Slovenian Silver hen (64.33 g). The most egg mass per year was produced by Slovenian Brown hen (18.40 kg). Slovenian Silver hen laid eggs with the thickest egg shell (0.37 mm). The highest albumen height and the number of Haugh units were observed in Slovenian Silver hens compared to the other breeds. The most frequent blood and meat spots were recorded in eggs of Slovenian Brown hen (41%), which also showed. the best vitality – only 3.1% hens died during their laying period.