Quality Characteristics of Eggs From Different Strains of Hens as Related to Time of Oviposition

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to determine if time of oviposition would affect characteristics of eggs from five different strains of commercial type laying hens. A corn-soybean meal type diet containing 17% protein, 3.5% calcium, and .75% total phosphorus was fed. Eggs were collected at 2-hr intervals beginning at 0600 hr with each egg individually identified. Egg weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, shell weight, and shell thickness of each egg were measured, and die percentage of the components was calculated. Hens laid the heaviest eggs between 0600 and 0800 hr. Egg weights decreased gradually during the day while yolk weights decreased after 1000 hr. Shell weights, thickness, and percent were somewhat higher in eggs laid in the early morning, decreased slightly for eggs laid between 1000 and 1200 hr, and increased for eggs laid in the afternoon. Albumen weight and albumen percentage decreased during the day in Experiment 2 but increased slighdy later in the afternoon in Experiment 1. Significant differences were found among different strains of hens for all parameters, except in shell thickness of eggs from the older hens.