Research Article

Effect of chicken breed and storage conditions of eggs on their quality

Józefa Krawczyk, Zofia Sokołowicz

¹National Research Institute of Animal Production, Balice n. Kraków, Poland

²Department of Animal Production and Poultry Products Evaluation, University of Rzeszów, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 14(4), 2015, 109‒118

Abstract. The aim of the study was to assess the quality of eggs stored in different conditions for 28 days after oviposition. The eggs were produced by two breeds of hens covered by the gene-pool protection programme, and by commercial hybrids. The experiment used eggs from Greenleg Partridge (line Z-11) and Rhode Island White hens (line A-33) and Hy-Line commercial hybrids. Sixty class M eggs were collected from each breed and divided into three groups. Group I contained fresh eggs which were weighed and evaluated for quality on the first day after oviposition. In group II, eggs were stored in a cool room for 28 days at an average temperature of 14C and humidity of 39–46%. Group III were eggs refrigerated for 28 days at an average temperature of 5.5C and humidity of 29–36%. Regardless of bird’s genotype, egg weight was found to decrease and egg yolk percentage to increase as a result of storing the eggs for 28 days. Storage of eggs contributed to decreasing the height of thick albumen and Haugh units (HU). Egg storage caused no significant changes in shell breaking strength. The effect of storage on reducing egg quality characteristics was much lower for Hy-Line hens compared to hens from the protected populations: Greenleg Partridge (Z-11) and Rhode Island White (A-33).

Keywords: chicken, egg, quality, genotype, keeping quality