Body weight, flock uniformity and egg quality of flocks reared in two different rearing sheds

Birds from two flocks of commercial caged hens, of the same age but reared in different sheds, were weighed at the ages of 6, 15, 19, 26, 37, 50 and 60 weeks. Body weight increased with increasing hen age for both groups. Eggs were collected from the flocks at the ages of 19, 26, 37, 50 and 60 weeks. Cuticle cover was measured using MST cuticle stain and a hand-held Konica Minolta spectrophotometer. Cuticle cover increased as hens aged and was higher for rearing shed A. There were significant effects of hen age and shed for ΔE*ab which was higher for shed A than shed B indicating better cuticle cover for birds originating from shed A. Traditional egg quality measurements were determined using specialized equipment supplied by TSS UK. A significant effect was recorded for flock age for all egg quality measurements. With advancing hen age, egg weight, shell weight, yolk colour and shell thickness increased, whereas shell breaking strength, shell deformation decreased. Albumen height, Haugh Units and percentage shell decreased then increased at late lay. Egg shell quality and egg internal quality were better, overall, for birds reared in shed A than for birds reared in shed B, an indication that initial rearing conditions may have a persistent effect on bird performance.