Student Competition: Management and Production

Alternative production systems have increased popularity in the egg industry to address consumer demands for the production of commercial eggs that reduce concerns over animal welfare. This experiment was conducted at the NCDA&CS, Piedmont Research Station, in conjunction with the NCLP&MT. This study consisted of 6 replicates totaling 378 hens of a single commercial egg strain, housed in an enriched colony system at 2 different densities (69 and 138 in2/hen) containing 252 and 126 hens each, respectively. Half of the hens were molted (69–72 wk) using the NCLP&MT non-anorexic molt program (NA), and the other half were maintained as non-molted (NM) flock for comparison of production and egg quality characteristics. Production criteria of feed consumption, egg production, and mortality were monitored daily and summarized by replicate every 28 d. The study was conducted from 73 through 109 wk of age as a completely randomized design. All diets were provided ad libitum, based upon the hen’s feed consumption and productivity over the previous 28-d period. In the third week of each period, the previous 24 h eggs were collected for analysis over 9 periods. For each replicate, the eggs were evaluated to determine the USDA grades and egg size distribution. The NA hens had significantly (P < 0.05) better feed consumption (g/bird/day), feed conversion (g egg/g feed), eggs per hen, hen housed and hen-day production and daily egg mass than the NM hens . The molted group also had improved egg USDA egg quality and egg size distribution with a higher percentage of Extra Large eggs (90.41 vs. 83.25). Between the 2 density treatment groups, the hens kept at 138 in2/hen had better feed consumption (g/bird/day), feed conversion (g egg/g feed), and hen housed production. There was an interaction on average egg weight (P < 0 .02) and the production of Extra Large eggs (P < 0 .04) . The NA Molted hens demonstrated beneficial effects on egg production parameters, especially at the lower stocking density .