Differences among white-, tinted-, and brown-egg laying hens for incidence of eggs laid on the floor and for oviposition time

The purposes of the present study were to compare the incidence of eggs laid on the floor and the time of oviposition in breeds of hens laying white, tinted, or brown eggs, and to analyze the effect of housing system and hen age on floor laying. There were two different experiments. The first experiment (9,578 eggs from 160 hens) measured the incidence of eggs laid on the floor by 32-week-old and 84-week-old hens of several Spanish breeds of chickens laying white (Black Castellana), tinted (Buff Prat), brown (Red-barred Vasca) and dark brown (Red Villafranquina) eggs, which were housed in deep litter and free range housing systems. There was significant difference among breeds (P < 0.001), the incidence of eggs laid on the floor being larger in the breed laying white eggs than in those laying tinted, brown, and dark brown eggs. There was no significant heterosis, as the incidence of floor laying in the Quail Castellana did not differ from the mean of the two parental breeds (Black Castellana and Buff Prat). There was significant difference between housing systems, the incidence of floor laying being smaller in hens housed on deep litter than in those with access to free range. There was significant difference between hen ages only in those housed in deep litter, floor laying incidence for 32-wk-old hens being smaller than that for 84-wk-old hens. The second experiment (1,807 eggs) measured the time of oviposition (between 0800 and 1200 h, or between 1200 and 1600 h) in hens laying white (Black Castellana), tinted (Buff Prat), and brown (Red-barred Vasca) eggs. White eggs tended to be laid in the afternoon, whereas brown eggs tended to be laid in the morning. The results indicate that brown egg hens have a less incidence of floor laying and lay eggs earlier than white egg hens, and that deep litter housing and first age hens should be better than free range housing and second age hens, with respect to floor laying. © Verlag Eugen Ulmer.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Campo, J. L., Gil, M. G., García Dávila, Sara
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Verlag Eugen Ulmer 2007
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12792/5647 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/292689
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