The effect of poultry housing systems on egg production and egg quality

Abstract

A study lasting six months was conducted to determine the effect of housing systems on poultry egg production and egg quality. It was found necessary to embark on the subject because often poultry producers have a preference for one housing system or the other without sufficient experimental support. The design was completely randomised with three treatments, replicated four times. The treatments were deep litter, wire floor and cage systems. 216 brown egg laying type of birds "Ross Browns" were used at 72 layers per treatment. They were fed a commercial layers mash ad libitum. Egg production, egg size, internal egg spots, egg cleanliness, egg shell thickness, feed efficiency, liveweight gains and mortality were recorded during the study. Collection, ,weighing, candling, and grading of eggs were done everyday. Heasurement of egg shell thickness was done once a week from the 11th to the 16th week of the study period. Weighing of the birds was done at the beginning and end of the experimental period. Results showed that caged birds were superior (P <0.05) to those in other systems in egg production, egg size and feed efficiency, and only to birds on wire floor system in liveweight gains. Hens on deep litter system demonstrated a significant superiority (P< 0,05) to those in other systems in production of thicker shelled eggs and the lowest percentage of eggs with internal spots. Birds on the wire floor system produced the cleanest (P< 0.05) eggs. Differences in liveweight gains between layers on deep litter and those on wire floor systems were not significant (P> 0.05). It was concluded that the cage system could be the most favoured. However it could successfully be substituted by the deep litter system. The wire floor system could not be recommended as it demonstrated inferiority in almost all the characters measured. It was also concluded that with, proper management housing systems have no effect on mortality of birds.