Oviposition time, flock age, and egg position in clutch in relation to brown eggshell color in laying hens.

In Australia and other parts of the world, table eggs with uniform brown eggshell color are well regarded by consumers. Brown eggshell color has been positively correlated with certain egg characteristics such as shell strength and egg specific gravity, along with specific antibacterial functions. In the current study, the effect of hen oviposition time, flock age, and egg position in-clutch on the intensity of brown eggshell color was studied in commercial laying hens. The collected eggs were processed to measure egg weight, shell reflectivity, shell color (L*a*b*), quantification of protoporphyrin IX (PP IX), and shell thickness. Hen oviposition time had a statistically significant effect (P < 0.05) on egg weight, L*a*b*, amount of PP IX, and shell thickness. L* increased from 59.72 in the first half hour after lights on to 61.67 6 hours later, and PP IX per gram of eggshell decreased from 1.32×10(-7) mM to 1.26×10(-7) mM. Flock age had a significant effect on egg weight, L*a*b*, shell reflectivity, PP IX, and shell thickness. The mean egg weight increased from 55.4 g at 25 wk of flock age to 63.3 g at 75 wk of flock age. PP IX per gram of eggshell was 1.45×10(-7) mM at 25 wk and declined to 1.31×10(-7) mM at 75 wk of flock age. Individual hen clutch length was highly variable, ranging from 22 to 123 eggs in a single clutch. Egg position in a clutch had a significant effect on all egg quality variables measured; however, the R(2) values for each variable measured were low. The eggshell color declined to a greater extent with increasing position in a clutch for long clutches compared with short and medium clutches. In conclusion, hen oviposition time affected brown eggshell color with darker brown eggs laid early in the d and lighter colored brown eggs laid later in the morning. The intensity of brown color decreased with flock age, and egg position in-clutch had relatively little effect on brown eggshell color.

Samiullah S ，Roberts J ，Chousalkar K 《POULTRY SCIENCE》

Effect of production system and flock age on eggshell and egg internal quality measurements.

Egg quality was measured in eggs from different flocks that were reared together and then allocated to different production systems. Eggs were processed for measurements of eggshell and egg internal quality variables, scoring of ultrastructural mammillary layer features, completeness of cuticle cover, and protoporphyrin IX (PP IX) quantification. There was a significant main effect (P < 0.05) of production system on shell reflectivity, egg weight, and egg internal quality and significant effects of flock age on most measurements. The mammillary layer ultrastructural variables showed no clear relationship with production system and flock age. However, there was a significant interaction between production system and flock age for mammillary cap, early and late fusions. Cuticle cover ([Formula: see text]), was significantly higher in barn eggs (19.20), followed by free range (17.57), and cage eggs (15.99). Completeness of cuticle cover was significantly higher in eggs from the 44 week old flock than for 64 week and 73 week old flocks. For eggshells with cuticle intact, there was a significant main effect of both production system and flock age, and significant interaction between the two, for shell reflectivity, L*a*b* values and amount of PP IX. For PP IX, when this difference was calculated for the cuticle alone, there were no statistically significant differences. In 1 g of shell with and without cuticle, there was more PP IX in cage eggs (9.49 × 10-8, 7.90 × 10-8 mM) followed by free range (8.24 × 10-8, 6.90 × 10-8 mM), and barn eggs (8.64 × 10-8, 7.28 × 10-8 mM). Similar trends were recorded for the amount of PP IX in 1 g of cuticle, but the difference was not statistically significant. The amount of PP IX decreased significantly with increasing flock age. Comparing the cage and barn production systems at 68 week of flock age, there was no difference for the amount of PP IX in shell with or without cuticle, or in the cuticle alone. Eggs from the cage production system were darker in color and contained more PP IX mainly within the calcareous part of the shell. For the barn production system, the completeness of cuticle cover was higher and egg weight generally lower.

Samiullah S ，Omar AS ，Roberts J ，Chousalkar K ... -  《POULTRY SCIENCE》

Brown eggshell fading with layer ageing: dynamic change in the content of protoporphyrin IX.

Bi H ，Liu Z ，Sun C ，Li G ，Wu G ，Shi F ，Liu A ，Yang N ... -  《POULTRY SCIENCE》

Mitochondrial transcription factor A induces the declined mitochondrial biogenesis correlative with depigmentation of brown eggshell in aged laying hens.

Eggshell color is an important characteristic for poultry eggs. Eggs from aged hens usually have poor shell color that is unacceptable for the table egg market. The objective of this study was to examine effects of pigment synthesis and mitochondrial biogenesis on brown eggshell color of aged laying hens. In this trial, 8 hens laying eggs with darker shell color and 8 hens laying eggs with lighter shell color were selected from 300 62-week-old Hy-Line brown-egg laying hens. Results showed that egg weight (P < 0.05), eggshell weight (P < 0.01), protoporphyrin IX (Pp IX) content of the eggshell and the shell gland (P < 0.001), and biliverdin content of the shell gland (P < 0.001) were significantly declined in the light-shell group compared with the dark-shell group. Relative mRNA expression of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase1 (ALAS1) (P < 0.05), coproporphyrinogen oxidase (P < 0.01), ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCG2 (P < 0.01), and mitochondrial transcription factor A (P < 0.05) was reduced in hens laying lighter brown eggshell. Moreover relative mRNA expression of mitochondrial DNA copy number (P < 0.01), mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (P < 0.05), mitochondrial ATP synthase F0 subunit 8 (P < 0.05), and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 (P < 0.01) was significantly decreased in the shell gland of the light-shell group. In addition, NAD+ contents of the shell gland were increased in the dark-shell group (P < 0.01). Brown eggshell depigmentation is a result of decreased Pp IX content in the eggshell and the shell gland. Decreased mitochondrial biogenesis may contribute to the depigmentation of brown eggshell by targeting ALAS1 and ALAS1-mediated Pp IX biosynthesis.

Lu MY ，Wang WW ，Qi GH ，Xu L ，Wang J ... -  《POULTRY SCIENCE》

Changes in brown eggshell color as the hen ages.

Odabaşi AZ ，Miles RD ，Balaban MO ，Portier KM ... -  《-》