Comparison of egg quality, yolk cholesterol and fatty acid contents of chicken, quail, partridge and pheasant eggs

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to compare the cholesterol concentrations of yolk and some internal and external quality chicken, quail, partridge and pheasant eggs. Chickens, quails and partridges are housed in cages and pheasants are housed floor pens. Egg quality traits were determined for 20 eggs per poultry species. Egg weight, egg shape index, eggshell strength, albumen ratio, yolk ratio, yolk index, albumen pH, yolk pH, shell ratio, albumen and yolk color characteristics were examined as egg quality analyzes. Ten eggs from each species wereused to determine total cholesterol and triglyceride levels of yolks. The highest egg shape index and eggshell strength values were obtained in the pheasant and chicken eggs. The lowest yolk ratio value was obtained in hen eggs. The shell ratio and yolk index of partridge eggs were higher than the other species. Chicken egg had a lower proportion of cholesterol compared with other species. Partridge eggs have a lighter yolk color than other species. There was no statistically significant difference between the other species in terms of egg yolk cholesterol content, while the lowest egg yolk cholesterol value was detected in chicken eggs.