Egg quality and fatty acid profile of yolk in eggs from Athulya, native and IWN x native crossbred layers under backyard system

Abstract

Backyard poultry production forms the basis for transforming the rural poultry sector from subsistence to a more economically productive base. The current study was conducted to evaluate the egg quality of eggs produced by Athulya, native and IWN x Native crossbred layers under backyard system. At 36 weeks of age, one egg from each group of birds was collected for fatty acid estimation of egg yolk and 20 eggs from each group was collected at 40 weeks of age for assessing the haugh unit score, yolk colour, shell thickness and shell colour. The beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acid content was higher in native bird eggs. The eggs from Athulya and native chicken had better internal quality in terms of haugh unit and yolk colour score. The shell thickness of eggs was similar among three groups. The egg shell colour was white in Athulya, tinted to brown in native and tinted in IWN x Native crossbreds and the shell colour in native and crossbreds exhibits more consumer preference.