Abstract
The relationship of eggshell mammillary structure to eggshell strength was studied. Eggshells produced from Single Comb White Leghorn hens of the Cornell high eggshell strength (HES) or low eggshell strength (LES) strains with similar shell thickness (HES: .356 ± .056 mm; LES: .307 ± .006 mm, P>.05) but with significantly different shell breaking strength as determined by quasi-static loading to failure (HES: 3.46 ± .12 kg; LES; 2.09 ± .11 kg, P<.05) were selected for measurement of mammillary knob distribution. Casts of mammillary knobs were made using a low viscosity epoxy resin and were gold-coated and viewed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); mammillary knob density was measured from SEM photographs. Results showed that LES shells had smaller mammillary knob formations more densely situated than did HES shells (HES; 115.4 ± 7.8 knobs/cm2; LES 143.9 ± 10.8 knobs/cm2, P<.05). It is proposed that the greater interstitial area of the mammillary region of LES shells contributes significantly to their relative weakness.
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