Variability of certain table egg quality traits depending on the producer and investigation year

Abstract

Interest of consumers in safety and quality of table eggs is increasing. Considering the deficit/lack of eggs from alternative systems, as well as increased production cost and other (zoo-hygienic) problems in these systems, it is necessary to improve egg quality traits in intensive production conditions. In Serbia, numerous mini farmers are main suppliers of table eggs on the market, therefore there is the issue of subjective factor, i.e. producer on the quality of egg. At the same time, objective of the paper was to investigate the changes of the egg quality traits depending on the year of investigation. During three production cycles, on five farms for production of table eggs with Isabrown layers, following quality traits were investigated: egg mass, albumen height, Haugh units, yolk color, egg shell color, cleanliness and thickness. Investigation results indicated significant effect of investigation years, i.e. production cycles on quality of table eggs, based on main flocks of same light layer hen hybrid, as well as quality of feeds used for their nutrition. Also, results indicated the possibility for improvement of egg quality even in conditions of intensive production and that this improvement greatly depends on the awareness of the producer about the importance of the correct realization of production technology.