Evaluating the relationship between egg weight and village chicken egg quality in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate how egg weight affects the internal and external quality of the eggs in village chickens. A total of 335 eggs were obtained from 28- week-old Naked Neck and Central Poultry Research Station (CPRS) crossbreed village chickens. The eggs were weighed and categorized into four weight groups: large (56-65g), medium (49-56g), small (42-49g), and peewee (30-42g). Data pertaining to external egg quality characteristics (including egg weight, egg length, egg width, shape index, shell weight, and shell thickness) and internal egg quality characteristics (comprising egg internal weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, albumen pH, yolk length, albumen height, yolk height, and Haugh unit) were gathered. These data were subjected to analysis using SPSS version 25. The results showed that egg weight significantly (p<0.05) influenced egg length, egg width, shell weight, shell thickness, egg internal weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, albumen pH, yolk length, yolk color, albumen height, yolk height, and Haugh unit. However, specific gravity and shape index were not significantly (p<0.05) affected by egg weight. The analysis revealed positive correlations (p<0.05) between egg weight and egg length, egg width, shape index, shell weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, yolk length, albumen height, and yolk height. In conclusion, this study underscores the pivotal role of egg weight in determining the quality of both external and internal characteristics of village chicken eggs