Your guide to strong egg shells

An egg once held the weight of a 200-pound man. Though small in stature, farm fresh eggs have big power. Their shells provide homes to growing chicks and shield yolks from harmful bacteria. But how can a structure that’s only 0.3 millimeters thick provide so much security? The answer comes down to design.
“Architects through the ages have modeled buildings after the dome of the egg,” says Patrick Biggs, Ph.D., a flock nutritionist for Purina Animal Nutrition. “A dome shape offers strength and protection; any pressure applied to the top of the dome is spread throughout the structure. This simple power makes the egg one of nature’s leading designs.”
Building an egg shell
Similar to the supplies needed to build an architectural dome, hens require specific nutrients to produce eggs with strong shells. Calcium and vitamin D₃ are two of the more important nutrients needed to build strong shells.
“Calcium is the most important nutrient for eggshell development, and vitamin D₃ is vital to getting the calcium where it needs to go,” says Biggs. “In fact, each eggshell includes about 2 grams of calcium – that’s 40 percent of the shell.”
Biggs brings this number to the next level with some simple math.
“If the average backyard hen lays 180 to 200 eggs per year, that’s 0.8 to 0.88 pounds of calcium per year for eggshell development,” he says. “This calcium must come from the diet to support shell production.”
Calcium transport
After a hen consumes calcium, the nutrient begins the journey to egg shell production. It first enters the blood stream where it is carried to the shell gland and the rest of the body. To help calcium travel quickly enough to create strong egg shells, vitamin D₃ also plays a large role.
“Vitamin D₃ is necessary, because it increases the rate at which calcium passes through the intestinal lining into the blood stream,” Biggs says. “The birds require large amounts of calcium when the shell gland is active. For this reason, we add vitamin D₃: to get enough calcium to the shell gland when it is needed.”
Providing the building blocks
Hens need to consume around 4 grams of calcium each day in order to get the 2 grams of calcium needed to make one egg shell – not all of the calcium goes to making egg shells. As stated previously, the nutrient – along with Vitamin D₃ – must come from the hen’s feed.
“Be sure to provide hens a complete feed, like Purina^® Layena^® Pellets or Crumbles,” Biggs says. “This complete feed is formulated to provide the necessary four grams of calcium. On the other hand, the average scratch grains product provides only 0.1 grams of calcium and no vitamin D₃.”
For optimally strong shells and fresh eggs, choose a feed that also includes an oyster shell mix, like Oyster Strong™ System. This new system, now included in Layena^®, provides a consistent supply of calcium through the entire 20-hour shell building process.
“Oyster shell is a good way to provide calcium because of its large particle size,” Biggs says. “Smaller calcium particles break down quickly, but oyster shell particles have a slower transittime. This means the calcium source stays in the hen longer and plays an important role in egg shell formation at night when hens need calcium most.”
To learn more about how to form strong egg shells, visit www.OysterStrong.com or connect with Purina Poultry on Facebook or Pinterest.

New health and welfare website available for layer industry

A website designed to assist egg farmers in identifying and eliminating performance barriers, preventing mortalities, and helping sustain and improve production yields has been launched by Australia's Barnhealth. 
The free to access DTECT- laying hens is a web-based tool that helps in learning how to identify issues that affect flock performance in only a few steps. 
The technology was developed via a collaborative project between the Australian Egg Corporation, international veterinarians, scientists, and nutritionists. It has been further developed with the assistance of egg producers through cases studies and user feedback. 
Users can view and download a manual from the site to help them make necessary observations and measurements to use the identification system effectively. They can also access a library with the details of over 160 disorders and information on the impact they could have on their business
In addition to the website, Barnhealth is offering information sharing on flock disorders, nutrition and management via its Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Costco: Hillandale Farms behaving appropriately

U.S. store chain Costco is defending the practices of Hillandale Farms, a company that provides the chain with eggs. The two companies were targeted in a recent video released by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
The video, shot at a Hillandale Farms facility, depicts scenes of hens that are not being treated according to Hillandale Farms’ animal welfare standards. Costco is challenged in the video to live up to its past pledge to move toward selling cage-free eggs.
In response to the video, Hillandale initiated an internal investigation. Costco, in a statement, said it also conducted an inspection of the facility, located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
“Inspections that we have conducted there as recently as this week confirmed for us that Hillandale is behaving appropriately. ​Hillandale has identified some areas in which it believes it can improve, including process improvement and more training for its employees. We support these efforts,” Costco stated. 
In its statement, Hillandale Farms says the video was shot by a former Hillandale Farms employee, who unknown to the company, was actually an undercover animal rights activist. Hillandale has also said that the person that shot the video was actually hired to prevent the types of incidents that were shown in the video from happening.
In response to pressure from HSUS about selling cage-free eggs, Costco noted that it sells more than 50 million dozen cage-free eggs annually, and over the last nine years has increased the number of organic and cage-free eggs it sold by more than twenty-fold.

Turkey hen weight can be controlled without feed restriction

Research from Dr. Michael Lilburn of Ohio State University has shown that body weight in turkey breeder hens can be controlled through intake of lower nutrient content diets without using physical feed restriction. The research project also examined body composition and  its effects on egg production, showing that the lighter weight hens had higher hen-day production, and the heavier hens produced significantly heavier eggs.
The research project, which was recently completed, is part of U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) comprehensive research program, which encompasses all phases all poultry and egg production and processing.
A complete report on Lilburn’s research on turkey hens can be found on the USPOULTRY website.

US Senate rejects Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments

The U.S. Senate has rejected the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012 to the Farm Bill, modeled after H.R. 3798 and S. 3239, which would have required egg producers to double the living space allotted per laying hen and make other animal welfare improvements during a tiered phase-in period that would allow farmers time to make the investments in better housing, with the assurance that all would face the same requirements by the end of the phase-in period.
The amendments had bipartisan support, and were backed by both the United Egg Producers and the Humane Society of the United States. Supporters of the bill called it an opportunity to enact a national standard that would improve the lives of animals and protect family farmers and agricultural jobs. Detractors called the amendment controversial and "a direct assault upon egg laying hens', voters' and states' rights."

Freedom Food launches online push for layer, broiler welfare

Freedom Food, the UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ farm assurance and food labeling scheme, has launched an online animation called Hettie the Hen.
The cartoon, which can be viewed on the Freedom Food website, is designed to persuade consumers to select eggs from hens that have not been reared in cages. The RSPCA says that the number of consumers in the UK claiming to have bought a higher welfare product over the last four years has doubled. Almost half have said that animal welfare is very important to them when choosing what food to buy. 
Freedom Food has also launched a new online advertising campaign to clarify what its label means and tackle consumer concerns about the way that animals are farmed. The advertisement focuses on chicken and is running across news, lifestyle, food and women's websites.

Ireland egg producers supported with new welfare booklet

Caring for the welfare of laying hens will now be easier for farmers in the Republic of Ireland following the launch of a new booklet called Code of Practice for the Welfare of Laying Hens.
Produced by the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council, the booklet was officially launched by Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in late September. The booklet’s aim is to encourage all those who care for laying hens to adopt the highest standards when dealing with hens and provides practical guidance in respect of the management and husbandry of laying hens. It incorporates new rules on welfare standards that are due to come into force in 2012. “My department is committed to working with poultry producers and the industry to ensure that the new regulations prohibiting the keeping of laying hens in conventional cages from Jan. 1, 2012, are complied with in full,” said Simon Coveney, minister for agriculture, food and the marine.

White leghorn chicken sex ratio manipulated with hormones

Treatment of white leghorn hens with a high dose of the hormone corticosterone five hours prior to ovulation resulted in the production of 83% male offspring, according to recent research. The research was conducted to determine the possibilities of manipulating layer hens into producing more female chicks than males.
The result was the opposite of that expected, because work in other avian species has shown that long-term treatment stimulates a female-bias. There was no adverse effect on the fertility of eggs compared to either control-treated hens or uninjected hens. In addition, an injection of testosterone exerted similar effects, producing a male-biased sex ratio (73%) and very little impact on fertility or the laying cycle. The use of progesterone interrupted the laying cycle in 77% of the hens injected. 
The study established optimal treatment and timing for producing a significantly biased, offspring, sex ratio in white leghorns. While the skew was not towards females, the researchers determined that the effects of a corticosterone inhibitor may be explored in attempt to produce a female-biased sex ratio. 

Campaign in India to end starvation force molting on egg farms

Humane Society International has launched a confidential whistleblower program in India to allow concerned citizens to anonymously report the practice of starving hens to induce molting. The program was launched after the Animal Welfare Board of India directed all poultry farms in the country to immediately discontinue starvation force molt regimes, stating that the practice is in violation of India’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and a punishable offence.
HSI says that starvation force molting, widely practiced in egg production facilities throughout India, deprives egg-laying hens of food for up to 14 days and may be combined with one or two days of water deprivation to rejuvenate their reproductive tracts and stimulate additional cycles of egg production.
It continues that during forced molts, hens suffer greatly and may lose up to 35% of their body weight. Additionally, the HSI says, starvation force molting dramatically increases the risk of hens laying Salmonella-infected eggs.
Manager of HSI’s factory farming campaign, N G Jayasmimha, said, “Once HSI receives a report about starvation molting on a particular farm, we will work with the state animal husbandry department, SPCA, the Animal Welfare Board of India and the state animal welfare board to investigate the matter.”

US egg coalition awards $6 million for hen house sustainability research

$6 million has been awarded to a three-year project focusing on comparing conventional cage housing, enriched cage housing and a cage-free aviary system for laying hens.

The Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply has awarded $6 million to support research on the sustainability of laying hen housing in the U.S.
Michigan State University and the University of California, Davis, will participate in the three-year “CSES Laying Hen Housing Research Project,” which will explore the interactions and tradeoffs among food safety, worker safety, environmental impact, hen health and welfare and food affordability aspects of three different housing systems. Information generated by the research, which will focus on conventional cage housing, enriched cage housing and a cage-free aviary system, is expected to help egg purchasers and producers make objective, science-based decisions as the egg industry evolves in response to consumer needs and desires.
“Our goal is to thoroughly understand the full range of sustainability factors," said Dr. Janice Swanson, director of animal welfare and professor of animal science at Michigan State University. "This multi-year study will examine seasonal shifts, bird lifecycles, bird health and behavior, environmental impacts, human health and other factors affecting the sustainability of the egg production system.” Additional cooperating research institutions include Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service.  

Washington state House approves poultry battery cage phase-out

The Washington state House of Representatives has approved a piece of legislation that will phase out the use of battery cage housing in commercial egg-laying chicken operations, Senate Bill 5487.
The legislation will instead mandate use of an approved American Humane Association housing system, requiring more space and the use of what is known as the enriched colony model. Enriched colony housing allows hens to exhibit natural behaviors such as spreading their wings and turning around, as well as offering elements such as nests, perches and scratching areas."We salute the legislators in Washington state for their proactive work," said Tim Amlaw, vice president of American Humane Certified animal welfare program. "Extensive research shows that the welfare program they have approved for commercial egg-laying chicken operations will most certainly significantly improve animal welfare."
The House vote follows previous approval in the state Senate, where the legislation will now return for concurrence before moving to the desk of Governor Chris Gregoire for final approval.

Omega acids may reduce bone breakage in laying hens

Adding the right combination of fatty acids to the diets of laying hens can significantly reduce bone breakage during lay, according to researchers at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences.
According to one study, adding omega-3 fatty acid to the diet of free-range egg-laying hens resulted in the birds' bones being significantly stronger, with up to 40% fewer breaks.
The project, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, focused on finding ways to reduce bone breakages in laying hens that contribute to increased food production while remaining conscious of the welfare of the animals. "Laying hens are particularly susceptible to high levels of damage to the keel which result from their relatively poor bone health," said Lindsay Wilkins, research fellow in Food Animal Science at the University of Bristol. "This is an increasing issue as the industry moves towards production systems that allow for more movement and access to outside. While these systems have obvious welfare benefits, they also increase the higher risk of accidents and breakages."
Dr. Michael Toscano, a research associate on the project, said the idea of adding to chickens' diets could be beneficial to humans consuming the end product, as well. "In addition to benefits to the chicken, omega-3 fatty acids are also beneficial for human health," said Toscano. "One objective of our research has been to produce an egg with fatty acid content that benefits consumers while achieving the same bone strengthening effect in the chicken. Our next challenge is to find the ideal balance of different fatty acids to maximize the hen's welfare while producing more nutritious eggs, resulting in a positive outcome for chickens, producers and consumers."

Dutch agriculture ministry discovers bird flu on farm

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation announced that avian influenza has been discovered on a poultry farm in Schore, Netherlands. Approximately 127,500 hens are planned to be culled.
It’s potentially the H7 variant, which can mutate into a dangerous, hen-killing variant, and is caused by wild birds’ stools, according to the ministry.
During the evacuation, which started March 25 at 8 a.m., there’s a prohibition of transportation in a zone of 1 kilometer around the farm of poultry, eggs, poultry stools and animal feed.

Conflict over beak trimming in the UK

The British Egg Information Council has urged legislators to delay imposing the ban on beak trimming beyond the proposed initiation date of January 1, 2011. Compassion in World Farming is actively lobbying the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the UK government (analogous to the USDA) to not to extend the deadline claiming research studies which show both infra-red and hot blade trimming can cause pain.
In turn, DEFRA, supported by the Farm Animal Welfare Council, claims that welfare benefits from the action would be offset by an increase in pecking and cannibalism, especially as confinement of hens in small-group cages will be phased out in 2012.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, quoting the UK Farmers Weekly, the chief executive of the EIC Mark Williams commented, “In our view, it will not bring welfare benefits to laying hens – indeed, it could have quite the contrary effect.”

Cornucopia Institute reviews organic egg production

The Cornucopia Institute, based in Wisconsin, has issued a report Scrambled Eggs: Separating Factory Farm Egg Production From Authentic Organic Culture. The major issue raised in the report relates to outside access by flocks. Many existing producers of organic eggs restrict their flocks to the interior of houses, since they do not have sufficient pasture space or, in some cases, have no provision for outside access.
Economic and practical considerations have led to the concentration of organic egg production among a relatively small number of efficient producers using aviaries and “sun porches,” as in the European Union. Some of these complexes can house up to 500,000 hens. These volumes are required to satisfy the current demand of supermarket chains that require consistency of supply, large volumes, stable prices and SQF certification.
When the original National Organic Program (NOP) requirements for egg production were developed, it was not envisaged that large producers would commoditize organic eggs. The current move to increasing outside access is effectively “moving the goal posts.” There is no scientific evidence that access to pasture in any way improves the nutritional value of eggs.
It is also accepted that outside access may increase the risk of exposure to diseases, such as avian influenza and Newcastle disease which may be carried by migratory and free living birds. Flocks allowed outside access have higher susceptibility to parasites and bacterial infections including salmonellosis, pasteurellosis and erysipalis.
If the NOP adopts the 1.5- to 2.5-square-foot standard for outside access the production of eggs under the organic program will be seriously curtailed, resulting in extreme increases in retail prices to levels estimated to exceed $6 per dozen. This will effectively limit purchases to a small segment of consumers.
The demand for organic eggs will be filled by a new category of product which is fed according to the current Organic Rule, following guidelines for stocking density and other management requirements. This product would not be eligible to carry the U.S. Department of Agriculture-NOP Organic Seal but would retail at the current $4 per dozen.

Comparison of eggs from caged, pastured hens

A recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems compared eggs from hens in cages fed conventional layer diets with free ranged hens fed on either grass, alfalfa or clover pastures.
Hens on pasture were fed a conventional diet for the six week experimental period. Eggs from hens on pasture in comparison with eggs from caged hens had twice the level of vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids and demonstrated a more favorable omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio. At the end of the experiment, pastured hens were 14% lighter than caged hens and produced 15% fewer eggs.
Although maintaining hens on pasture enhanced the nutrient content of their eggs compared to caged hens the same effect is achieved by dietary supplementation as in the case of the leading specialty brands with higher vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acid content. The marked drop in body weight and reduced egg production over a six week period suggest that had the trial been extended, further deterioration would have occurred adding to the inherent losses due to predation, parasitism and pathogens.
The article did not include an economic analysis but it is evident that increased labor costs associated with operating flocks on pasture together with the deterioration in production efficiency would produce an inferior return relative to confined, high-density housing.

New thoughts on feeding the modern laying hen

At the Thursday June 24th WATT Online Feed Forum we are presenting a webinar titled: New thoughts on feeding the modern laying hen
This 60 minute presentation, with live Q&A, will be led by Dr. Kristjan Bregendahl, Director of Technical Services, Hy-Line International. Dr. Bregendahl will use his presentation to pick out some of the interesting new directions being tried internationally for the nutrition of high-performance egg layers.
There will be 4 other feed webinars held during the day too.
For a peek at the agenda and to sign up for this free-to-attend virtual event visit http://www.wattevents.com today!

Flaxseed-fed chickens shed light on ovarian cancer

There’s something new to cluck about in the quest to find answers about ovarian cancer. University of Illinois researchers recently discovered that a diet enriched with flaxseed decreases severity of ovarian cancer and increases survival in hens.
Flaxseed, the richest plant source of alpha-linolenic acid, one type of omega-3 fatty acid, has been proven to inhibit formation of colon, breast, skin and lung tumors. It was logical to study how omega-3 fatty acids affect ovarian cancer because there remains no effective treatment, said Janice Bahr, a professor emerita and poultry researcher in the university’s Department of Animal Sciences. This research was published in Gynecologic Oncology.

Study shows better feed conversion, immune response in caged hens

Dr. Ken Anderson of the North Carolina State University poultry science department recently presented results from a comparison of brown-strain hens reared and housed in cages or on range.
In the case of the non-confined pullets, rearing through 12 weeks was completed in litter pens followed by movement to range. Performance was monitored from 17 to 82 weeks of age. Pullets reared in cages were 93 grams heavier than pullets reared on range. There was a 13% reduction in feed consumed by range pullets consistent with body weight and supplementation from foliage. Caged hens showed significantly higher feed conversion efficiency and egg mass. There was no significant difference in egg weight or size. Caged hens produced 90% grade A eggs, compared with 86% for the range hens, although there was no difference in the number of checks between the housing systems.
There were no differences in cholesterol content of eggs and both vitamin A and E levels were similar. Eggs from the range-housed hens had higher total fat and, correspondingly, both monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat levels compared to caged hens. There was a numerical but nutritionally insignificant difference in omega-3 content of eggs (0.13%). Beta-carotene levels were higher in the range-housed hens compared to the caged hens, although this difference could be compensated for by supplementation with commercially available xanthopyll supplements.
The immune response of range-housed hens was lower than their counterparts in cages. This was determined by antibody tier following Newcastle disease vaccination.

USDA grant funds hen welfare research

A consortium of scientists from Michigan State University, University of California–Davis and Washington State University has been awarded a $375,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to monitor the activity of hens in non-confined housing. Subjects will be fitted with wireless sensors to track movement and use of nest boxes, perches, feeders and waterers.
The sensor technology is adapted from systems that monitor human activity and health.
The team, led by Dr. Janice Siegford, assistant professor of animal science at Michigan State University, will gather data to determine how much space hens require and to provide a scientific basis for the design of hen housing systems.