Authors:

Olivia Katherine Sullivan

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About Paper:

Older laying hens are not typically kept in production because of declining egg quality and quantity but due to avian influenza hens are being kept in production. However, when nutritional changes are applied to older hens, it is possible to combat this quality decline, specifically vitelline membrane strength. High Vitelline membrane strength is essential during egg processing to prevent yolk breakage and preserve yolk properties such as emulsification, color, and flavor. It is also crucial during transport to ensure the survival of developing embryos and maintaining yolk integrity in eggs. The aim of this study was to measure vitelline membrane strength in eggs from older hens (> 100 weeks of age). The eggs were broken, and the yolk was separated from albumen and placed into a petri dish for analysis. If a yolk was broken prior to trial, that egg was removed. The probe on a Texture Analyzer machine was automatically lowered to break the yolk and observation of both the peak on the graph and the yolk's integrity confirmed when the yolk broke, and the maximum force of the vitelline membrane strength was recorded. When comparing data of mean forces from our older laying hens (140.918g to 187.088 g) with published data with younger hens (129.9g to 155.7g), the means from older laying hens are trending higher. Comparable findings in means of vitelline membrane strengths between groups of hens indicate that industry can utilize older hens and still be able to process, transport, and maintain egg quality. Keywords: [no keywords provided]

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

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No topics listed

Co-authors:

Olivia Katherine Sullivan