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Egg Morphometric Analyses in Chickens and Some Selected Birds

Md. Ashraful Kabir
Present address: Department of Biology, Holy Land College, Dinajpur 5200, Bangladesh;

M. Saiful Islam*
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh

Ripon Kumar Dutta
Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Economically important egg morphometric parameters such as weight, size, albumen and yolk contents are quantitative traits that show continuous variability (Chatterjee et al., 2007; Islam & Dutta, 2010). It is also an established fact that the weight of an egg is a direct proportion of shell, albumen and yolk that it contains and this varies significantly between breeds or strains of the bird species (Jones et al., 2010; Momoh et al., 2010). The present results lend support to the findings of Yeasmin & Howlider (1998) and Islam (2006) for indigenous, Nahar et al. (2007) for broiler, Islam & Nahar (2008) for White Leghorn, RIR and indigenous, and Miazi (2008) for Fayoumi and Sonali chickens. Internal egg parameters such as AW and YW are very important from nutritional and health viewpoints (Sparks, 2006). In this regard, ISA Brown eggs showing the highest albumen contents (35.50±2.17g) and indigenous eggs showing the lowest yolk content (7.96±2.03g) could be considered preferable. Significant correlations between GW and various external and internal egg parameters of the present study agree with Pohle & Cheng (2009) and Momoh et al. (2010). But unfortunately, owing to scarcity of experimental data on egg morphometrics of such birds as goose, duck, dove, pigeon and quail, the present results could not be compared.

Keywords: Egg, Morphometric analyses, Chickens, Selected birds

Location:

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Animal Health and Management

Commodity: Chicken

Objectives:

Here we report a detailed account of egg morphometrics from six available chicken breeds and five other bird species.

Methodology:

Eggs from breeder hens of an indigenous (non-descriptive, Deshi), five purebred exotics viz., Cobb-500, RIR, ISA Brown, ISA White and Fayoumi, and a crossbred called Sonali (derived from RIR? × Fayoumi?) were collected for this study. Moreover, eggs from five selected pet birds namely goose, duck, pigeon, dove and quail were also collected. A total of 120 fresh eggs (12 birds × 10 replicates each) were collected for estimating egg quality traits viz. egg length (EL in cm), egg width (EW in cm), egg volume (EV in cm3 ), gross egg weight (GW in g) and shell weight (SW in g). In addition, four internal egg quality traits viz. shell index (SI=EW÷EL×100), shell ratio (SR=SW÷EW×100), yolk weight (YW in g) and albumin weight (AW in g) were taken into account. The eggs were numbered first and then weighed on an electronic balance to determine their weights. Subsequently, EV was determined using the formula, EV= π × EL × EW2 /6 (cm3). Each egg was broken on a table and its contents poured into a plate or small pot. Then the yolk was separated from the albumen with the help of a spoon and weighed. Moreover, the phenotypic associations between the relevant external and internal egg quality traits were determined by Karl Pearson’s product moment co-efficient of correlation (r). Mean, standard deviation (SD), analysis of variance (ANOVA), least significant differences (LSD) and r values were computed using the SPSS (version 11.0 for Windows). Data on various egg morphometrics and external and internal egg quality traits were subject to these statistical procedures to detect the significant differences between the genetic groups of chicken under study.

Source of Information: Univ. j. zool. Rajshahi Univ. Vol. 31, 2012 pp. 85-87 ISSN 1023-6104

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Chicken eggs contribute substantially to the human nutrition and so their dietary profile including lipid, cholesterol and antioxidant contents are particularly important. In addition, because yolk weight is related to the amount of cholesterol, choice for the nutritionally potential and healthier eggs is a matter of considerable concern, especially to patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory syndromes. Apart from these, information on the egg morphometric parameters is also vital for an understanding of fertility, development of embryo, egg quality and disease of the poultry and other pet birds.

Knowledge Management: Journal