Egg |
Egg breakage by layer chickens is something most poultry farmers are familiar with.
An expert, Musa
Abdulrahman of National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI),
noted that the trend is an acquired behaviour which doesn't necessarily
have a causative agent, adding however that a number of reasons could
lead to it.
Abdulrahman pointed
out that the behaviour is not seasonal and that it is more peculiar
with layer birds because their nests are around them.
He suggested that
part of the reasons for this is congestion, otherwise known as high
stocking density of the birds which may lead to cannibalism and also egg
breaking.
"If the chickens
are overcrowded and there is no space for them, they try to create space
for themselves so they peck on other chickens and on eggs around to
create space.
"As a result of
pecking on eggs, they break it. Mostly they are attracted to bright
colours; red, yellow and green. So on breaking the eggs, the layers feed
on the albumen (egg white) thinking its water before feeding on the
yolk," he explained.
The expert stated
also that a point to note is that once they acquire the behaviour of egg
breaking, it continues, adding that egg breaking at times is as a
result of blood stains on the egg or when the eggs are shell-less which
attract the chickens to it.
Additionally, he said, another cause may be lack of minerals e.g. calcium either in their feed or in their body.
"When there is
nutritional deficiency, they start pecking around to see what they can
find. In addition, if there is no sufficient feed in the feed trays, or
if there are no sufficient feeders and drinkers around it also leads to
pecking at eggs," he said.
On management of
egg breaking, he said the recommendation is that birds are de-beaked
using an automatic machine called de-beaker which could also be done
manually to reduce its sharpness.
De-beaking the
birds early ensures that they do not get a taste of the eggs so that the
issue of cannibalism does not happen in the first place.
To de-beak a
chicken, he advised that one should place his/her finger in between the
upper and the lower beak to push the tongue inside to avoid cutting it
in the process.
"In each of the
birds you make sure that the upper beak is divided into three equal
portions and you remove the outer portion, i.e. one-third of the beak
while for the lower beak you should remove one-fourth of the beak," he
advised.
He explained
further that the upper beak is harder and longer than the lower beak and
it's what the birds use for breaking the eggs, so by de-beaking, the
lower beak becomes longer which only allows the bird to scoop feed and
not waste eggs.
He said some farms
de-beak layer birds as early as when they are three to four weeks old,
and done again at nine weeks, and then lastly at 15 to 16 weeks before
they start laying eggs.
He advised poultry farmers to ensure that the birds are fed their nutritional requirement and a good stocking density kept.
Similarly, an
animal scientist and seasoned poultry farmer, Malam Rabo Danhassan, also
affirmed that overstocking of layer birds kept under the deep litter
system leads to egg breaking by layer chicken. He noted that sickness or
disease in the birds also leads to the behaviour, stating further that
it is more common in white feathered poultry birds and could even be
seen in day old chicks.
On management, he
advised that the farmer should identify what caused the behaviour,
whether it is due to over stocking, nutrient deficiency or insufficient
feed.
He also advised
that sunlight penetration should be minimised in the poultry house, and
electric bulbs should be used instead to divert the birds' attention
from breaking eggs.
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