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From:
Christian Cordts, Dr Matthias Schmutz, Prof Dr Rudolf Preisinger (Cuxhaven, Germany), “New alternatives for improving egg shell stability through breeding”, Lohman Information, No. 26, 2002
INTRODUCTION: Egg shell quality is of considerable economic significance for commercial egg production. Eggs with shell defects lead to a direct reduction in yield and damage the image of eggs with the end user. Possible causes of these quality reductions are age, housing conditions, feeding, egg handling technology and genetic predisposition. The shell is the outer covering of the egg and performs several important functions and tasks. Each individual egg is unique with its own microstructure which provides a wealth of information about the environment in which it was created. The shell protects the contents of the egg from mechanical impact to some extent and allows a controlled exchange of fluid and gas through the pores. The egg shell also provides protection against microbial entry from the environment and serves as a scource of calcium for the development of the embryonal skeleton. Because of its central importance for the egg as a commer- cial product, breeders and producers are continuously seeking to improve the quality and consistency of the egg shell. In this paper we propose to concentrate on breeding approaches and alternative measuring techniques which have a direct impact on product quality at the producer level and which indicate possibilities for improving shell stability.
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