poultry breeding

Poultry Breeds (Layer

Form)

A variety of poultry breeds are there

and based on the efficiency of

production specific breeds are used

to serve specific goals, which

includes

Layer form,

Broiler

Dual Purposes

Bovans Browns,

White leghorn,

Two of the most widely

cultivated for the purpose of

Layering because of their high

production rate.

Bovans Brown

The BOVANS BROWN is a layer

form poultry breed, brown

feathered, brown egg layer which

has the ability to meet the

expectations of a variety of egg

producers with different objectives..

She not only performs well for the

egg producer with traditional

production facilities, being very

docile is making her the perfect bird

for alternative production methods

as well

She is the bird of choice for today's

egg farmers who expects high egg

numbers and a forgiving bird, all

essential ingredients to keep their

business profitable.

Egg quality can deteriorate faster

later on in life than layers that

produce smaller numbers of eggs if

they are pushed too hard in their

early years.

In general, these birds will produce

a large number of eggs during their

first 3 to 4 years, even up to 330

eggs in their first year.

Our eggs are collected at least

twice a day. They are immediately

placed in the refrigerator.

SHELF LIFE

Eggs that are handled properly and

stored in a refrigerator at 45 F will

last 4 weeks.

CLEANING

Egg shells are very porous when

wet. We do not wash our eggs

because you can force bacteria into

the egg itself. The accepted method

of “cleaning” an egg that has been

soiled is to use abrasion

(sandpaper) to remove any material

on the egg shell. That is why you

might find some areas where the

shell appears scuffed.

Age

(wk)

Body

weight

(g)

Feed

consumption

(g/bird/day)

Age

(wk)

Body

weight (g)

Feed

consumpti

on

(g/bird/day)

1 70 13 10 870-970 56

2 115 20 11 960-1080 61

3 190 25 12 1050-1117 66

4 280 29 13 1130-1250 70

5 380-390 33 14 1210-1310 73

6 480-500 37 15 1290-1370 75

7 580-620 41 16 1360-1430 77

8 680-750 46 17 1500-1540 80

9 770-860 51

Egg Weight ~ 310g

White Leghorn

Origin

The Leghorn Chicken originated in

Italy

It was first brought to North

America in the 1820s under the

name Italian chicken, this was later

changed to Leghorn from the Italian

port that they were first transported

through.

Appearance

Male:

Have white feathers that are very

bright and beautiful.

Tails are very large.

They have large red facial features

Female

Same as male but without the large

swooping tail and large facial

features.

Female may be a little more

"compact“ than the male.

Face: Red

Comb: Large red single or rose

comb

Earlobes: White

Skin color: Yellow

Beak color: Yellow

Eyes: Red-Orange

Weight:

Male: 2.4–2.7 kg Female:

2.0–2.3 kg

Purpose

White leghorns, due to a smaller

body are for Egg-Laying purposes.

Due to their prolific egg-laying, they

are the number one breed used for

large-scale commercial egg

production

Eggs

Egg color: White

Egg size : Medium to Large

Weight : Approximately 57

grams

Composition of an egg

Nutrients Egg

White%

Egg

yolk%

Water 88.0 48.0

Protein 11.0 17.5

Fat 0.2 32.5

Minerals 0.8 2.0

Life span

The white leghorn chicken has a life

expectancy of 1 to 6 years.

Those living in factory settings tend

to have slightly lower life spans.

Egg production

Eggs a week/year: 5-6 eggs a

week/280-300 a year.

However, production does decrease

over time, and will stop completely

during molting.

When the hen is about two or three

years old, production decreases by

10 to 20 percent.

Leghorns also need 14 to 16 hours

of light each day in order to stay in

high production.

Egg laying slows in winter because

of fewer daylight hours, unless you

provide additional lighting in the

henhouse.

ComparisonBovans

Browns

White

Leghorns

Feather Color Brown White

Egg Color Brown White

Egg Approx.

weight

310g 57g

Egg size Large Medium to

Large

Nutritional Value

(protein)

28.5%

Life Span 1-6 years

Production 300 eggs/year 280-300

Thank You