Poultry, Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences
Open Access

Chicken Egg (Layer) Industry

Keerthana Sai^{* *}Correspondence: Keerthana Sai, Department of Zoology, Utkal University, Tamil Nadu, India, Email:

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Description

The location of poultry farms is influenced by population (where the people who will buy the eggs live) and feed components, primarily cereal grains, for the hens. It is less economical to transfer eggs than it is to carry the feed for chickens. The chicken layer business, often known as the egg industry, is a significant intensive animal production system in Australia. The egg business has grown rapidly over the last decade, owing to increase per capita egg consumption (a little more than 200 eggs per year/person). Eggs are regarded as a protein source that is superior to meat. Eggs are produced in four different ways: cage, free-range, barn-laid, and organic. Backyard egg production is also widespread in Australia, and it is directly related to the Australians' love of eggs. Due to welfare concerns in the cage egg production system, there has been an increase in demand for free-range eggs during the last five years. A free-range egg production method allows hens to travel freely throughout a larger area, including outside. In Australia, the industry is progressively transitioning from cage egg farming to free-range egg production.

Chicken eggs and egg products have long been and continue to be a prominent element of the human diet. The egg develops in the female chicken's reproductive organs. Most commercial strains of hens can produce more than 260 eggs per year, and some enhanced varieties may lay more than 300 eggs per year - nearly an egg per day. A hen does not need to mate with a rooster before she may lay an egg. Modern hens have been developed in such a way that they will lie even if there is little prospect of producing a chick. Layer chicks are sexed, and the females are sold as future layers, while the males are slaughtered humanely.

To protect internal quality, eggs are retrieved as soon as possible after being deposited and stored in cold storage. Farmers use a specific illumination (candling) equipment to inspect eggs for quality. Cracked or weak-shelled eggs, as well as other unusual eggs, are rejected. Internal quality and freshness are tested on a sample of each batch of gathered eggs.

Eggs have long been known for their nutritional benefits. An egg comprises 12% shell (which is not eaten), while the rest of the egg is a mixture of protein, energy, minerals, and vitamins. This indicates that eggs are a very nutritious item that should be included in a well-balanced diet. Eggs contain cholesterol, which was formerly seen as an unfavorable feature. However, this problem has been simplified because there are ‘good' and ‘bad' forms of cholesterol, and eggs have been found to raise the ‘good' type of cholesterol in the blood of those who consume eggs. According to studies, eating eggs every day is not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Eggs also include a variety of other healthy fats and amino acids. Some farmers have sold fat-modified specialist eggs (omega-3 enriched). This is accomplished by feeding chickens a carefully designed diet.