AS-545-W
Commercial Egg Production and
Processing
By Ryan A. Meunier1 & Dr. Mickey A. Latour2
1
Department of Curriculum & Instruction, 2Department of Animal Sciences,
Purdue University, 1151 Smith Hall, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1151.
This publication is designed as an overview of typical layer management
and commercial egg production in the United States. The first part of the
publication contains text regarding an overview of the poultry industry, raising
layers, hatching and placement, lighting and temperature, feeding, and egg
collection. The second part of the publication is a powerpoint presentation
depicting commercial egg production and processing.
Overview of Egg-Type Layers
Introduction and Overview of the Poultry Industry: The poultry industry
is vertically integrated, which means the industry has a tremendous amount of
control of their products. It is distinctly different from many other animal
industries. In that egg producers own and manage nearly every aspect of
their business (e.g., rearing of birds, feeding, housing, husbandry, and
marketing of their product) and are capable of meticulously monitoring the
entire process. Poultry producers usually do not own the primary breeding
stock (i.e., the parent lines supplying their operation), these birds are
purchased from primary breeders.
Raising Layers (Leghorns): The purpose of this section is to provide a
general overview of a typical layer cycle in terms of chick placement,
vaccination schedules, lighting, heating/cooling, feeding, molting, and removal
of layers. Keep in mind, there are a number of ways to rear laying hens. It
would be very unlikely that any two companies rear layers exactly the same
way. However, all companies use a slight variation of the typical rearing
program detailed in this section. Management differences for rearing layers
may be accounted for by economics (breed selected, vaccination package
and decision when to molt), producer preference (breed and strain selected),
and/or geography (breed selected and vaccination package).
Hatching and Placement: Egg producers purchase their layer stock (i.e.,
day old leghorn chick) from an egg-type hatchery. Hatcheries deliver chicks to
the producer within one to two days of hatching. At arrival, chicks are either
placed in typical layer pens or reared in a pullet house. At the hatchery,
chicks are vaccinated according to the producer’s specifications. For details
regarding a typical vaccination schedule see Table 1.
Lighting and Temperature: Lighting and temperature conditions for a
typical layer production period are shown in Tables 2, and 3 respectively. For
those chicks reared in layer cages, a biodegradable mat is generally placed in
the pen. The mat allows chicks to better locate feed while also providing time
for the chicks to slowly adjust to the wire mesh floor. Within a week, the
biodegradable mat is removed or degrades into the litter pit. A single layer
cage may occupy as many as fifty chicks, but as they mature, cage density is
lessened. Chicks placed in pullet houses are reared on a floor covered with
absorbent materials, such as pine shavings. During the first week, pullet
chicks are usually beak trimmed. Pullets started on the floor remain there for
approximately 10 to 15 weeks and then move to a layer facility. In either case,
from chick placement through approximately 16 weeks of life, the pullets are
fed according to body weight gain and/or age. The goal is to raise a strong
and healthy bird that can support egg production. As noted in Table 2, daily
light exposure (photoperiod) begins to increase at Week 16. This increase in
light exposure triggers hens to begin laying eggs. If the laying hen has not
reached proper body weight (usually 3 lbs.) by Week 18, egg production will
cease very quickly, following the onset of the laying period. Hence, it is
important for the young laying hen (pullet) to attain the proper body weight
that will support egg production. In tandem with light manipulation, the diet is
also altered in order to support egg production.
Feeding: It is assumed that layers, unlike birds raised specifically for
meat, regulate their feed intake. Layers are generally reared on full feed (ad
libitum). The feed is offered to birds via the chain system. The chain system
transports feed into the metal feeder at precise times during the day. In
general, 2 inches of feeder space is allotted per pullet and 2.5 inches or more
for each adult laying hen (Animal Care Series, California Poultry Workshop,
1998). Table 4 illustrates the dietary protein and energy recommendations
based on age in of typical layer. Young birds are fed a high protein diet (20
percent) during the first few weeks of life. This level continuously decreases
until it reaches approximately 12 to 15 percent protein during egg
production. In addition to monitoring dietary protein, producers must closely
examine other ingredients. During the laying phase, lysine, methionine,
calcium, and phosphorus are precisely monitored to support maximum egg
production.
Egg Production: As shown in Table 2 and Table 4, producers begin to
photostimulate and manipulate the diet around 18 weeks of age in order to
support egg production. Minor nutrients have also been manipulated such
that calcium levels in the diet are approximately five to seven times greater
than phosphorus levels. When a flock (group of hens) first enters egg
production, the rate of egg lay will be around 10 to 20 percent. This means
that 10 to 20 percent of the hens are laying eggs at 18 to 22 weeks of
age. The flock quickly reaches peak egg production (90 plus percent) around
30 to 32 weeks of age. Post-peak egg production (after 30 to 32 weeks of
age) continually decreases to approximately fifty percent around 60 to 70
weeks of age. At this point an economic decision must be made by the
producer; fifty percent production is near the "break-even" point for egg
producers (e.g., feed cost = market price of eggs). When the flock reaches 50
percent production, producers commonly decide to molt the flock in order to
achieve a higher level of egg production. As a rule of thumb, it takes
approximately 10 weeks from the beginning of a molting program to be back
at 50 percent production following the molt. Post-molt egg production will
increase such that peak egg production reaches about 80 percent. Peak
production following a molt is short-lived and the flock generally returns to 50
percent production by 100 to 110 weeks of age. Many producers (one-third to
one-half) will induce a second molt, this is the same process that occurred at
60 to 70 weeks of age. The second molt is commonly dictated by the current
egg prices and the availability of replacement pullets. As previously stated,
once flock egg production falls below fifty percent, an economic decision is
made whether to molt the birds or the hens to a spent-hen processing
facility. The majority of hens are between 100 and 130 weeks of age when
they reach the end of their egg production cycle. The time span between 100
and 130 weeks of age can be accounted for by management decisions. Thus
hens may be molted a second time and then sent to a spent hen facility (120
to 130 weeks of age) or sent directly to a spent hen facility following the first
molt (100 to 110 weeks of age). After the flock vacates the layer house, the
house is stripped of all organic matter and sanitized before another flock
enters the house.
Egg Collection: In layer facilities, there are two primary methods of egg
collection, a) in-line facilities, and b) off-line facilities. In either case, hens lay
eggs onto an angled wire floor which rolls the egg toward the front of the cage
(floor angle is generally eight to ten degrees) onto a nylon belt. The belt
transports eggs out of the house either to the egg processing facility or to a
storage cooler. Since the processing facility and cooler remove eggs from the
house, based on hourly demand, eggs may reside on the belt for as long as
12 to 14 hours, but most are collected within a few hours post-lay. The first
type of layer facility is the in-line facility. In this facility, eggs move directly
from the layer house to the egg processing facility. Once the eggs enter the
egg processing center, within minutes to 12 to 14 hours post-lay, they are
washed (detergent solution near 100o F, pH 11.0 that removes soil), visual
inspected (checked for eggshell problems, cracks, and blood spots), and then
graded for packaging. Following packaging, eggs are moved to a cooler room
(40-45o F), where they await shipment to retail outlets. Egg producers
commonly deliver eggs to retail outlets within one week of lay. The second
type of layer facility is the off-line facility. This facility functions nearly identical
to the in-line facility except that the eggs are transported out of the house
directly to an egg cooling room. In this method, the eggs remain in the cool
room for approximately two to three days, and then they are transported to an
egg processing facility via a refrigerated truck. These eggs are treated
identically as those from the in-line operations.
Table 1. A typical vaccination schedule for leghorns1.
Week of Vaccination Type of Vaccination
Day old Marek's
15 days (1/2 dose) Infectious Bursal
20 days (1/2 dose) Infectious Bursal
Bronchitis, New Castle, Infectious
25 days Bursal (Typical Brand name Combo
Vec. 30)
Bronchitis, New Castle, Infectious
30 days Bursal (Typical Brand name Combo
Vec. 30)
Bronchitis, New Castle, Infectious
49 days Bursal (Typical Brand name Combo
Vec. 30)
Fowl Pox and Laryngotracheitis
10 Weeks
(commonly referred to as LT)
12 Week Combo Vac 30
Avian Encephalomyelitis (commonly
13 Week
referred to as AE)
16 Week New Castle
1
For greater details regarding specific diseases refer to the "Salsbury Manual
of Poultry Diseases, 7th edition".
Table 2. Lighting program for the leghorn.
Age Amount of Light (L) and Dark (D)
0 to 3 Days 22(L):2(D)
3 days to 1 Week 20(L):4(D)
1 to 2 Week 18(L):6(D)
2 to 3 Week 16(L):8(D)
3 to 8 Week 14.5(L):9.5(D)
9 Week 14(L):10(D)
10 Week 13.75(L):10.25(D)
11 Week 13.50(L):10.50(D)
12 Week 13.25(L):10.75(D)
13 Week 13.0(L):11.0(D)
14 Week 12.75(L):11.25(D)
15 - 17 Week 12.5(L):11.50(D)
18 Week 13.50(L):10.50(D)
19 Week 14.5(L):9.5(D)
20 Week 15(L):9(D)
21 Week 15.5(L):8.5(D)
22 Week 15.75(L):8.25(D)
23 Week 16(L):8(D)
24 Week 16.25(L):7.75(D)
25 Week throughout production
16.5(L):7.5(D)
cycle
Table 3. Temperature control during a layer cycle.
Week Temperature (F)
1 90
2 85
3 80
4 75
5 70
6 throughout layer cycle 70
Table 4. General Feeding Guidelines for Layers.
Starter Grower Developer Pre-Layer
Nutrient Layer
0-6 weeks 6-8 wk 8-15 wk 15-18 wk
Protein % 20.0 18.0 16.0 14.5 15.0
Met.
Energy, 1325-1375 1350-1400 1375-1425 1350-1400 1300-1450
Kcal./lb.
References:
California Poultry Workshop, 1998. Animal Care Series: Egg-Type Layer
Flock Care Practices, Published by the University of California, Davis,
2nd Edition.
Salisbury Manual of Poultry Diseases, 7th Edition. Salsbury
Laboratories. Charles City, Iowa.
Click Here to View the PowerPoint Presentation
Table of Contents
Commercial Egg Production and Homepage: http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/poultr
Processing y
Egg Production Download Presentation: Click Here
In-line Egg Production Facility
Feed Mill
Layer House
Feed And Water System
Egg Transport within the Layer
House
Automatic Egg Collectors
Egg Transport within the
Processing Facility
Egg Wash and Sanitation
Egg Grading
Interior and Exterior Egg Quality
Standards
Official Egg Sizes
Egg Transport to Packaging
Egg Carton Packaging
Egg Carton Packaging (close
view)
Plastic Shipping Skids
Plastic and Wooden Shipping
Skids
Egg Breaker Machine
Egg Breaker Machine
Egg Bulk Transport Bins
Liquid Egg Transport Semi
Processed Eggshell
Conclusions
