In the Nigerian poultry industry, feed proprietors claim that their products all meet similar standards. But according to the existing literature, the high cost and potential lack of availability of free ingredients could result in compromised quality among some manufacturers. This, in turn, affects the quality of the eggs produced by the laying chickens.

Speaking at the 2021 International Poultry Science Forum, animal scientist Mrs. Ireti Adenike Oludoyi of the University of Ibadan, has stated in her recent research study that the quality of eggs is determined by the feed, as the feed determines the core features of the egg that make it more acceptable to end consumers. These include the vitelline membrane, shell thickness, nutritional composition, egg weight and more. Oludoyi’s research sought to specifically assess the effect that various feed brands had on egg quality of laying chickens in the late laying phase.

This study was carried out at the poultry unit of the Teaching and Research Farm, University of Ibadan in Oyo State, Nigeria. 540 normal ground layers aged 59 weeks were allotted randomly to six different brands of feed.

The study also examined the effects of the feed brands on eggs over the duration of storage. This can help determine the shelf life of the eggs and help to prevent spoilage, which can reduce egg loss. The Poultry Site