Productivity and Egg Quality of Two Commercial Layer Hybrids Kept in Free-Range System

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance and egg quality parameters of two layer hybrids (Lohmann Brown and Atak-S) which were reared in free-range system. The experiment was carried out with a total of 300 laying hens. From 18 to 50 weeks of age Lohmann Brown (LB) and Atak-S (AS) were housed in two groups of 150 hens in a poultry house with a stocking density of 7 hens/m2. The 2 trial groups were formed from 10 repetitions each consisting of 15 hens. At the 20, 30, 40 and 50 weeks of ages, the production performance and egg quality parameters were evaluated. Mean daily feed intake and feed efficiency through the trial were 111.2 g vs 124.3 g, and 2.46 vs 2.58 respectively for LB and AS hybrids (P<0.05). The AS had a significantly higher body weight (2.200.5 g and 2.022.2 g respectively) than LB hen age at 50 weeks (P<0.05). Mortality exhibited a similar pattern to that of laying performance. There was no significant difference concerning the egg production between two hybrids (P>0.05). However, egg weight was significantly higher in LB genotype than AS genotype (P<0.05). Similarly, no significant difference was found between two hybrids in terms of egg quality characteristics throughout the experiment (P>0.05). In conclusion, our results showed that hybrid selection is important for productivity of laying hens rearing in free-range system.