Page 15 - National Poultry Newspaper

Farm life with chooks, dogs Marcie and Jojo, and Jenni and Corrynn Millar at Aunty Rinn’s Free Range Eggs at Millthorpe. Photo: Mark Logan
Egg producer adapts sales strategy due to coronavirus
Some governments have banned imports of poul- try meat to protect their country’s internal market and processing plants are calling for a reduction in chick placements of 15 to 25 percent in an attempt to stabilise the market.
The consequences of prolonged egg storage include reduced internal egg quality – watery al- bumen and weaker yolk vitelline membrane; egg weight loss due to evapo- ration of water; reduced viability of embryo and thus lower hatchability; reduced chick quality – especially navel – and strong indications of reduced farm perfor- mance; and longer incu- bation times.
Apply one or more heat treatments during storage – that means heating up the eggs uniformly to at least 32C for some hours.
WHILE the coronavi- rus pandemic has radi- cally changed human life, it hasn’t affected chickens.
a day.”
She said she sold
clock to get those eggs to their customers,” Mr McMonnies said.
Create optimal storage conditions:
And while they keep laying, egg farmers have had to adjust to new methods of selling.
Mrs Millar said she had been selling at farmers markets to clear excess eggs but with social distanc- ing protocols that had stopped.
Best practice is to set hatching eggs two to three days after laying.
allowing some circulation of air and keeping trolleys 10cm from wall
When Corrynn Mil- lar saw her restaurant trade dwindle and mar- kets shut she had to turn to deliveries and the firm’s regular retail outlets.
Meanwhile the egg industry is seeking consumer input into its future with a survey to be conducted by the CSIRO.
While difficult to pre- dict the situation ten weeks from now – the time it takes between a hatching egg being laid and broiler meat reaching the market – in anticipa- tion of the situation con- tinuing, several hatcheries have reduced the number of eggs set.
Avoid storing eggs for longer than seven days.
• Avoid direct air flow from cooler or humidifier over eggs
“Restaurants are tak- ing less than half of what they were,” Mrs Millar said.
Industry body Aus- tralian Eggs said an ini- tial spike in egg buying by consumers when the pandemic erupted had subsided.
• Bear in mind that re- ducing the temperature of an egg storage room on a
Gerd de Lange, Pas Reform
Mrs Millar runs Aunty Rinn’s Free Range Eggs at Millthorpe and said sales rose when the social distancing laws came in.
Managing director Rowan McMonnies said suppliers were pro- ducing plenty of eggs to feed Australia.
“We know Austral- ians eat a huge num- ber of eggs and we also know the way those eggs are produced is an issue people care deep- ly about.”
To reduce the supply of hatching eggs to the hatchery, older flocks can be culled earlier and for younger flocks forced moulting may be an op- tion.
“We’re still quite busy,” Mrs Millar said. “Sales are back to
“Australia’s 21 mil- lion hens are still lay- ing eggs and farmers are working around the
To participate in the research, go to the CSIRO website and fill out the survey.
Needless to say, this is not the time to send floor eggs to the hatchery or to be sloppy with egg grad- ing.
normal now.
“Our 1500 chooks
The survey closes on Friday, June 5.
produce about 850 eggs
When hatching eggs are supplied continuously,
through two butchers and a cafe in Orange and was also delivering eggs to customers’ doorsteps.
He said there would be enough eggs to meet con- sumer demand through autumnandwinter.
In addition, the closure of many traditional wet markets is having a dra- matic effect on the poultry sector in less developed countries.
• 12 to 14C
• 80–85 percent RH
• Aim for uniformity by
If – when regular set- ting at normal capacity commences again – your egg store still contains large numbers of eggs, it is probably better to take the painful decision to get rid of your old stock by passing the eggs on to the egg industry, rather than resigning yourself to sub- optimal hatchability and chick quality.
“I will have to get cre- ative with more online,” Mrs Millar said.
CSIRO senior re- search scientist Dr Ki- eren Moffat said com- munity attitudes were changing.
If they need to be stored for longer than 10 days, there are some practical measures available for reducing the negative ef- fects of prolonged egg storage.
• Be aware of ‘sweating’ when eggs are moved to setter room for incubation or for heat treatment
Lessening the impact of prolonged hatching egg storage due to COVID-19
THE COVID-19 pan- demic is causing wide- spread market disrup- tions.
each day they are kept in the storage room adds to the eggs’ age.
When minimising the impact of prolonged hatching egg storage, where storage beyond 10 days is the only option, the aim is to maintain the highest hatch potential.
breeder farm might not be a good idea.
Tip2
While some countries are more affected than others, global demand for poultry meat has dropped because restaurants and fast-food chains have closed.
This has a negative im- pact on hatchability and chick quality once the eggs are set.
To do this you need to preserve the quality of the albumen and the yolk and, most importantly, the quality and vitality of the embryo as much as pos- sible.
Store eggs sharp-end-up if possible – alternative- ly turn them two to four times per day as is done during incubation.
Tip3
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The three tips to minise impact are:
Tip1
The above measures can definitely help to minimise the negative effects of pro- longed egg storage, but best results will still be achieved by setting fresh eggs.
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