Breed: Dekalb White Date of birth: 09-01-2019 Country of origin: The Netherlands Start of lay: 31-05-2019 End of lay: 28-05-2020 The Dekalb White participated in the 15th Bavarian Random Sample Test for floor housing. The poultry research institute in Kitzingen, located in the state of Bavaria (Germany), is well known for their Random Sample Tests for laying hen hybrids. In this 15th test on floor housing, the Dekalb White took it up against the LSL, and she clearly demonstrated once more her Premium Performance. We choose to send in the Dekalb White layer breed for participation as she is our most common white hybrid across Europe. The chicks were hatched at Het Anker BV., (Ochten, the Netherlands), and 1,000 female day-old Dekalb White chicks were delivered to the poultry research institute, of which eventually 705 were housed in the laying house. Birds were reared according to local standards, and all kept with intact beaks. A step-down, step-up lighting program was used in rearing until 18 weeks of age, after which they were moved to the laying house (including tinted glass panels, to prevent direct sunlight form entering the house). The rearing results are shown in the table below, from which it can be seen that the birds developed well, showing good uniformity at 16 weeks of age, and the total cumulative mortality of the Dekalb White till the end of rearing was just 1.6%.
Table 1: Rearing results: Body weights, feed consumption and mortality
Breed
BW + Uniformity at 16 weeks
Feed consumption
Mortality in rearing
BW
Unif %
cum.
g/animal
%
kg/animal
LSL
1.212
91,5
6,57
3.0
DW
1.133
6,39
1,6
In the production house the laying hens were divided over 6 pens, 3 pens constituting of 125 birds per pen and 3 pens constituting of 110 birds per pen (n = 705 per hybrid in total). A picture of the average pen layout is shown below.
1. Control corridor 2. Double row of family nests 3. Manure pit cover 4. Manure Belt 5. Feeder 6. Nipple drinker 7. Perches 8. Egg collection belts 9. Scratching area The Dekalb Whites are globally known for their Premium Performance. At Hendrix Genetics, the goal is to improve the amount of saleable eggs per hen housed with every new generation of Dekalb White. In this way we contribute to our mission, to support the global food challenge with high quality poultry genetics. In order to achieve this we do not just select on total egg numbers (Chart 1), but we put large emphasis on oustanding liveability (Table 2), premium egg quality (Table 3) and an acceptable egg size curve (Chart 2.).
Table 2: Laying performance and egg weight characteristics
Age at 50% production (days)
Eggs Hen Housed (piece)
% Lay (%)
Ø egg weight (g/egg)
Egg mass HH (kg)
Daily feed intake HD (g)
% Mortality (%)
147
335,1
92,1
60,2
20,2
121,0
1,8
149
317,7
87,3
63,9
20,3
124,9
8,5
Table 3: Egg grading
Share Dirty eggs (%)
Share cracked eggs (%)
Grade B (%)
Grade B (Ø /HH)
1,4
3,1
From the tables and charts it can be seen that our selection efforts clearly pay-off, and are in line with the results obtained in Random Sample Tests in other parts of the world (Like North Carolina and Gunma).
Table 4: External egg quality characteristics
Origin
Eggshell breaking strength (N)
Haugh Unit
Weeks
42
58
67
44,9
41,9
39,9
91,6
88,8
88,0
46,2
41,4
39,4
88,4
84,8
83,8
The birds are showing a higher peak of production compared to their competitors, along with good egg laying persistency. When the flock was depleted at 72 weeks of age, the Dekalb White hens were still producing over 90% of lay on a daily base.
Chart 1 Laying performance from 20 – 72 weeks of age
Chart 2 Eggsize distribution
Already during the rearing period the Dekalb White showed better livability (1.4% less mortality), and during the production period this difference in liveability became even bigger. Total mortality during the production period was 1.8% for the Dekalb White, compared to 8.5% of the LSL. That is a difference of 6.7%, i.e. the LSL showed over 4 times as much mortality compared to the Dekalb. The average eggsizes are lower compared to their competitor, but as the Dekalb Whites are producing over 17 eggs per hen housed more, the total eggmass is close to be equal (100 grams difference) while the average daily feed intake for the Dekalb is almost 4 grams lower! That bigger is not always better is also seen from table 3 and table 4, which are about egg quality. The Dekalb Whites show 1% less grade B eggs (dirts and cracked), and they are able to maintain better breaking strength towards the end of the production cyle. The advantage of internal egg quality (haugh units) is improving towards the end, at 67 weeks of age they Dekalb Whites show over 4 points better haugh units.
Balanced breeding is key when we make breeding decisions during the selection of the new generations. For all our breeds we try to look at the full picture, and with our breeding decisions we try to improve the earnings for the egg producers with every new generation.
Reference:
Birds in the rearing pen