The effort to produce high quality food sources and quality farm products has been a major focus in all sectors of the food industry. For the average man working in the poultry industry, the changes, complexities, and practices in producing high quality chicken eggs and meat could be stressful if not bewildering, but what happens in the farm determines directly the quality of the products that the poultry produce.
In egg production, the main focus of safety is to prevent salmonella contamination. It is also the ensuring that the chicks and pullets are not harboring the bacteria. One effective way at preventing this from happening is insuring that the feeds used are free from pathogens. Regular vaccinations are conducted to assure that the flocks are healthy and the observance of proper sanitation, eggs washing and refrigeration is observed from the farm to the market.
Producing high quality chicken eggs is straightforward. It only requires keeping healthy hens that are free from infection. The things to do:
• Reduce stress in the chicken house. Chickens that are not over stressed are more resistant to infections. For this the chickens must not be disturbed, if that cannot be avoided, prevent disturbances to the least possible. Chickens are naturally evasive to contact from those that it is not familiar with, even unfamiliar human scent.
• Except for scheduled management and maintenance, the supply of water and feed must not be interrupted. Even when the chicken can do with yesterday's water, the water supply nonetheless should be as clean and uncontaminated as possible.
• Maintain ample spaces for hens. A layer would need 4 to 5 square feet in moving space. When hens are crowded, irritations between hens occur that leads to pecking and fighting disturbing egg production.
• Make sure that the chicken house is secured from other animals and unauthorized personnel. Contact with poultry must be minimized.
• Do not feed broken eggs to the chicken. Doing so will develop the habit and will start them pecking at eggs. Instead, clean the chicken house of all residues of the eggs and dispose of it immediately.
• Keep a clean chicken house. Cobwebs, dust, dirt, and broken eggs harbor bacteria. This includes good housekeeping in all aspects of egg production like, egg packers, conveyors, elevators, and egg belts.
• All eggs must be collected promptly. Collecting eggs twice each day works well for most farms. For bigger farms the collection must be done often.
• Eggs must be handled carefully to prevent cracks, washed, and refrigerated soon afterwards.
• It often happens that pesticides are to be used to aid sanitation and cleaning. That being the case, only use pesticides that are approved for egg production. Likewise, use chemicals only when necessary.
The above-mentioned guidelines are sufficient practices in producing high quality chicken eggs. For further assurance, a common test it to place the eggs between a light and the eye. The yolk of high quality eggs appears translucent. Those that appear cloudy are already stale and may no longer be fit for consumption.
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