Seasonal Variation in the Physical Characteristics of Egg Shell of Domestic Chicken Kept in Warm Humid Tropics

Abstract

Investigations on seasonal variations on physical characteristics 0 f egg shell 0 f domestic chicken were singly in battery cages and were given water and layer's mash containing about 17% C.P. ad libitum. The eggs were measured for shell weight, shell specific gravity, shell membrane weight and shell thickness. Shell weight was 5.30, 5.23, 5:47 and 4.82 g for late dry, early rainy, late rainy and ~rly dry seasons respectively. Shell membrane weight was 0.19,0.20,0.22 and 0.12 g for the respective seasons. The shell specific gravity was 0.92, 1.06, 0.91 and 0.88 g cm" for late dry, early rainy, late rainy and early dry seasons respectively. Shell thickness was 0.35, 0.34, 0.33 and 0.30 mm respectively for the four seasons. Significant (P<O.OS) variations in these shell characteristics between seasons were observed, with the highest measurements being recorded in the late rainy season. Shell thickness was found to be significantly correlated with shell weight (P ~ 0.05). The other shell characteristics did not show significant correlations.