Some factors affecting downgrading in eggs, especially damage in transit

Synopsis

From data collected over the course of a year in a commercial broiler hatchery it was possible to infer the positions in the boxes that had been occupied during transit from farm to hatchery by 25,179 eggs subsequently downgraded upon candling. Two thousand seven hundred eggs were sampled from each of 168 consignments; the total number of eggs sampled was nearly half a million. They came from flocks of two strains and were candled by four candlers. Analysis of variance showed the downgrading rate to depend on (a) identity of the candler, (b) strain, (c) sample, which was confounded with flock and season, and (d) position of the egg in the box. Positional variation occurred in all three dimensions. Vertically (between trays) the downgrading showed a linear increase from top to bottom. Horizontally (within trays) the variation was such that eggs near the corners were at greatest risk, followed by those in the middle of the sides. Those in the centre of the tray were at least risk. The horizontal variation is believed to be due to damage caused by unidentified external objects (at the corners) and by the string with which the boxes were tied (at the middle of the sides). Within‐box variation accounted for the downgrading of 1 egg in 200. There is a need for further work on the design of egg trays and boxes.