Commercial Poultry Production and Hatchery Management

LAYER PRODUCTION INDICES

Egg production

• The egg industry has two principal methods of measuring daily, weekly, and total egg production i.e. the hen-day and hen-housed systems.

Hen-Day Egg Production (HDEP)

For a particular day

For a long period

• This may be calculated by first computing the number of hen-days in the period by totaling the number of hens alive on each day of the period.
• Then calculate the number of eggs laid during the same period.

• HDEP is usually expressed in percentage. It is mostly used for the scientific studies and truly reflects the production capacity of the available birds in the house.
• A farm average of 85% or more per year is desirable.

Hen-Housed Egg Production (HHEP)

For a particular day  

  

• It is usually expressed in percentage.  

For a long period

 

•  It is usually expressed in numbers. HHEP values of 80% or 295 or higher are desirable.
• Although HDEP is an excellent indicator of how well the live birds are laying, it does not consider egg size and egg quality.
• Since these factors help in determining the income from eggs, HDEP is often misleading from a profit standpoint.
• It also fails to account for past mortality. However, it is the best egg production index available and is universally used by the industry.
• From a cost of egg production standpoint, HHEP is good as it measures the effects of both egg production and mortality.
• If there is no mortality during a period, the HDEP and HHEP are equal.