xt7t4b2x5567 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7t4b2x5567/data/mets.xml   Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1940 journals kaes_circulars_003_349 English Lexington : The Service, 1913-1958. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 349 text Circular (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n. 349 1940 2014 true xt7t4b2x5567 section xt7t4b2x5567  
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UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY I .. i
coLLEGE or AGRICULTURE   ' Q i
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Extension Division   5
b THOMAS P. COOPER, Dean and Director _   I" .1
CIRCULAR NO. 349 * I  
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GOOD EGGS FOR MARKET =   ’ `1 I
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R? FIGURE 2. A fertile egg which has been kept at 103 degrees F. for 48 hours. Blood has .
_ formed and made the egg unfit for food.

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cg. Circular N0. 349 ; . = 1
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  GOOD EGGS FOR MARKET      
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;  By STANLEY CATON   j .  
  In the production of good market eggs the producer should  
  realize that eggs must have the best ol care belore marketing. The I Q n    
  interior condition ol the egg cannot be improved alter it 1S laid, 4 ·-_- _  
_ . . . . . . . i ·_ __ _!
Y but improper care will result in very rapid lowering ol quality. E    
  Both exterior condition and interior quality must be considered in l    
  producing good eggs for market. Exterior condition is determined      
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  by cleanliness and strength ol shell, size, and unilormity ol shape i    
Q  and color. w  Ari
  C lean Eggs. Regardless ol lreshness, eggs do not command the   'Yg_;;g,_°Z 
  highest price il` they are not clean. Figure 3 shows a package ol fl F; '·._ _;g;=_"z]
  eggs in anytlung but an attractive condition. Such eggs do not  
  appeal to the customer and are difhcult to sell.  gi
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Fmum; 3. Dirty eggs are unattractive and hard to sell.  
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qi The most common causes ol dirty eggs are mud lrom the hens  
I   lC€t in wet weather, dirty hen—house lloors, broken eggs caused bi  
  hens crowding on the nests, and gathering the eggs mlrequently  
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;» and in dirty containers.  
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P 4 Kentucky Ex/ension Circular N0. 349 I
To have clean eggs, hens should be confined in the laying house   c
until one or two o’clock in the afternoon, if the ground is muddy.   i
Most of the eggs will have been laid by that time and the flock will
have ample time to range after that.
\tVire netting stretched under the roost poles, above the drop- i I
ing board, will keep the hens from carrying Hlth to the nests. This ‘
arrangement also helps in the control of parasites and diseases. One {
and one—half inch mesh, 14 gage, poultry netting is a good size.   .
A deep litter on the floor of the laying house helps to keep the   f
hens` feet clean. The nests should be kept bedded and clean. One   —
broken egg in a nest may soil other good market eggs. Provide at
least one nest for every four hens and gather the eggs frequently,
especially in the forenoon when most of the eggs are laid.
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~ Fxcunz 4. Clean eggs increase the consumer‘s egg appetite, Contrast the eggs iu this J
picture with those in ngure 3.
Clean eggs appeal to the consumer and are easier to sell. lt is
. very difficult to have all the eggs clean. Use every precaution pos-
1.; sible to produce clean eggs and clean the few dirty ones with emery
  cloth or fine steel wool. Do not wash dirty eggs as washing removes
. the protective "bloom", permitting rapid evaporation.
- i STRENGTH OF SHELL {
    with strong shells stand shipping and handling much l>€¤·  
  ter than those with thin shells. Plenty of shell—forming material, l
  such as limestone or oyster shell, should be kept before the hens l

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  Good Eggs for Market 5   Y · E
V;  constantly. Hens should receive direct sunshine (or cod liver oil) i` V ‘ "
g; if the shell-forming material is to be deposited properly.        
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  SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOR   · _ g
  The size, shape and color of eggs are largely determined by      
  breeding. Weiglit is an important factor in determining the grade   Iii A  
  of eggs. X/Veight usually is expressed in ounces per dozen eggs. Eggs Q .;;i_  l V
  of high quality, which bring the best prices, weigh at least 24 ounces l i =  
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, per dozen. Small eggs (22 ounces per dozen or less) should not be   ~. t-4
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* sold with the larger eggs as they lower the grade. Very large eggs, {    
E; which often have two yolks, should not be marketed. Market eggs l    
l should be oval and uniform in shape. Long eggs are easily broken l ii"    
  when packed in an egg case and if broken are likely to soil other I   _· ij
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Fmvm: 5. Strictly fresh. Note the condition of the thick albumen and the yolk.  
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l The color of the shell is no indication of the quality or food    
l Value of the egg, Some buyers, however, prefer brown-shell CggS  
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l and others white. Brown-shell and white-shell eggs should not be  V} _;;,¢;ZV,)
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2 placed m the same carton or egg case as it bieaks the uniformity ol  
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l INTERIOR QUALITY  
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Interior quality IS ]udged by the use of an egg candle. Hom ev er,  
few farmers have an egg candle so they must rely on the precautions  
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~ necessary to prevent deterioration before eggs are marketed.  
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6 Kcnttzr/ey Extension Circular No. 349
The air cell in the large end of the egg is used as a guide to I by
determine whether the egg is fresh or properly cared for before F yc
marketing. In a good egg this air cell is small, not much more than    
one eighth of an inch in depth and about the size of a dime. As Q lit
the   ages, evaporation takes place and the air cell becomes larger.   eg
Keeping eggs in a dry, warm room results in such rapid evaporation 5 fr
that the egg soon loses its good quality. The air cell should not   a
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be movable but should remain 11] the large end of the egg. A freely  
mobile or bubbly air cell lowers the grade of the egg. This de-   nt
i fect is often the result of careless handling and packing. w
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Fmum: 6. This egg was kept where temperature and humidity were right. for four
days.
 _ l·`i<··ure 5 shows the characteristics of a fresh err. The tolls
l o 3%
 · stands up well and there has been no breaking down of the albu- 1-
 _ men. The dense layer next to the yolk is firm and distinct from the
y thinner layer. Figure ti shows that by properly cooling a fresh
  egg and keeping it cool the good interior condition can be pr€s€1`\‘· ‘
  ed. This   was kept in a cooler at 340 l·`. for [`our clays. Figure ‘
  7 shows an egg that was kept at room temperature for four d21)TS~ l
. Note how the yolk has flattened out and the larger area covered   ’

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5. _;  
r Good Eggs for Market 7 :1 ·    
i by the thick albumen which has also begun to break down. The   ry _'  
· yolk is held in the center of the egg by the thick white. (See figure   . V Q
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‘ 5.) As the egg ages in a warm, dry room the white becomes more lt E
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; liquid (see figure 1) allowing the yolk to move freely when the ;   ·¤ {
egg is twirled before the candle. Some eggs which are strictly   _  
j fresh may have these characteristics but only occasionally, not as     i
l a rule. 5    
  The color of the yolk is influenced by the feed. I-lens which do 4 5    
, . . . i f
, not receive an abundance of green feed or yellow corn produce eggs t V  
w with pale yolks. Alfalfa, clover or lespedeza hay have the same l   Y TE
f effect on yolk color as green feed. Some consumers prefer eggs     -.`. rl
  with pale yolks. ln most instances the only reason for this prefer-    
. { . . . . . { · `· l
s ence is that the high-quality   which they have been using hap— g    
· pened to have pale yolks. The food value of   with deep yellow af     8-;
yolks is equal or superior to that of eggs with pale yolks. ‘ _ ‘ =l
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Fmmu: 7. Flattened yolk and liquid albumen indicate the egg has been kept at too H 
high a temperature. Q? 
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Fertile eggs incubate slowly at a temperature as low as (18 l·. ,   
:\l`ter a short period of incubation, blood appears, rendering the  
  unht for use. Much of the loss in Kentucky eggs may be at-  
tributed to their fertility. lnfertile eggs deteriorate much more  
. . _ . . · f'  
slowly than fertile eggs when the L€mp€121tl1I`€ exceeds 680 F., as in  
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8 Kentucky Extension Circular N0. 349 i
summer. Occasional meat or blood spots are factors influencing   m
quality which the producer cannot control. These are the result ‘ ill
of some disorder in the organs of the hen.
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Frcum: 9. This wire basket. is ideal for gathering and cooling eggs.
Kentucky farmers who are making poultry an important source
. of income should be interested in producing and selling eggs of the
 } best quality. In Kentucky the country storekeeper, huckster and
produce buyer pay for eggs according to count, regardless of quality;
y therefore, in self protection, they must pay a lower price. It iS
  known that eggs from the middle west do not bring so good a price
 . on the major markets as those from certain other sections ol the
  United States. Poor quality is the principal cause of this discrimi- y
nation. Farmers who are producing high-quality eggs should be  

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_  paid for them accordingly. lf the local market does not pay more     _.
` for eggs of high quality than for poorer grades, the producer should é' » ·
. . . . ¤ .
` try to End a better market. Under ex1st1ng conditions the lapse lv  
  of time from producer to consumer is so great that the quality of    
  the egg is lowered decidedly when it reaches the consumer. Many ;’ Q A
Q [locks are too small to justify the producer making frequent trips ig  
E to a market other than the country store. The development of i Y 
  larger flocks in local areas would provide suflicient volume to make   H
Q frequent trips to a market economical. S   A
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" Do Not Sell Sell    
  Very small or d0uble—y0lk eggs. Normal-sized eggs   ~'
  Very long or round eggs Good-shaped eggs l  
  Soiled eggs Clean eggs l  
  Thin-shelled or soft-shelled eggs Strong-shelled eggs     t*-.  
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