Egg Industry - December 2009

Promoting quality: an
interactive exercise
Practical solutions to eliminate fecal shell
staining issues.

The safe alternative to fumigation

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There is a high awareness on egg quality in our industry based on receiving a number of responses that were on target.

The ;rst of the real-life problem situations dealt with fecal staining of shells from a white-feathered ;ock housed in an old facility. This defect is usually due to soiling of eggs hanging back in cages with sagging ;oors or alternatively contamination on dirty belts.

The immediate in-plant solutions involve:

✔Ensuring correct operation and sensitivity of the dirt detector.

✔If a candling booth is installed, removal of grossly soiled “dirties” is necessary. If throttle settings are near grader capacity an extra candler will be required to reduce the inspection load to six spindles.

✔The temperature of washers should be raised to between 120 F and 125 F with a pH of 11 to 12. Sanitizer concentration should be between 100 and 150 ppm chlorine with a surfactant to enhance cleaning.

The longer term approach is to adjust the slope of cage ;oors (if possible) to facilitate rollout or to consider re-caging of an obsolete installation at the end of its functional life.

A few respondents commented on wet droppings as a cause. Good point. If high water intake during summer leads to diuresis and diarrhea, retro;tting roof insulation and improving ventilation should be considered. Never impose water restriction in hot weather. Rarely is excess salt or limestone contaminated with magnesium responsible for wet droppings but nutrient content can be assayed as errors do occur in feed plants.