<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Publishing DTD v1.0 20120330//EN" "JATS-journalpublishing1.dtd">
<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" article-type="research-article">
  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">VETZOO</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title>Veterinarija ir Zootechnika</journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <issn pub-type="epub"/>
      <issn pub-type="ppub"/>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>LSMU</publisher-name>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">3</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Research article</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Effects of a Non-Fasting Moulting Treatment and Extended Cold Storage on Some Egg Quality Traits of a Commercial White Laying Hen</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Petek</surname>
            <given-names>Metin</given-names>
          </name>
          <email xlink:href="mailto:petek@uludag.edu.tr">petek@uludag.edu.tr</email>
          <xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor1">∗</xref>
        </contrib>
        <contrib contrib-type="author">
          <name>
            <surname>Abdourhamane</surname>
            <given-names>Ibrahima Mahamane</given-names>
          </name>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <author-notes>
        <corresp id="cor1"><label>∗</label>Corresponding author.</corresp>
      </author-notes>
      <volume>81</volume>
      <issue>2</issue>
      <fpage>22</fpage>
      <lpage>29</lpage>
      <pub-date pub-type="ppub">
        <day>26</day>
        <month>04</month>
        <year>2024</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>21</day>
        <month>08</month>
        <year>2024</year>
      </pub-date>
      <history>
        <date date-type="received">
          <day>18</day>
          <month>10</month>
          <year>2023</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="rev-recd">
          <day>11</day>
          <month>12</month>
          <year>2023</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="accepted">
          <day>22</day>
          <month>12</month>
          <year>2023</year>
        </date>
      </history>
      <permissions>
        <ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/>
      </permissions>
      <abstract>
        <p>This study was aimed at investigating the effects of non-fasting moulting treatment and</p>
        <p>extended cold storage on table egg quality traits of a commercial white layer hen. For this research,</p>
        <p>360 eggs were collected from moulted and non-moulted flock four weeks after the end of the moulting</p>
        <p>program. The hens in each group were allowed ad libitum access to water and their respective diets as</p>
        <p>grain barley for the moulting group and standard layer feed for the control group during the moulting</p>
        <p>period of 10 days and then a complete layer ration after the moulting program through the laying</p>
        <p>period. Sample eggs of each of these two groups were numbered, weighed and further assigned to a</p>
        <p>different storage period as daily fresh eggs: 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days. All eggs were stored between</p>
        <p>4°C and 5°C and 55% and 60% relative humidity throughout the experiment. Egg weight, egg length,</p>
        <p>egg width, shell strength, shell weight, shell thickness, yolk height, yolk diameter, yolk colour, albumen</p>
        <p>height, albumen width, and albumen length were measured at each consecutive analysis period for</p>
        <p>egg quality comparison. Non-fast moulting treatment significantly affected egg weight, egg-width,</p>
        <p>egg length and breaking strength (P &lt; 0.001, P &lt; 0.001, P &lt; 0.001 and P &lt; 0.020). There were no</p>
        <p>significant effects of the length of a cold storage period on the external quality traits of egg weight, egg</p>
        <p>width, egg length and egg-shape index. Shell thickness and breaking strength of eggs were affected</p>
        <p>significantly (P &lt; 0.001 and P &lt; 0.02) by the length of a storage period. The yolk height and yolk</p>
        <p>colour scores were found to be significantly greater in eggs from the moulting group while all internal</p>
        <p>quality characteristics were significantly affected by the length of a storage period (P &lt; 0.001). In</p>
        <p>conclusion, even if it was cold storage, egg quality tended to decline in the extended storage period and</p>
        <p>non-fasting moulting treatment improved the external and internal egg quality.</p>
      </abstract>
      <kwd-group>
        <label>Keywords</label>
        <kwd>Laying hens</kwd>
        <kwd>grain barley</kwd>
        <kwd>cold storage</kwd>
        <kwd>egg quality</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
</article>
