University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW Wales, Inited KingdomAverage Cost Curve, Profitabilityu, Mortality Rate, Eggs Yield per Hen Housed Per Month, Feed Consumption, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Marai, I. Fayez M.

Soliman, Ibrahim

English

Research Papers in Economics

5051
ECONOMICS OF PRODUCTIVE TRAITS OF SOME EGG-LAYER STRAINS UNDER
EGYPTIAN CONDITIONS
Ibrahim Soliman*and I., Fayz M. Marai**,
*Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics
** Professor of Animal Production,
Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Egypt
SUMMARY
The study showed that selection for the high egg yield per hen housed is not always
economically  successful.  Selection for the  minimum  cost (optimum  level  of  egg  yield)  is
economically, recommended. Less mortality rate leads to higher profit per L.E (Egyptian
Pound) of costs, which reflects mainly a higher rate of culled layer-hens as a secondary
output of the layer farms? Even though, mortality variation is due to the changes in the farm
management and environmental conditions. Therefore, a selection policy in this direction is
not economically feasible.
Hibro-strain showed the lowest productive performance of a high instability level and
high cost per egg. The Egyptian improved strain (Dokki-4), although it had a lower egg yield
and a higher feed consumption per egg than the NHL strain, both showed the same cost
level  per  egg.  This  reflects  the  effect  of  diminishing  return  concept  on  the  costs  of
production.
INTRODUCTION
Improvements  in  productive  traits  tend  to  improve  the  economic  efficiency (Smith,
1971;  Pym  et al.,  1979  and  Mauldin,  1981).  Hurnick  et  al  (1984)  showed  that  the
correlations of mortality (r = - .85), feed consumption per bird marketed (r =- .50) and feed
conversion (r = - .81) with profit per broiler were highly significant but that of weight gain per
bird marketed (r = 0.32) was not. The same authors found that none of other variables was
significantly correlated with profit. However, they did not show the multi-correlations among
the concerned performance trails.
The present study is an attempt to determine the major performance traits that affect
the egg costs of production on the Egyptian farms, Identification of these traits and their
responses to the costs provide indicators for a better policy towards minimization of the
costs of the egg production which  is now higher than the international costs. The study
included three common layer strains in Egypt: Dokki-4 (a hybrid Egyptian strain), NHL, and52
Hibro, as foreign strains.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The productive performance traits concerned were: the mortality rate (MORT), number
of  eggs  produced  per  hen  housed per  month (EGPHH)  and  feed  consumption  per  egg
(FEDEG).  Costs  were  calculated  per  egg  (CSTEG).  Observations  were  the  monthly
averages of full year records. The records of a separate farm for each strain were used.
Four successive years records were included. Total observations were 12 (3 strains x 4
records). The farm scale ranged from 6,000 to 10,000 layer-hens. The farms belong to the
Sharkey's  Governorate  (the  east  part  of  the  Nile  Delta).  Prices,  feeds  and  other
technological aspects were similar in all the farms.
The  correlation  matrix  was  estimated  for  the  concerned  variables  to  identify  the
magnitude  and  the  direction  of  the  association  among  all  variables.  The  best  fitted
regression model was estimated for the causal relationship between the cost per egg and
the  identified  performance  traits  from  the  correlation  matrix.  The  ANOVA  (one  way
classification) and the studentized range test were used, successively, to test the significant
difference between pairs of means among the strains for the performance traits.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Correlations between costs per egg and each of number of the eggs per hen housed
per month (r = - .62) and the feed consumption rate per egg (r = +.57), were statistically
significant  (Table  1).  The multi colinearity among  the  two  performance  traits  was  highly
significant with a negative value (r = -.95). Therefore, only one variable (egg yield per hen
housed.)  was  included  in  the  cost per  egg  estimated  response function.  The  other
performance  trait  (feed  consumption  per  egg)  was  derived separately from another
estimated relationship with the egg yield. This model goes with the economical concepts, as
well as, the biological behavior.
The best fitted model for the relationship between the cost per egg (CSTEG) as a
dependant variable and the number of eggs per hen housed per month (EGPHH) as an
independent variable was selected according to the magnitude of the coefficient of variation
(R
2)  and  the  statistical  significance  of  the  regression  coefficient. It  was  a  curvilinear-
quadratic form with a minimal limit point (equation 1). The values between brackets under
the estimated regression coefficients are the corresponding standard error estimates.53
CSTEG = 26.1164 - 3.4133 (EGPHH) + .1268 (EGPHH)
2.…………………….Equation1
(.8020) (.0547) R
2 = 0.8106
Equation 2 was derived from Equation 1 to represent the marginal cost relation. From
this derived function the minimum cost per egg occurs at 13.459 eggs per hen housed per
month.
CSTEG)/ EGPHH)] = -3.4133 + .2536 EGPHH ………………….. Equation 2
The feed consumption per egg is predicted, at the minimum cost per egg, from the
estimated relationship (Equation 3). This predicted value was around 266 grams of feed per
egg.
FEDEC = 530.8118 - 19.6630 EGPHH …………………………….. Equation 3
(4.241) R
2 =- .881
Table 2 shows that the NHL- strain has the highest egg yield and the lowest feed
consumption rate with the highest stability performance (lowest C.V. value). Even though,
substitution of its average egg yield (Table 2) into Equation 1 resulted in a cost level per egg
similar to that level predicted for the (Dokki-4) strain, although it has a significant lower egg
yield as tested in Table 3. Thereof, the breeding policy to select for the highest egg yield is
not always economically successful. Instead of that, the selection criteria for the minimum
cost, i.e. the optimum egg yield is recommended from the economical point of view.
Hibro-strain was of the worst performance (Table 2), since it showed the highest cost
per  egg.  The  differences  among  these  two  performance  traits  of  the  three  strains  were
significant at (Table 3). The studentized range test confirmed this result.
On the other hand, the relationship between the mortality rate and the cost per egg
was not significant (r = 0.38), as shown in Table I. This is probably due to the direct effect of
the mortality on the number of the culled layer-hens as a secondary output, rather than its
indirect effect on the costs of production. The estimated significant negative correlation of
the mortality rate (r = -.539), with the net return per 1- Egyptian pound of costs per month
confirmed this hypothesis. The apparent differences among the mortality rates of the three
strains (Table 2) were not statistically significant at .05. This indicates that a breeding policy
to select for less mortality and consequently a higher profit (Hurnick et al., 1984) has not a
direct effect on the egg production. In the present study, the mortality variation was mainly
due to the changes in the management and environmental conditions (Table 3).54
Table 1. Correlation Matrix
Variable MORT EGPHH FEDEG CSTEG
MORT 1 -0.194
ns +0.005
ns +0.382
ns
EGPHH 1 -0.951
** -0.616
**
FEDEG 1 +0.571
*
CSTEG 1
ns = not statistically significant
* = statistically significant at P<0.05
** = statistically significant at P<0.01
Table 2 Estimated Means of the Productive Performance Traits
Strain Mortality rate
% per 12 months
Eggs Produced per
hen Housed/Month
Feed Consumption
Per egg Per month(g)
û C.V.(%) X C.V.(%) X C.V.(%)
Dokki-4 11.3 18.9 11.3 10.4 317.7 9.5
Hibro 33.3 36.5 8.65 35.2 368.0 12.2
NHL 28.3 152.4 15.86 9.6 202.7 3.9
û = estimated mean, (CV) % = Coefficient of variability as percentage
Table 3 Results of ANOVA and Productive Performance Traits between the Strains
Estimated value MORT EGPHH FEDEG
Calculated F-ratio
(MSE)
1/2
Grand Mean
C.V.%
3.22
ns
12.85
24.3%
52.9
9.18*
2.4
11.9 eggs
20.2
21.29**
36.46
296.29 (K. Cal)
12.3
(MSE)
1/2= square root of the mean squares error (within)
C.V.% = (MSE/Grand  mean)%; which  reflects  the  variability  percentage  due  to  the  farm
management conditions over time.
ns = not statistically Significant, * = Significant at P<0.05, ** = significant at P. 0.0155
Figure (1)
One Egyptian Pound = 100 Piaster
Source: Drawn from Equation (2)56
REFERENCES
HURNJCK, J., F. and A., R., Wehster, 1984
Determination of profitability Relative effects of mortality, weight gain and feed
consumption, Proceedings of the 17
th World's Poultry Congress, World Poultry
Science Association. Helsinki, Finland, P. 660-662
Mauldin, JM., and F., H., Benoff, 1981
There is profit in male broiler breeder selection, Broiler Ind., 44:36-44
Selection  for  food  conversion  in  broilers:  Predicted  responses  to  selection  for
economic efficiency. Brit. Poultry Sci., 20:99-]07.
Smith, W., M., 1971
Broiler Sire-selection, Poultry Dig., 30.-59 J-594
Schefler, William, C., 1980
Statistics  for  the  biological  sciences 2nd  Edition,  Addison  Hensley Publishing
Company, Reading, Massachusetts, USA

ECONOMICS OF PRODUCTIVE TRAITS OF SOME EGG-LAYER STRAINS UNDER EGYPTIAN CONDITIONS

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