The work evaluated the effects of egg colour and storage conditions on quality traits of chicken eggs. Methods: 336 eggs were randomly picked from a flock of white and brown hens and classified into 4 groups of storage length (0, 7, 14 and 21 days) and 2 temperature groups (ambient and refrigeration). Data was analysed with the two-way Analysis of Variance embedded in the General Linear Model procedure of Minitab (version 18). Differences in means were separated using the Tukey Pairwise Comparisons Method at 5% significance level. Significantly, the white eggs (58.5g) were heavier than the brown eggs (55.3g). Storage length did not affect egg weight, but eggs stored at room temperature were 1.4g lighter. Shell quality traits were approximately unchanged by egg colour and storage conditions. Egg colour x storage length and egg colour x storage temperature interactions significantly affected egg weight loss but the interactions did not affect the weight of the eggs and the shell quality traits. Egg colour did not affect the albumen height and Haugh unit significantly but the variables decreased as the storage length was increased. Albumen height under refrigeration was higher (8.0mm) than at room temperature (6.1mm). Egg colour and storage conditions significantly influenced yolk height and yolk weight. Albumen weight decreased as the storage was prolonged but was higher under refrigeration (27.3g) than room temperature (25.6g). Egg yolk was deeper in the brown (5.9) than white (3.4) eggs, deeper in the refrigerated eggs but varied irregularly with storage length. The interactions of egg colour and the storage conditions did not affect albumen height, Haugh unit, albumen weight, yolk weight and yolk colour significantly but yolk height was significantly influenced except for the egg colour x storage length interaction. The storage length x storage temperature interaction significantly affected Yolk pH. Eggs should be kept cold, but not more than 7 days because their quality can be affected under inadequate storage conditions.
egg quality, storage length, storage temperature, egg colour
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