Wither random sample testing for laying hens in Europe?
2003
Flock, D.K. (Lohmann Tierzucht GmbH, Cuxhaven (Germany)) | Heil, G. (Federal Agricultural Research Center, Celle (Germany). Inst. for Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry) | Damme, K. (Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture, Kitzingen (Germany). Inst. for Animal Husbandry and Welfare)
The primary purpose of random sample tests for laying hens is to produce comparable performance data for different commercial strain crosses in order to help egg producers to choose replacement pullets. Successful breeding companies have used results of these tests to monitor their rate of progress relative to competitors and to adapt breeding plans to market requirements. Recommendations for organizing random sample tests and analyzing results were formulated e.g. by Lauprecht (1973) and followed in all German testing stations. Long-term trends in German random sample tests, based on data from cage testing in 5 German stations between 1974/75 and 1997/99, were recently published by Flock and Heil (2002). We will present some of these results and contrast them with more recent data from two German stations: Hau Duesse, the last remaining with conventional cage testing, and Kitzingen, which has been converted to floor testing in 1997.
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