Resumen

ARENAS, Carolina; HIDALGO, Marcelo; HIDALGO, Héctor  y  VALENZUELA, Carolina. Exploratory study on characteristics of oyster shell and eggshell quality in Chile. Austral j. vet. sci. [online]. 2018, vol.50, n.3, pp.149-153. ISSN 0719-8000.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0719-81322018000300149.

This study aimed to characterise oyster shell and white egg shell quality in Chile. The work was based on samples of both oyster shell and eggs, which were sourced from 7 laying farms over a period of several weeks during the production stage. Oyster shells were characterised according to their calcium content and granulometric distribution, and were classified in three types of particles (mm): coarse (>1.7), medium-sized (0.9-1.6) and fine (<0.8). Eggs were characterised, according to hen age and farm, by determining their weight, eggshell resistance, and thickness. Currently, Chilean farms use oyster shells whose calcium content ranges from 32.5% to 34.8%, and their granulometric distribution is 51.7% coarse, 27.6% medium-sized and 18.1% fine particles. Thus, the predominant form of oyster shell traded by major companies in Chile is the coarse type of particles, followed by medium-sized and fine particles. Similar calcium contents were observed for oyster shell samples sourced from different farms. Similar weight of the eggs were found for all farms (60-64 g). Contrarily, farms presented different results for eggshell resistance (3,934-5,057 g) and eggshell thickness (0.322-0.376 mm). Eggshell resistance and thickness values were within the expected range for white hen eggs.

Palabras clave : calcium; eggs; granulometry; oyster shell.

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