Study of nutrient composition of Range (Village)Chicken eggs

Abstract

A study was done to compare nutritional composition and external quality of eggs from village chickens with those from commercial chickens. The nutrients evaluated coincided cholesterol, protein, calcium and phosphorous while the external quality parameters included shell thickness and egg shell weight. Eggs from village chickens were randomly collected from small holder farmers in the outskirts of Lusaka while commercial eggs were randomly collected from commercial farmers. Calcium content was higher (p<0.05) in the shells of commercial eggs (10.4%) than in the village chicken eggs (6.8%). Phosphorous content was higher (p=0.05) in the village chicken eggs (28.S?^) than in the commercial eggs (16.8%). There were no significant differences (p> 0.05) between the eggs with regard to cholesterol and shell weight. Commercial egg shells were thicker (p<0.05) with a thickness of 0.28 mm than those from village chicken eggs (0.24 mm) but the weights were similar. It is concluded from these results that cholesterol and shell weights are not different between the commercial eggs and those from village chickens. However, the macro nutrients and external quality were more superior in the commercial eggs compared to those from village chicken eggs.