Business development of laying hens have opportunities that are still wide open. Eggs are one of the products needed to meet the consumption of animal protein Indonesian society.
Aspects of achieving egg productivity and obtaining financial benefits into 2 parameters of laying hens business success. To achieve these two parameters, egg production, which is seen in terms of quantity and quality, is an important thing that must be achieved to the maximum.
Challenges Of Chicken Egg Production
Laying hens begin to produce when they reach 18 weeks of age. Egg production begins when the chicken has experienced sexual maturity which is marked by the first ovulation (first egg).
In general, egg production goes through 3 stages, namely the beginning of production, the peak of production, and the end of production. The process towards the peak of egg production is very important because it will determine the quality and quantity of eggs produced and to maximize profits.
In addition, as long as the laying hens produce eggs from the age of 18 weeks to reject, the size and weight of the eggs will not be the same every day. Farmers need to make sure the size / weight of the eggs produced is close to the standard or even exceeds the standard.
If the percentage of total egg production is high but the quality is low, farmers still face economic losses due to the poor quality of eggs sold in the market. Likewise, if the quality is good but the percentage of production is low, the farmer also suffers economic losses. If all egg production achievements are successful then greater losses can be avoided.
The Key To Successful Egg Production
In optimizing egg production, there are several things that need to be considered as the key to success. Like quality pullet, nutrition, maintenance management, and maintaining the health of the gastrointestinal tract and reproductive tract.
Quality pullet
Pullet who do not meet the qualifications then there will usually be a delay in laying eggs. Quality pullet good characterized by body weight according to standards, uniformity of body weight, skeleton (sternum and shank, and sexual maturity (comb and os pubis) meet the standard >85%). A well-built posture and a large cache are also assessment parameters.
Adequate nutrition and drinking water
Appropriate nutritional intake needs to be supported by healthy digestive tract conditions so that the development of the reproductive tract is optimal and ready to produce eggs. The size and weight of the eggs are also influenced by ration nutrients such as protein, certain amino acids such as methionine and lysine, energy, total fat and essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid. Non-fulfillment of the needs of one of these nutrients through the intake of rations, it will reduce the weight of eggs. Drinking water should also be considered. Laying hens that do not consume enough drinking water for only a few hours can affect egg production for weeks.
Maintenance management
Maintenance management factors such as lighting, handling stressful conditions to regulating air circulation are some things that must be considered because they affect egg productivity.
Health Status
The disease factor during this time is also considered one of the main causes of a decrease in egg production. Be it Diseases of the digestive, respiratory, nervous and reproductive organs. To prevent this from happening, vaccination programs and biosecurity applications are carried out.
It is also necessary to provide supplements and multivitamins with various beneficial purposes ranging from increasing endurance, improving the quality and quantity of egg production to being able to help maintain digestive health.
Herbs to optimize the productivity of laying hens
Herbs are known to have various nutrients and chemical compounds (bioactive substances) that are efficacious and have various benefits. One effort to help improve the performance of egg production in quantity and quality can be with the provision of supportive herbs that have been ascertained to be safe and standardized, one of which is herbal Eggstima.
Eggstima is a herbal product that can help improve the performance of poultry during the laying period, such as increased egg production, increased egg weight and thicken egg shells. Various benefits are generated from giving Eggstima by the way:
Stimulation of ovulation
Herbal extracts contained in Eggstima function as egg stimulator. Egg stimulator can spur stimulation Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormon (GnRh) which is a hormone that plays a role in reproductive fertility. Furthermore, ovulation stimulation occurs which triggers the formation of egg follicles in the reproductive tract so that chicken egg production increases.
Balance of intestinal microflora
Eggstima able to work as an antimicrobial which can inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract so that the absorption of feed nutrients is more optimal. One of the herbal extracts in Eggstima also contains inulin and oligofructose which are useful as prebiotics (good bacterial food). The balance of intestinal microflora can help the absorption of nutrients more optimally so as to increase the production and improvement of egg quality.
Repair intestinal epithelial cells
Combination of herbs in Eggstima able to help repair barrier intestinal and stimulate epithelial cells in the intestine so that optimal nutrient absorption and egg quality increase. The use of herbal extracts in Eggstima also helps to increase the length and width of the villi, as well as the depth of the intestinal crypts.
Rich in amino acids and minerals
The herbal extracts used are rich in amino acids and minerals. It can support in supplementing nutrients in the preparation of ovomucin or egg white protein in the formation of egg albumin. Increasingly dense Albumin can directly increase the weight of the egg.
From the results of research Laboratory and Animal Testing (LAT) Medion, giving Eggstima in laying hens Lohmann Brown age of 27-34 weeks was shown to help increase egg production and weight (graph 2).
Other advantages of the product Eggstima which has a liquid form and good solubility making it suitable for use nipple drinker and automatic dosing pump in the cage. The dose that can be given is 1 ml per 2 liters of drinking water or the equivalent of 0.1 ml per kg of body weight.
Thus the discussion about herbs to increase egg production. In addition to providing supplements to chickens, keep an eye on other factors such as management, nutrition and disease prevention. May be useful.
