2120 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

APPENDIX 2: THIRD COUNTRIESTable A2.40: Typical production cycle benchmarks for table egg laying operations of30,000 or more laying hens 1999ActionWeeks of ageFlocks placed in production 17.5Flock reaches 5% production 20Flock reaches 50% production 22.6Flock reaches peak production 28.6First molt initiated 67.6Unmolted flocks removed from production 73.7Molted flocks removed from production 1 111.41 This is the average age at which all molted flocks were removed from production. It is estimated on the basis of tradeestimates that about 88% of these flocks were molted once and that 12% were molted twice.Source: USDA, APHIS, Layers ’99, October 1999.By nearly every standard, U.S. layer performance has steadily improved over the past 15 years ormore. Don Bell, University of California, has been collecting records on a large sample of U.S. tableegg flocks since 1973. The resulting database represents more than 7,000 flocks and an estimated370 million hens and is one of the most comprehensive data sets available anywhere in the world.Trends in egg production and feed conversion, based on Bell’s data, can be seen in Figure A2.10below. The number of eggs produced per hen to 60 weeks of age increased by 23.1 (11.2%)between 1985 and 2001 while the feed required per dozen eggs declined by 12.4%. The averagemortality rate to 60 weeks of age was cut in half over this period, falling from 8.8% in 1985 to 4.4% in2001. The share of flocks averaging 230 eggs or more per hen during 60 weeks of age rose from0.4% in 1985 to 51.6% in 2001.378