Nutritional properties of eggs and diet in laying hens

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On the occasion of World Egg Day, an initiative promoted by the International Egg Commission and celebrated on the second Friday of October each year with the aim of raising awareness of the benefits of eggs and their importance in human nutrition, Tecnozoo has decided to present the following article, in which we will discuss the nutritional properties of eggs and how animal nutrition is crucial for maintaining optimal product quality.
Eggs are a versatile food rich in nutrients.
Known primarily as a food, eggs are also used in the pharmaceutical industry, cosmetics, and the biotechnology sector.

Discover more about the Tecnozoo poultry world.

Nutritional properties of eggs: proteins

Eggs are a concentrate of proteins with a high biological value.
Biological value is an index that expresses, through a numerical value, the ability of a protein to meet the body’s amino acid requirements; in other words, it refers to the quantity, quality, and mutual ratio of essential amino acids present in the proteins that make up a food.
Eggs are attributed a biological value of 100, so much so that egg proteins are used by nutritionists as a reference point for evaluating the biological quality of other protein foods.
Egg proteins are rich in essential amino acids and are found not only in the egg white, as is often mistakenly believed, but also in the yolk, where they are associated with fats to form lipoproteins. The protein content of the egg white is about 13%, while the yolk is composed of approximately 16.5% protein.

Nutritional properties of eggs: lipids

Lipids are concentrated for more than 99% in the yolk, but unlike other foods of animal origin, they are rich in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The ratio between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in eggs is approximately 1:1.6–2 and depends on the fatty acid composition of the animal’s diet.
Among the lipids contained in eggs, cholesterol should also be mentioned.
Eggs contain a significant amount of cholesterol; however, this does not make them an unhealthy food.
Several studies have shown that dietary cholesterol does not affect blood cholesterol levels, to the extent that two eggs per day do not cause significant changes in cholesterolemia.
For years, misinformation has led people to believe that eggs are an unhealthy food. The aim of World Egg Day—and of Tecnozoo as well—is precisely to provide correct information about the true nutritional properties of eggs.

Nutritional properties of eggs: vitamins and minerals

Eggs are an ideal source of vitamins and minerals.
They represent the richest dietary source of vitamin A and are second only to cod liver oil in terms of vitamin D content.
Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and E are concentrated in the yolk.
Minerals and electrolytes are present in both the yolk and the egg white in varying proportions.
An interesting aspect of the minerals present in eggs is that they are all in organic form and are therefore easily assimilated by humans.

Egg quality and hen diet: how they influence the nutritional properties of eggs

The composition of the protein profile, lipid profile, vitamins, and minerals that define the nutritional properties of eggs is strongly influenced by the animal’s diet. So much so that some egg producers have begun enriching animal diets with components such as vitamin E, selenium, and omega-3-rich sources like flaxseed, in order to produce eggs enriched with these same components.

Whether enriched or not, providing high-quality feed is essential to ensure high nutritional quality eggs. Correctly supplementing the diet and supporting animal well-being and health whenever necessary is therefore a priority.

For this reason, Tecnozoo has been committed for over thirty years to producing complementary feeds for optimal dietary integration.
Our experts have selected, from the wide range of poultry products, three liquid products to be added to drinking water that can be helpful in daily egg production, as well as in supporting production during the most challenging phases of the cycle, such as periods of stress.

PLURIACID

The first product we present is a pool of organic acids.

The nutritional properties of eggs associated with organic acids are mainly three:

• Organic acids, by lowering gastric pH, promote enzymatic protein breakdown, facilitating digestion.
• Through a mechanism of energy deprivation against potential dietary pathogens, organic acids exert an antimicrobial action.
• By promoting the development of beneficial bacterial populations, organic acids modulate the intestinal microflora.

Acidifiers are commonly used in laying hens and, thanks to these properties, by improving feed utilization, they contribute to improved egg quality.

PLURIPOULTRY

PLURIPOULTRY is a product indicated for supplementing the animal’s diet when requirements for calcium, vitamins, and trace elements increase, such as during periods of stress and intense production..

Trace elements and vitamins, although required in small amounts, are essential for maintaining normal body functions, growth, and reproduction. As components of enzymatic systems involved in all animal metabolic processes, they play a key role in maintaining animal well-being and productivity.

GLUCON PID

One of the main challenges for egg producers is not only ensuring optimal internal egg quality, but also achieving optimal shell quality.
To produce high-quality shells, it is necessary to provide vitamin D and suitable calcium sources to meet the high demand for shell formation, ensuring proper intestinal calcium absorption and correct bone mobilization, as part of the calcium required for shell deposition comes from bone remodeling.
Tecnozoo, in order to meet these increased animal requirements and support production while preserving animal welfare, has developed GLUCON PID, containing vitamin D and highly bioavailable calcium sources.

The calcium pidolate contained in GLUCON PID allows simultaneous action on shell deposition, elasticity of the inner shell membrane, and bone mobilization. The calcium pidolate molecule not only provides the calcium needed to support shell synthesis, but also pidolic acid, which is metabolized for collagen production—a key constituent of both bone and the inner shell membrane.

When used correctly, these three products represent valuable support for those who aim to produce high-quality eggs by nutritionally supporting their hens, preserving animal welfare, productivity, and the nutritional properties of eggs.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Jenny Chen, Shanghai Menon – “Effects of acidifier supplemented diets on egg quality and performance”
• Silvia Cerolini, Margherita Marzoni Fecia di Cossato, Isabella Romboli – “Avicoltura e coniglicoltura”
• Caroline Vander Straeten – “Using vitamins to improve poultry production”
• Alice Mitchell – “Importance of Vitamins in Poultry Production”
• Wattagnet.com – “Trace mineral balance in poultry”
• N. R. Joshi D. N. Desai A. S. Ranade P. E. Avari – “Effect of Calcium Pidolate on Egg Production and Egg Quality during Last Phase of Production Cycle with Reducing Levels of Inorganic Calcium”
• W. WASHBURN – “Incidence, Cause, and Prevention of Egg Shell Breakage in Commercial Production”