Abstract
On account of the recent improvement in performance of brown layers, the market share taken by brown layers has increased to about 50% in the world and to almost 100% in Korea. There are several other reasons why the industry has moved from white to brown, such as : brown layers are used to be more robust, more docile and easier to manage ; e brown layers are easier to sex at the hatchery ; brown layers lay less second grade eggs, due to a better shell Quality ; brown eggs seem to be more attractive than white ; and a clear consumer preference, thus a better price per egg. More recently, however, the trend towards brown eggs has been slowing down. The main reasons for this lie in that white layers can still produce an egg at a lower cost and that white eggs have better de-shelling properties, easier candling and higher yolk and solid content of the liquid egg which are benefits for egg processing industry. Although the performance of the brown layers is still improving, there are increasing opinions in the poultry industry that the market portion of white layers should be increased based on the following reasons, such as : shell color has no effect on the nutritive value of eggs ; . brown layers consume more feed ; the percentage of meat spots is significantly higher in brown eggs than in white eggs ; . brown layers are less efficient in the second cycle of production than in the first ; white layers are more resistant to the disease of fowl typhoid. In order to increase the market share of white layers in Korea, it may be needed to enlighten the consumers not to prefer the brown and large eggs and to inform the excellencies of white eggs widely.
