Effect of Atmospheric Temperature and Daylight on Egg Weight and Yield in Fayoumi and Baladi Fowls

UNTIL fifteen years ago, eggs were regarded among the chief exports of Egypt. Unfortunately, Egyptian eggs were driven out of the export market for a number of reasons, perhaps the most outstanding of which was their small size and lack of uniformity. The egg yield of the country is produced by fowls which are regarded as indigenous, and whose history is not known. Strictly speaking there are no well defined breeds, but the fowl population of Egypt may be classified into two main groups which are locally known as the Baladi and the Fayoumi. This study deals with the effect of seasonal variations, i.e. atmospheric temperature and daylight, on egg production. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Whetham (1933), Bennion and Warren (1933), Reineke and Turner (1945) and Brody (1948), showed that temperature is one of the main causes of seasonal variation in the egg number laid by the fowl. On the …