COMPUTERIZATION OF RECORDING AND CALCULATING EGG-PRODUCTION WITH PROGRAMMING DESIGNED FOR SCIENTIFIC-RESEARCH

A computerized system for recording and calculating egg production, ti tled EGGSPERT, was developed to decrease the amount of time required f or manual calculation of hen-day production. For 4 wk of production, h ard-shelled (HS), soft-shelled (SS), shell-less (SL), SS + SL, and tot al hen-day egg productions were recorded and calculated both by hand a nd by the EGGSPERT system for 900 hens divided into 60 experimental un its. Both methods of egg production analysis produced similar results with respect to HS, SS, SS + SL, and total hen-day production. However , analysis of SL egg production revealed a small, although significant (P < .05) increase of computerized recording when compared with the m anual method of recording and calculating egg production (1.39 vs 1.31 %, SEM =.03). A major advantage of the EGGSPERT system was a 6.4 h/wk decrease in time and labor required to total and calculate hen-day egg production when compared with the manual method of calculation. In co nclusion, the EGGSPERT system was found to be a very reliable, accurat e, and timesaving method for recording and calculating egg production.