Data Collection
Individual BW, measured twice per week, were
used to determine the feed allocation for hens within
each dietary treatment within chamber to achieve the
target BW. Eggs were collected daily and individually
weighed, and abnormalities were noted, including
shell integrity (membranous, soft shell, broken),
shape (deformed), and size (double yolk). The incidence
of broken eggs was recorded, and missing egg
weight values (broken eggs) were estimated, fitting a
hen-specific nonlinear regression of egg weight (EW)
as a function of the hen age (wk) based on the following
formula (Romero et al., 2009b):