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M.S.

This study employed actual farm data to obtain estimates of the input-output relationships that might prove useful in farm management plans by commercial egg producers and those interested in the poultry industry. The study was in two phases. Egg production functions were estimated for flocks with particular combinations of management practices and equipment. Analysis of variance was used to determine the particular combinations of building, equipment, and management practices. Least squares regression analysis was used to estimate production functions with eggs produced per hen as a function of feed. Birds in cage and floor housing had different production functions. Also, different types of birds under various frequencies of culling had different functions. However, the relationship a type of bird had to other types was not consistent when different frequencies of culling were compared. The labor to perform specific chorea was estimated using time per 100 birds as a function of flock size when particular combinations of equipment were used in performing the chores. These functional estimates were unusable because of the low coefficients of multiple determination. However, the average time was used to make an economic analysis of the labor saved by using various combinations of equipment. When various price combinations for feed and eggs were used, the additional eggs produced by cage housed layers justified cages with only one price combination. All other price combinations showed labor and/or capital with a value greater than the additional eggs were saved by using mechanical equipment in floor housing. / Master of Science

Eggs are used almost universally as food, and few other foods have been prepared in such a variety of ways. Although production and consumption will vary with the season, locality and cost, only three agricultural products produced in the United States exceed eggs in economic importance. As imports and exports are relatively small, egg production is primarily a domestic business. When we consider the staggering number of eggs produced on farms in the United States, about 2,700,000,000 dozens, it is not surprising to note their wide use as food. In recent years the per capita consumption of eggs has averaged about thirty-eight pounds or twenty-five dozens. This per capita purchase of eggs increases as the per capita food expenditure rises. Eggs bring food to man in a concentrated and easily utilized form. The edible portion of the egg contains approximately seventy-five percent water, thirteen percent protein, and twelve percent fat. The protein and the fat of eggs are of high biological value and compare favorably with those in milk. Eggs are also a significant source of the minerals and vitamins essential in the human dietary. Their culinary value as well as their nutritive value makes eggs useful to the homemaker. The use of eggs in food preparation depends upon the protein which is both elastic and extensible. Eggs are used for leavening, binding, emulsifying and thickening. Many factors affect their performance in these uses, temperature, humidity and the length and type of storage. In addition, there may be individual variations in the newly laid eggs, such as differences in the viscosity of the white, which will affect their value in the various uses. Since there are seasonal variations in egg production, eggs are selected in the plentiful seasons and stored for use in the seasons of lower production. Cold storage is the method most widely used in home and industry for the preservation of eggs. This process was developed to aid in retarding the changes which will naturally occur as the egg ages. This method seems to satisfactorily preserve the nutritive value and the normal performance of the egg in food preparation. Eggs commercially stored for as long as eleven months may be sold on the open market in competition with "fresh" eggs. In spite of the success of the current preservation methods, it is reasonable that home or industrial storage may affect the performance of the eggs in some food preparation techniques. In order to determine the extent of changes in the value of eggs for emulsifying and leavening ater home refrigeration, the following study was begun. Mayonnaise and angel cakes clearly demonstrate these two uses of eggs, so this experiment is concerned with their preparation. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the length of time of home storage at which: 1. The egg white forms a foam of maximum stability. 2. The egg white gives the best performance in the preparation of angel cakes. 3. The egg yolk forms an emulsion (mayonnaise) of the greatest volume and stability. In order to standardize the method of preparing these products an electric mixer has been used and methods developed with this beater. / Master of Science

The first experiment was designed to determine if the antigenicity of egg yolk diluter could be eliminated by the addition of specific antibodies. Two virgin heifers were immunized with 20% yolk - 2.1% citrate - 7% glycerol with penicillin and streptomycin. Non-immune serum and immune sera having titers of 1:640 and 1:2560 were collected and frozen. Serum antibody titers were determined by the passive hemagglutination test. Utilizing equivalent proportions test it was determined that 80 volumes of anti-egg-yolk-diluent sera titered 1:2560 was necessary to neutralize 1 volume of 20% egg yolk diluent. The second experiment examined the effect of immune sera against egg yolk diluter upon the viability of bovine spermatozoa in that diluter. Using a split-ejaculate technique, 7 ejaculates from 3 bulls were diluted in egg yolk-citrate diluter or skimmilk diluter, cooled, glycerolated and stored at S°C. On the first day after semen dilution, complement-fixed immune serum titered 1:2560, 1:640 and non-immune serum were added to aliquots of diluted semen (1:9 v/v). Aliquots of each diluter without serum served as controls. Each treatment was evaluated immediately after addition of serum and again after 48 hr storage at 5°C. Percent intact acrosomes, percent motility and percent agglutination were measured from unfixed smears at 0, 3, 6 and 9 hr of incubation at 37°C. Both immune and non-immune serum treatments were characterized by head to head agglutination. Within both diluters, there were no significant differences in motility or intact acrosomes due to immune and nonimmune sera. However, all serum treatments were significantly higher (P < .01) in motility and percent intact acrosomes than the non-serum controls. The overall percent intact acrosomes across all hours, days and diluters were 77.9, 81.1, 81.2 and 81.7 for control, non-immune serum, 1:640 serum and 1:2560 serum, respectively. Differences in the percent head to head agglutination were not due to anitbody titer of the serum. / Master of Science