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Egg production is the process of domesticating birds for their eggs, also known as poultry farming. The most common types of birds kept for egg production include chickens, geese, turkey, and ducks. The farm cash receipts gained from poultry products in Canada amounted to approximately $2.6 billion every year which contributes to about 7% of cash receipts used in farming operations. In Canada, more than 35.4 million turkeys, geese, heads of chicks, young turkeys, guinea fowl, and ducks are exported to 22 different countries accounting for $36 million.

Egg Production Requirements

Chicken are used in poultry farming for the production of eggs. The basic egg producing breed of chicken in Canada include the White Leghorn for white egg production while brown eggs are produced by several hybrid chickens including New Hampshire, Rhode Island Red, and the Barred Plymouth Rock. Around 300 to 400 eggs are produced by laying chickens in a period of 12 to 13 months. The chicken is expected to lay at least 12 eggs for every 3.41 pounds of chicken feed they consume.

An Overview Of Egg Production In Canada

In 2015, Canada had about 1,021 registered egg farms with an average flock size of 20,811 hens. Egg farms in Canada can have a few hundred chickens to about 400,000. In 2015, the consumption of eggs per capita was 19.4 dozen per person which was a 3.7% from 2014 and 7.4% from 2013. The egg market in Canada is divided into two main components: processed eggs and table eggs. Egg processing includes the production of albumen, whole egg and egg yolk in dried, frozen or liquid form. In 2015, Canada exported around 8.2 million kilograms of processed eggs accounting for $33.5 million and 9.2 million dozen whole eggs worth $15.1 million. In 2015 Canada had about 201 egg grading stations that are federally registered and 14 processing egg establishments also federally registered. In Canada, processed eggs are sold in restaurants and hotels together with other processing industries for the manufacturing of bakery products among others.

The Biggest Egg-Producing Provinces In Canada

In Canada, Ontario had 36.5% of the federal egg quota allocation in the country while Quebec followed in second place with 19.2%. The Canadian territories together with the western provinces had a combined production quota allocation of 36.7% whereas the eastern provinces had a combined production quota allocation of 7.7%. Ontario, a Canadian province in the central-eastern part of the country ranks number one in the list by producing the highest number of eggs among the Canadian provinces accounting for 264.63 million dozen eggs. Quebec follows in as the second largest egg producing province in Canada with a total of 128.2 million dozen eggs. British Columbia is the third largest egg producing province in Canada accounting for 81.92 million dozen eggs.

Factors Affecting Egg Production

There are some factors that influence the production of eggs ranging from feed related problems and diseases to poor management practices in intensive layer house. If layers are not provided with enough drinking water, feed or if the feed lacks sufficient calcium the result is decreased egg production. Management problems such as inadequate or insufficient lighting also lead to a decline in egg production.