Simulation of poultry egg production

A simulation model was constructed to compare the profitability of feeding high- and low-protein diets when rearing pullets for egg production. Low-protein diets were found to be more profitable if laying adult birds were subsequently retained beyond 58 weeks of age, although predictions of the model were shown to be very sensitive to some of the inputs and production parameters incorporated in the model. The optimum length of lay for the data being analysed extended beyond 84 weeks of age. This model may be simply modified to study other genotypes and diets than those considered in this paper.