EGG QUALITY TRAITS AT DIFFERENT AGES AS AFFECTED BY SELECTION FOR HIGHER THREE WEEK BODY WEIGHT IN THREE GENERATIONS OF JAPANESE QUAIL - J. Hussain1; K. Javed; M. Akram; H. A. Ahmad; A. Mahmud; S. Mehmood; S. Ahmad; F. Ahmad; A. S. Jatoi; Y. Abbas; F. Hussnain (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2017)
The aim of the present study was to compare egg quality traits (egg weight, shell thickness, yolk index, Haugh unit score and the incidence of meat & blood spots) in a population of Japanese quail being selected for higher three week body weight by applying mass (MS) and pedigree based selection (PS) procedures along with running a random-bred control (RBC) group for three generations. A total of 180 eggs, comprising 60 eggs from each group (MS, PS and RBC) separately at three different ages (eight, fourteen and twenty weeks) were subjected to egg quality analysis in each generation. The data thus collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique under Completely Randomized Design in factorial arrangement. Post-hoc analyses were conducted using Duncan’s multiple range test. Statistical analysis of data revealed significantly improved egg weight in selected groups at all ages in each generation. Egg shell thickness also showed higher values for selected birds with advancing generations while yolk index and Haugh unit score showed significant variation without establishing any consistent trend. Hence, it can be concluded that selection for higher three week body weight did not cause any deterioration in egg quality characteristics, rather showed improvement in certain traits.
Keywords: journal article; Selection; higher body weight; egg weight; shell thickness; yolk index; Haugh unit score