Effect of selection for body weight in Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix Japonica) on some production traits

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify quails which have different body weight for some production traits such as egg production, egg characteristics, daily feed consumption and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The selection was based on body weight in Japanese quail over two generations using 150 quails (120 female and 30 male). These groups consisted of Low Body Weight (LBW), High Body Weight (HBW) and control. Average body weights for females at the end of five weeks were 182.3 +/- 0.5, 159.5 +/- 0.34, and 141.7 +/- 0.55 for LBW, HBW and control groups respectively. There were significant differences between females and males in body weight across the generations. Significant differences were observed for total egg production and egg width for Group X Generation's interactions. Also, statistically significant differences were found for egg quality parameters such as yolk index, yolk height; yolk diameter, albumin length, and albumin width among generations. As a result, body weight is a very important factor in selection studies and it also increases the efficiency of the selection program with other selection features.