Comparative investigation of egg production in WG, GG and GL Japanese quail populations

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate egg production in three heavy Japanese quail populations created and reared in the Poultry Breeding Unit of the Trakia University – Bulgaria, marked as WG, GG and GL. In the experiments, 160 female birds from populations WG and GG, and 96 female birds from population GL were tested up to the 6th production month. The main egg production traits were controlled. The highest egg production for the period was demonstrated in group GL (79.84±4.46%), followed by group GG (76.33±3.40%) and group WG (72.11±4.16%). Quails from the WG group were outlined with least efficient feed conversion per egg (74.49±1.21 g feed), while those from the GL group: with the most efficient one – 64.93±1.41 g (p<0.01). The highest average egg weight in descending order was observed in the WG group (14.04±0.32 g), GG group (13.65±0.27 g) and GL group (12.79±0.29 g). The Japanese quail populations created and maintained at the Trakia University showed a potentially good egg production for the production type they belonged to, which makes them attractive for use in interline hybridisation schedules, including for production of autosexing stock layers.

Keywords

• coturnix japonica
• egg production
• meat type
• feed conversion
• laying intensity.