Inheritance of the duration of fertility in chickens and its correlation with laying performance

Chaoliang Wen; Chunning Mai; Ronglang Cai; Qinli Gou; Boxuan Zhang; Junying Li; Congjiao Sun; Ning Yang

doi:10.1186/s12711-022-00733-7

Inheritance of the duration of fertility in chickens and its correlation with laying performance

Genet Sel Evol. 2022 Jun 3;54(1):41. doi: 10.1186/s12711-022-00733-7.

Authors

Chaoliang Wen^#^{1

2}, Chunning Mai^#^{1

2}, Ronglang Cai^#^{1

2}, Qinli Gou^{1

2}, Boxuan Zhang^{1

2}, Junying Li^{1

2}, Congjiao Sun^{1

2}, Ning Yang^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
² National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
³ Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. nyang@cau.edu.cn.
⁴ National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding and Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. nyang@cau.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Duration of fertility (DF) is an important economic trait in poultry production because it has a strong effect on chick output. Various criteria or traits to assess DF on individual hens have been reported but they are affected by many nongenetic factors. Thus, a reliable definition and associated genetic parameters are needed. Because egg production is also vital in chicken breeding, knowledge of the relationship between DF and laying performance is needed for designing selection programs.

Methods: We used five traits that consider both fertility and embryonic livability to delineate DF. Phenotypic and genetic analyses were completed for 2094 hens, with measurements of DF at 35 and 60 weeks of age and hatching egg production at 400 days of age (HEP400). The selection differentials for DF and HEP400 were evaluated.

Results: DF is largely independent of the number of oviposited eggs in the peak laying period but both egg production and DF naturally decline with age. The heritability of the five DF traits ranged from 0.11 to 0.13 at 35 weeks of age and increased slightly in the later laying period, ranging from 0.14 to 0.17 (except for efficient duration, time between insemination and the first unhatched egg). Estimates of the genetic correlation for a given trait measured at the two ages were moderate (0.37-0.44), except for efficient duration. However, number of viable embryos depends strongly on egg production. Estimates of genetic correlations of fertility duration day (FDD) at both ages with HEP were weak. Selection for FDD improved DF but without a significant change in laying performance. Selection for increased HEP400 did not contribute to DF improvement.

Conclusions: Although estimates of heritability of the five traits related to DF were low, selection to improve DF based on any one of them is possible. Among these, FDD is an effective selection criterion when the eggs are collected for approximately two weeks after insemination. The best selection procedure for DF improvement would involve multiple measurements at various ages. FDD is independent of laying performance and can be incorporated into a breeding program with egg production to improve reproductive efficiency.

MeSH terms

Animals
Chickens* / genetics
Eggs*
Female
Fertility / genetics
Oviposition / genetics
Phenotype
Quantitative Trait, Heritable

Abstract

MeSH terms

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