Abstract
The aim of this research was to evaluate selection studies towards increasing eggshell colour intensity and homogeneity, without reducing egg production of brown-egg-laying hens at the Poultry Research Institute of Ankara, Turkey. This study was based on data obtained from 1342 pedigree Barred Rock-1 (BAR-1), 1158 pedigree Rhode Island Red-1 (RIR-1) and 611 hybrid (RIR-1xBAR-1 or ATAK-S) brown laying hens, where eggshell colour and egg production performances were determined. Hens were selected for dark, uniform shells and egg production performance, as paternal and maternal lines from RIR-1 and BAR-1 base populations. Colour coordinates; L* (brightness), a* (red/green scale), b* (yellow/blue scale) and eggshell colour index (SCI) were determined. The values of L*, b* and a* were significantly changed during the study. The estimated heritabilities for BAR-1 hens of egg weight (EW), L*, a*, b* and SCI were as follows: 0.62, 0.64, 0.62, 0.55 and 0.32; The RIR-1 hen values were as follows: 0.51, 0.74, 0.64, 0.22 and 0.39, respectively. It was concluded that the performance of parents and hybrids was better than that of the base populations, with respect to the characteristics studied.
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