Direct and correlated responses to selection for hatching time in the fowl.

Abstract

Synopsis Selection over eight generations for a shorter (fast hatching) or longer (slow‐hatching) incubation time in fowls resulted in a difference of 42 h in incubation time. Only minor asymmetry of response was observed since incubation time decreased by 19.8 h in the fast‐hatching line and increased by 22.4 h in the slow‐hatching line. The predicted response was less than that observed, probably because of underestimation of the true selection differentials and a low estimate of heritability used for prediction. The realised heritability estimates decreased significantly from 0.222 to 0.179 between the first four and the last four generations. The estimate based on all eight generations was 0.199. These values are probably slightly overestimated because of the use of underestimated selection differentials in their calculation. The realised heritability in the original stock was probably between 0.20 and 0.25. No evidence of correlations between hatchability or egg weight and hatching time was obtained. A significantly lower egg weight in the fast‐hatching line could be accounted for on the basis of random genetic drift.