The Heritability of Body Weight, Gain, Feed Consumption, and Feed Conversion in Broilers

Abstract

ABSTRACT SINCE the cost of feed represents over fifty percent of the expense of producing broilers, the feed required for a pound of gain is one of the most important factors in broiler production. Feed efficiency has been improved considerably in the last decade by the introduction of better feeds and more rapidly growing birds. This improvement in feed efficiency has not resulted from selection within strains, since little attention has been given to the variation in feed efficiency within strains. Previous investigations of feed conversion and feed efficiency have been reviewed by Glazener and Jull (1946) and Hess and Jull (1948). The results can be summed up generally that differences in feed efficiency adjusted for differences in body weight do exist between strains of chickens. This conclusion also holds for a more recent study comparing three heavy breeds by Fox and Bohren (1954); except that, when adjusted for body weight, . . .