Body Weight In Japanese Quail Research Articles

Individual cage housing affects feed intake and induces sex-specific effects on body weight in Japanese quails

Individual cage housing in poultry production could be a potentially stressful environment for the birds that can alter feed intake, consequently induce negative effects on performance. Previous studies used individual bird-based experiments to extract the detailed molecular, physiological, and fitness outcomes of treatments. Understanding sex-specific effects of isolation on social birds such as Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) may reveal important considerations. To understand this phenomenon, birds were kept in groups of 10 for one week and they were kept in individual cages for another week. Daily feed intake (DFI) was measured each day and body weight was measured at the beginning, middle, and end of group rearing and at the beginning and end of individual rearing. It was found that both males and females showed a reduction DFI in response to individual rearing (p<0.0001). Females consumed on average 29.38% higher amount of feed than males. Additionally, females showed a pronounced reduction in body weight after isolation, while the effect on males was not significant. Similarly, females had on average 17.61% higher body weight than males. The body weight to DFI ratio was higher in males than females. The finding of this research revealed an important implication of isolation and sex differences.

Identification of polymorphism Insulin-Like Growth Factor I gene and its association with body weight in Japanese quail

Identification of polymorphism Insulin-Like Growth Factor I gene and its association with body weight in Japanese quail

Detection of a novel single nucleotide polymorphism in IGF2 gene with a negative impact on egg production and body weight in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

BackgroundInsulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) is one of three hormones that share high structural similarity to insulin. It is involved in several insulin-like growth-regulating and mitogenic activities. This study was conducted to genotype the coding regions of the IGF2 gene in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) using PCR-SSCP-sequencing, and to assess the possible association of the polymorphism of these regions with the main egg production traits. A total of 240 female birds with an equal number of three Japanese quail populations (Brown or BR, Black or BL, and White or WT) were included in this study. ResultsAll the genotyped regions exerted no heterogeneity in their sequences with one exception detected in the exon 2. In this locus, a novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was detected in which “A” was substituted with “G” at 81 position with a silent effect (p.F79=SNP) on IGF2 protein. Association analyses indicated a significant (P < 0.05) relation of this SNP with egg number (EN) and bird weight (BW) in the analyzed populations, in which the birds with AG genotype had lower EN and BW than those with AA genotype. The p.F79=SNP was largely detected in the WT line than the other two lines. ConclusionThe detected p.F79=SNP has a highly negative effect on EN and BW in Japanese quail. Thus, the implementation of the variations of the IGF2 gene can be a useful marker in the marker-assisted selection of Japanese quail. This is the first report to describe IGF2 gene variations in Japanese quail, which strongly suggests raising the birds from the BR line with AA genotype when breeders desire to raise Japanese quail for large-scale egg production.

Prediction of body weight from linear body measurements in Japanese quail

A total of 168 two-weeks-old Japanese quail chicks of mixed sex were used to study the relationship between Body weight and linear measurements in Japanese quail. Data were collected on body weight, body length, body girth, wing length, shank length and drumstick length fortnightly for eight weeks to predict body weight. Data were subjected to SAS for analysis. The mean body weights were 38.31, 81.12, 121.38 and 132.15g, respectively. Body weight gain increased as the birds advance in age and the highest body weight gain was between week 2 and week 4. Female birds were significantly (P&lt; 0.05) heavier than male. Body weight had a positive correlation with all linear body measurements at week 2 except for drumstick length. The best correlation was obtained between body weight and body girth at the 2nd week of age (0.82) (P&lt; 0.05). The estimates of coefficient of determination which ranged from 0.0043 to 0.68 and predictive equations show that body weight in Japanese quail is linearly related to body measurements especially with body girth and body length. The study showed that Body girth and Body length could be used as criteria for assessment and early selection of Japanese quail for body weight.

Relationship between egg weight, hatching weight and subsequent body weight in the Japanese quail

An experiment to determine the relationship between egg weight, hatch weight and subsequent body weight of the Japanese quail was conducted. A total of 607 eggs collected over 6 days from an existing flock at the Animal Pavilion of the University of Ilorin were used for the experiment. Eggs were individually numbered, weighed and grouped into small (S) medium (M) and large (L) sized eggs based on the mean and standard deviation of the eggs. Mean egg weight were correlated and regressed with mean hatch weight and subsequent weight. Average egg weights were 10.23± 0.84g, 8.49± 0.72g and 6.94± 0.93g for the large, medium and small group respectively. The result showed relationship between egg weight and hatch weight were positive and highly significant (P &lt; 0.01) with values of 0.973, 0.977 and 0.967 for small, medium and large groups, respectively. Relationship between hatch weights and weekly body weights were also positive and significant (P&lt;0.01) for the medium and large groups only but decreased with age. Linear regression equation showed a significant coefficient of determination for weekly body weight using the values for small, medium and large egg weight values. The results of the study showed that egg weight can be reliably used for estimating body weight in Japanese quail and may be used as criteria for early selection of Japanese quail for body weight.

Genetic Selection for Body Weight in Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Under Different Nutritional Environments

Genetic Selection for Body Weight in Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Under Different Nutritional Environments

Genetic evaluation of weekly body weight in Japanese quail using random regression models

ABSTRACT1. A total of 11 826 records from 2489 quails, hatched between 2012 and 2013, were used to estimate genetic parameters for BW (body weight) of Japanese quail using random regression models. Weekly BW was measured from hatch until 49 d of age. WOMBAT software (University of New England, Australia) was used for estimating genetic and phenotypic parameters.2. Nineteen models were evaluated to identify the best orders of Legendre polynomials. A model with Legendre polynomial of order 3 for additive genetic effect, order 3 for permanent environmental effects and order 1 for maternal permanent environmental effects was chosen as the best model.3. According to the best model, phenotypic and genetic variances were higher at the end of the rearing period. Although direct heritability for BW reduced from 0.18 at hatch to 0.12 at 7 d of age, it gradually increased to 0.42 at 49 d of age. It indicates that BW at older ages is more controlled by genetic components in Japanese quail.4. Phenotypic and genetic correlations between adjacent periods except hatching weight were more closely correlated than remote periods. The present results suggested that BW at earlier ages, especially at hatch, are different traits compared to BW at older ages. Therefore, BW at earlier ages could not be used as a selection criterion for improving BW at slaughter age.

Effect of selection for body weight in Japanese quails(Coturnix coturnix Japonica) on some production traits

The aim of the study was to identify quails which have different body weight for some production traits such as egg production, egg characteristics, daily feed consumption and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The selection was based on body weight in Japanese quail over two generations using 150 quails (120 female and 30 male). These groups consisted of Low Body Weight (LBW), High Body Weight (HBW) and control. Average body weights for females at the end of five weeks were 182.3±0.5, 159.5±0.34, and 141.7±0.55 for LBW, HBW and control groups respectively. There were significant differences between females and males in body weight across the generations. Significant differences were observed for total egg production and egg width for Group X Generation’s interactions. Also, statistically significant differences were found for egg quality parameters such as yolk index, yolk height, yolk diameter, albumin length, and albumin width among generations. As a result, body weight is a very important factor in selection studies and it also increases the efficiency of the selection program with other selection features.

Genetic Improvement for Body Weight of Japanese Quail

Aims: The small size of quail is a limited factor in many countries, because there is not a general consumption culture according to such products, so increase in the size of quail products is a necessity for such countries. In current study, selection for Japanese quail body weight at four weeks of age was performed at three generations to estimate the response to selection and realized heritability. Study Design: Phenotypic selection Place and Duration of Study: Animal research station of Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran, between February 2012 and November 2012. Methodology: The selected line was chosen to increase body weight, and control line was maintained as a random-bred control. In each generation, 25 sires and 50 dams were used as parents for the next generation. Three generations of selection were performed and there were two hatches per generation. Genetic responses, realized heritability and slopes of cumulative genetic response were calculated. Results: Results showed that response to selection and realized heritability for four week body weight after selection through three generations was 10.9 and 0.47 respectively. The mean of body weight in selected and control lines of last generation were 177.6 and 161.2, respectively. This is 10.2% cumulative genetic improvement. Results showed that genetic improvement in body weight were 4.7 and 6.2 for second and third generations, respectively. Conclusion: this study demonstrates that 4wk body weight in Japanese quail has increased after three generation of selection and there was good genetic improvement for body weight. Research Article Annual Research & Review in Biology, 4(1): 347-353, 2014 348

Relationship between Body Weight and Linear Body Measurements in Japanese Quail (&lt;i&gt;Coturnix coturnix japonica&lt;/i&gt;)

A total of 108 two-weeks-old Japanese quail chicks were used to study the relationship between body weight and linear measurements and to predict body weight from linear measurements of body length (BL), body girth (BG), wing length (WL), shank length (SL), shank diameter (SD) and drum stick (DS).The results showed that the mean quail birds’ body weights were 35.23g and 143.78g, at 2nd and 8th weeks, respectively. Body weight gain was increased between 2 and 6 weeks of age and thereafter decreased with advancing age. Female birds were significantly (P&lt; 0.05) heavier than those of male counterpart at 6th and 8th weeks of age. Significantly positive correlations (P&lt;0.01) were obtained between body weight and body measurements at 2nd, 4th and 8th weeks. The best correlation was obtained between body weight and body girth at the 2nd week of age (0.70). The estimates of coefficient of determination and predictive equations show that body weight in Japanese quail is linearly related to body measurements especially with body girth and body length. The study shows that it is possible for breeders to use BG and BL as criteria for assessment and early selection of Japanese quail for body weight. Keywords: Japanese quail; Body weight; Linear measurements; Correlation © 2014 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsr.v6i1.16368 J. Sci. Res. 6 (1), 175-183 (2014)

The effects of thermal manipulation during early and late embryogenesis on hatchability, hatching weight and body weight in Japanese quails (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Coturnix coturnix japonica&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;)

Abstract. This study aimed to determine the effects of thermal manipulation during early embryogenesis (EE) and late embryogenesis (LE) on hatching weight, body weight at 5 weeks of age, hatchability and embryonic mortality rate in Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Incubation conditions from day 0 to day 17 were; 37.7 °C and 55 % relative humidity for control group. In the thermally treated eggs during early embryogenesis (EE6-EE8 days), incubation temperature was increased to 41 °C and relative humidity to 65 % for 3 hours (12.00-15.00) at 3 consecutive days. Also, in the late embryogenesis stage (LE12-LE14 days), incubation temperature was increased to 41 °C and relative humidity to 65 % 3 hours (12.00–15.00) at 3 consecutive days. At hatch in each trial, all chicks were wing-banded and individually weighted. Thermal manipulations had significant effect on hatching weight, and lowest hatching weights were found in late embryogenesis (LE) group in terms of male and female. In addition, thermal manipulations and gender had significant effect on body weight at 5 weeks of age and lowest body weights at 5 weeks of age were dedected in late embryogenesis (LE) group for both gender.

Variance components for body weight in Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica)

The objective of this study was to estimate the variance components for body weight in Japanese quails by Bayesian procedures. The body weight at hatch (BWH) and at 7 (BW07), 14 (BW14), 21 (BW21) and 28 days of age (BW28) of 3,520 quails was recorded from August 2001 to June 2002. A multiple-trait animal model with additive genetic, maternal environment and residual effects was implemented by Gibbs sampling methodology. A single Gibbs sampling with 80,000 rounds was generated by the program MTGSAM (Multiple Trait Gibbs Sampling in Animal Model). Normal and inverted Wishart distributions were used as prior distributions for the random effects and the variance components, respectively. Variance components were estimated based on the 500 samples that were left after elimination of 30,000 rounds in the burn-in period and 100 rounds of each thinning interval. The posterior means of additive genetic variance components were 0.15; 4.18; 14.62; 27.18 and 32.68; the posterior means of maternal environment variance components were 0.23; 1.29; 2.76; 4.12 and 5.16; and the posterior means of residual variance components were 0.084; 6.43; 22.66; 31.21 and 30.85, at hatch, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days old, respectively. The posterior means of heritability were 0.33; 0.35; 0.36; 0.43 and 0.47 at hatch, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days old, respectively. These results indicate that heritability increased with age. On the other hand, after hatch there was a marked reduction in the maternal environment variance proportion of the phenotypic variance, whose estimates were 0.50; 0.11; 0.07; 0.07 and 0.08 for BWH, BW07, BW14, BW21 and BW28, respectively. The genetic correlation between weights at different ages was high, except for those estimates between BWH and weight at other ages. Changes in body weight of quails can be efficiently achieved by selection.

Long Term Selection for Small Body Weight in Japanese Quail II: Changes in Reproductive Traits from 60 to 65th Generations.

Establishment of small body size poultry is an important strategy, which leads to effective management of bird-colonies and less feed consumption. And also it would be a useful experimental tool for elucidating an evolutionary mechanism causing the change in body size. In Saga University, a divergent selection for body weight at 6 weeks of age had been performed for 65 generations in Japanese quail. And three lines were established : large body weight (LL) line, randomly selected control (RR) line and small body weight (SS) line. Breeding of SS line started with the individuals selected from RR line (Okamoto et al., 1989a ; b). We have aimed to investigate the changes in reproductive traits during a long term selection for small body weight, and the results from 60 to 65th generations have been described in this report. Body weight of SS line was consistently smaller than that of RR line in every generation, and the following differences were observed over most generations. Fertility and hatchability in SS line were significantly lower than in RR line (P<0.01). The raising rate in early stage of growth after hatch tended to be lower in SS line than in RR line, but viability after sexual maturation in SS line remained at high level. Age at first egg in SS line was significantly delayed as compared with that of RR line (P<0.01), and total number of the eggs laid until 100 days of age in SS line was significantly lower than that of RR line (P<0.01). Total weight of the eggs laid until 100 days of age and average egg weight from 91 to 100 days in SS line were significantly lower than those in RR line (P<0.01). Genetic fitness (Falconer and Mackay, 1996) tended to decrease progressively in SS line though drastic increase was observed temporarily at 64th generation. Consequently, it has been concluded that long term selection for small body weight reduces genetic merits, particularly in reproductive traits such as fertility, hatchability, raising rate and sexual maturation, indicating that it is difficult to maintain the production of healthy adult birds at a higher level in the miniaturized line.

Relationship of Body Weight at Sexual Maturity with Body Weights at Various Ages in Lines of Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), Unselected and Selected for Four-Week Body Weight

Oğuz, I., Akbaş, Y. and Altan, Ö. 2001. Relationship of body weight at sexual maturity with body weights at various ages in lines of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), unselected and selected for four-week body weight. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 19: 219–223. To evaluate the relationship between body weights at sexual maturity and at various ages in two lines of Japanese quail, unselected and selected for four-week body weight for ten generation, body weights of female quails were measured at different days. Selection for increased 4-week body weight resulted in changes in weights at various ages and increased the body weight at sexual maturity. In two lines, correlations between body weights at various ages and body weight at sexual maturity, and regression of body weight at various ages on weight at the sexual maturity were generally positive and significantly different from zero. Selection for increased 4-week body weight in Japanese quail resulted in a delay in age at sexual maturity and body weights at sexual maturity were highly related to juvenile body weights in both Japanese quail lines.

Short-Term Selection for Four-Week Body Weight in Japanese Quail

Japanese quail have been utilized as a research animal to establish genetic relationships that may be present in other poultry species. In this presentation, short-term selection experiments were reviewed. Selection intensity appeared to be the most effective in improving BW when selection experiments were compared on a response per generation basis; however, when generation interval was reduced, the response per year was superior despite lower selection intensities for lines selected the same number of generations. Correlated responses over 30 generations of divergent selection for 4-wk BW indicated that selection had a negative effect on fitness traits, including egg number and fertility. Traits such as follicle and egg weight and BW at the beginning of and after a 120-d laying period were positively correlated with BW during the growth period. The early response of quail lines selected for increased BW at 10, 17, 28, and 40 d of age indicate that the later selection is applied the greater the selection response at maturity. In fact, lines selected at young ages were competitive with late-selected lines only to the point at which selection occurred.

Long-Term Selection for Body Weight in Japanese Quail Under Different Environments

Long-term selection was conducted for high 4-wk BW in Japanese quail under different selection environments to investigate selection limits and to determine whether genetic parameters for growth are similar to those in chickens. Quail lines were selected under an adequate 28% CP diet (P line) and under a low 20% CP diet (T line). Mean realized heritabilities ranged from 0.32 (T line) to 0.49 (P line) during the first 10 generations. Although genetic variation remained following 97 generations of selection, realized heritabilities obtained agreed with theoretical predictions of loss of additive genetic variability with continuous selection. Similarity of heritability estimates indicates that Japanese quail are an excellent model for genetic studies of growth in meat-type chickens.Positive relationships accompanying selection for high 4-wk BW were increases in adult BW, age at first egg, and egg weight. Negative relationships were decreases in percentage fertility and hatchability, and egg production. Increased growth rate in selected lines was accompanied by an increase in feed and water intake, and by improvement in feed efficiency. Feed efficiency differences appeared to be important only immediately following hatch, whereas feed intake differences were present from 0 to 4 wk.Evidence of major physiological changes accompanying selection for growth were not observed. However, changes were observed in increased “resource allocations” to supply organs, during late embryonic stages and the 1st wk posthatch. Carcass composition was similar between unselected and selected lines except for higher fat and lower moisture levels in selected lines.

Heterosis and Overdominance Following Long-Term Selection for Body Weight in Japanese Quail

Although nonadditive genetic variation is more important in crosses among laying stocks than among meat stocks, development of special sire and dam lines to control the release of primary lines results in broilers being the product of three- or four-way crosses. Therefore, nonadditive genetic effects are important in meat stocks because of opportunities to combine stocks that complement each other. Four experiments were conducted to investigate heterosis and overdominance arising from crossing Japanese quail lines originating from the same base population and selected long-term (> 85 generations) for high 4-wk BW under different selection environments. The different selection environments were established by feeding different levels of CP (28 and 20%) and different levels of thiouracil (0 and .2%).Estimates of heterosis were high for hatch of total eggs (>25%) and liveability (12 to 47%), and low for hatch weight (2 to 4%). Overdominance estimates followed similar patterns but were of lower magnitude. Percentage heterosis estimates for BW were high at 1 wk (20 to 30%) and declined linearly to 5 to 10% at 4 wk when quail were fed 28 and 24% CP diets. Contrariwise, when fed low-CP (20%) diets, heterosis values were low initially and remained stable or increased across age. Data obtained from measuring feed intake and feed efficiency indicated that heterosis for BW was closely related to changes in feed intake. Heterosis values for feed intake closely followed those for BW, including the decline across age. Conversely, heterosis appeared to be absent for feed efficiency, except at 1 wk. Similar to heterosis estimates, overdominance estimates were high initially and declined across age and were more clearly demonstrated under the 24 and 28% diets. It was concluded that considerable heterosis is present for BW in Japanese quail following the crossing of lines selected long-term for high BW, but that it is dependent on both environment (diet) and age.

Comparison of energy metabolism during the growing period in quail lines selected for body weight

1. The present study was conducted to compare body weight, daily weight gain, relative growth rate, food intake, food conversion efficiency, abdominal fat weight, thyroid weight, plasma T4 concentration, body temperature, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production and heat production among three Japanese-quail lines selected for body weight: a random bred line (RR) and lines for large (LL) or small (SS) body weight. 2. T4 concentration increased in the order SS, RR, LL in both sexes and did not vary significantly between sexes; the SS line had a significantly higher value than that of the LL line. 3. The body temperatures of SS, RR and LL lines were 42.45, 42.03 and 41.25 degrees C in males, and 42.7, 42.03 and 41.63 degrees C in females. 4. The oxygen consumptions of SS, RR and LL lines were 63.4, 46.0 and 43.8 ml/kgW0.75 min. in males, and 61.4, 44.8 and 37.2 in females. The value for SS was significantly higher than those of RR and LL lines in both sexes (P < 0.01). The carbon dioxide productions of SS, RR and LL lines were 31.8, 33.8 and 27.3 ml/kgW0.75 min. in males, and 31.2, 31.9 and 27.3 in females. In both sexes, that of the LL line was significantly lower than those of the SS and RR lines (P < 0.01). 6. The heat productions of SS, RR and LL lines were 1.178, 0.994 and 0.842 kJ/kgW0.75 min. in males, and 1.142, 0.879 and 0.736 in females. In both sexes, the heat production of the SS line was higher than those of the RR and LL lines (P < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Carcass Composition, Feed Intake, and Feed Efficiency Following Long-Term Selection for Four-Week Body Weight in Japanese Quail

A study was conducted to determine BW, feed intake, feed efficiency, and carcass composition changes following 51 generations of selection for high 4-wk BW in Japanese quail. Quail lines utilized were the P line selected for high 4-wk BW on a normal 28% CP diet and the unselected base population (C line) from which the P line originated. Body weight, feed intake, and feed efficiency data were collected daily from 1 to 28 days, whereas percentage carcass water, ash, protein, and total lipid data were obtained at 0, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, 42, and 56 days of age.Body weights of P line quail were significantly (P < .05) larger than BW of C line quail at all ages with the greatest deviation occurring at the age of selection. Feed intake was significantly greater in the P line and paralleled BW increases. When feed intake was adjusted for differences in BW, P line quail consumed less feed per gram of BW than C line quail and adjusted feed intake declined with age after Week 1. The P line quail had superior feed efficiency compared with C line quail from 1 to 13 days of age with the greatest deviation immediately posthatch.Carcass composition determinations revealed significant (P < .05) age and line effects. Both percentage ash and protein increased from hatch to 14 days and thereafter remained constant. However, percentage water and total lipid demonstrated contrasting responses to increasing age; percentage water declined whereas percentage total lipid increased. The P line quail had less carcass water and protein, but had more lipid. Line differences for carcass traits were small from 0 to 21 days, but became larger at 28 and 42 days.

The influence of dietary protein on carcass composition and sexual maturity in a randombred population of Japanese quail (R1) and a subline of R1 selected for increased body weight

1. 1. Selection for body weight in Japanese quail has altered the protein requirements for growth and reproductive development in the selected line and randombred control population from which it was developed. 2. 2. In both the selected and randombred lines, the protein requirement for growth is different from that for maximal reproductive development.