Effects of Different Selection Methods Using Body Weight on Egg Yield Parameters in Japanese Quail

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different selection methods of parent lines on the body weight of Japanese quails. For this purpose, line M-55 was subjected to individual selection for body weight at 5 weeks of age, while a reciprocal recurrent selection method was applied to lines R-33 and S-55. Selection lasted two generations. Body weight changes, age and weight at sexual maturity, egg weight, and egg production were investigated in the parent generations as well as in the selection lines. Body weight at 5 weeks of age of the parents of the M-55, R-33 and S-55 lines were 299.0, 285.3, and 280.4 g in the first generation, and 314.8, 316.6, and 306.8 +/- 3.11 g in the second generation, respectively. The first generation of the M-55, R-33, and S-55 lines presented egg production rates of 73.4, 77.6, and 75.8%, respectively, and egg weights of 12.7, 11.9, and 12.1g, respectively. The second generation of the M-55, R-33, and S-55 lines presented egg production rates of 74.6, 77.8, and 78.3%, and egg weights of 12.72, 12.59, and 12.56 g, respectively. Both egg production and egg weights were significantly different between the first and the second generations (p>0.05). As a result, despite significant increase in body weight of the selection lines, no significant differences in egg production or egg weight were determined among generations. However, reciprocal selection lines of both generations presented higher egg yield than the individual selected line.