Zhang Zhouying, Ge Caiyue, Ni Aixin, Yao Junfeng, Isa Adamu Mani, Yang Hanhan, Du Hongfeng, Yuan Jingwei, Li Yunlei, Zhang Qi, Chen Jilan, Sun Yanyan
State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, PR China.
Poult Sci. 2025 Aug 25;104(11):105733. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2025.105733.
Egg is one of the most accessible sources of animal protein, and indigenous chicken breeds have gained increasing attention in recent years due to consumers' growing demand for diversified egg products. Genetic improvement of these breeds has become critical for enhancing the economic sustainability. This study aimed to characterize individual laying patterns and estimate genetic parameters for egg production, oviposition intervals, and other clutch-related traits in indigenous Beijing-You chickens, providing effective indicators for within breed selection. Egg production records were collected over 23 days (33-35 week) to characterize individual laying patterns and calculate oviposition intervals. Additionally, genetic parameters for age at first egg (AFE), egg number (EN), and average clutch length (ACL) were estimated using individual laying records until 43 weeks of age and 61 weeks of age, respectively. Variance-covariance components were estimated using a multivariate animal model in ASReml-R 4.2 through restricted maximum likelihood (REML), from which genetic and phenotypic correlations were derived. Heritability estimates were obtained separately with a univariate equivalent of the model. Results showed that the daily oviposition peak occurred between 10:00 and 13:30, accounting for 34 % of total daily egg production. Genetic parameter estimates revealed heritabilities of 0.29 and 0.16 for EN until 43 weeks of age (EN43) and EN61, respectively, while the overall average OP was 26.46 hours with a heritability of 0.40. Heritabilities for other traits ranged from 0.06 to 0.69. OP exhibited extremely high genetic correlation with the EN during the 23-days. AFE and ACL43 emerged as optimal selection criteria due to their elevated heritability estimates and strong genetic correlations with total egg production through 61 weeks of age. Notably, a significant negative genetic correlation emerged between OP and fertilization rate during concurrent measurement periods. In all, this study indicates that OP is a promising selection trait and its combination with AFE and ACL may offer new insights into the breeding for higher egg production of Beijing-You chickens.
鸡蛋是最容易获取的动物蛋白来源之一，近年来，由于消费者对多样化蛋制品的需求不断增加，地方鸡种受到了越来越多的关注。对这些鸡种进行遗传改良对于提高经济可持续性至关重要。本研究旨在描述北京油鸡个体的产蛋模式，并估计产蛋量、产蛋间隔和其他与窝蛋相关性状的遗传参数，为品种内选择提供有效指标。收集了23天（33 - 35周龄）的产蛋记录，以描述个体产蛋模式并计算产蛋间隔。此外，分别使用直至43周龄和61周龄的个体产蛋记录估计开产日龄（AFE）、产蛋数（EN）和平均窝蛋长度（ACL）的遗传参数。使用ASReml - R 4.2中的多变量动物模型通过限制最大似然法（REML）估计方差协方差分量，由此得出遗传和表型相关性。通过该模型的单变量等效模型分别获得遗传力估计值。结果表明，每日产蛋高峰出现在10:00至13:30之间，占每日总产蛋量的34%。遗传参数估计显示，直至43周龄（EN43）和61周龄时，EN的遗传力分别为0.29和0.16，而总体平均产蛋间隔为26.46小时，遗传力为0.40。其他性状的遗传力范围为0.06至0.69。在这23天内，产蛋间隔与产蛋数表现出极高的遗传相关性。由于开产日龄和43周龄时的平均窝蛋长度具有较高的遗传力估计值，且与61周龄时的总产蛋量具有较强的遗传相关性，因此它们成为了最佳选择标准。值得注意的是，在同时测量期间，产蛋间隔与受精率之间出现了显著的负遗传相关性。总之，本研究表明产蛋间隔是一个有前景的选择性状，将其与开产日龄和平均窝蛋长度相结合，可能为提高北京油鸡产蛋量的育种提供新的见解。
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