Exogenous Progesterone for Offspring Sex Ratio Manipulation in Arabic Chickens (Gallus turcicus) Leading to Increasing Female Chicks Proportion

Abstract

Female birds of egg-laying hens are more valuable than males, because males bird have no commercial value. The opportunity to manipulate offspring sex ratio in poultry has been observed in female birds; hence, female birds have heterogametic ZW chromosomes. High progesterone concentration 2-5 h before ovulation is thought to affect the segregation of female sex chromosomes as the basis for determining the sex of offspring. This study aimed to investigate the effect of progesterone induction in Arabic hens, which was conducted 5 h before ovulation, along with the time of the first meiosis; therefore, segregation of sex chromosomes leading to an increase in female offspring. The study utilized on 60 Arabic hens divided into three treatment groups: Without injection (P0), progesterone injection 1 mg/hen, (P1), progesterone injection 2 mg/hen (P2). The results showed that the percentage of female offspring at P0 and P1 was 54.74 and 53.33%, respectively, while P2 hens resulted in 62.92% females, the highest female offspring rate than the other groups. Chi-square analysis of sex ratio showed that P0 and P1 hens had no significant effect (P>0.05) while P2 hens being significant (P<0.05) from the expected sex ratio (50:50). Progesterone concentration of hens produced female offspring in the P2 group was 7.15 ng/ml being highly significant (P<0.05) than that found in the hens produced male offspring (4.53 ng/ml). Progesterone 5 h preceding ovulation in the Arabic hens with a 2 mg/hen dose can increase the proportion of female offspring; therefore, an opportunity for sex ratio manipulation in Arabic chickens .

Morphometric and gross anatomy studies of gonads in day-old Arabic chick (Gallus turcicus) lead to gonadal asymmetry

“…This study used 116 Day-old Arabic chick, resulting in mating between hen and Arabic gold rooster in previous studies [4]. Day-old chick obtained from the chicken breeding unit in Politeknik Pembangunan Pertanian Malang.…”

“…Research on Day-old Arabic chick sexing requires proof of sex as soon as possible. One of the proofs is through gonad identification (postmortem) in day-old chicks because they are relatively more available than molecular sexing [4]. Gonads are reproductive organs, ovaries to produce ova in females, and testes to produce spermatozoa in males [5].…”

Effects of Glycitein Injections on Native Chickens’ Ability to Reproduce, Sex Ratio in Offspring

“…The profitability of the poultry industry is heavily dependent on the specialization in chick production, where males are selected for meat production and females are selected for egg production [1]. This statement highlights the potential for exploring suitable methods to control pre-hatching sex determination [2]. The significance of managing sexual ratios and channelling them towards the production of offspring of a specific sex, based on the type of production, extends beyond the economic dimension.…”