The Relationship Between Plumage Color, Genetic Group and Their Interaction on Quail’s Performance

Abstract

The goal of this study is to identified the relationship between plumage color (white and brown), genetic group (Ukrainian and local) and their interaction on quail’s performance during their growth (1-6 weeks) and production (up to 8 weeks) periods. The study was conducted at Nineveh Research Department/Agricultural Research Office. The results for the growth period demonstrated that the Ukrainian quail was superior to the local quail for each of the characteristics of body weight, weight gain, feed consumption and Feed conversion ratio. The FC and FCR both increased significantly for the brown quail over the white quail for all weeks of the experiment, while the weekly weight gain fluctuated between the two colors. The brown quail also had a significant increase in body weight over the white quail. For the majority of the experiment’s weeks, the brown and white Ukrainian quail outperformed the brown and white local birds in most of the qualities being studied. During the production period, the Ukrainian quail’s FCR (g feed / g egg mass) and age at first egg’s lay were significantly lower than those of the local quail, The Ukrainian quail significantly outweighed the local quail in terms of the hen weight at first egg, first egg weight, the number, and weight of eggs produced during 8 weeks, eggs mass, eggs number/ female, hatching %, fertility %, and the hatching from the fertility %. The characteristics above did not appear to be affected by the white or brown plumage color, in comparison to local white and brown quail, the age at first egg and the FCR (g feed/g egg mass) were significantly lower in Ukrainian white and brown quail. Except for egg weight and food consumption /bird, all of the aforementioned variables were significantly higher in the Ukrainian white and brown quails than in the local white and brown quails.