Relationship between plumage color and eggshell patterns with egg production and egg quality traits of Japanese quails

Vet World Vol.14 April-2021 Article-13

Research Article

Veterinary World, 14(4): 897-902

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.897-902

Ly Thi Thu Lan¹, Nguyen Thi Hong Nhan², Lam Thai Hung³, Tran Hoang Diep⁴, Nguyen Hong Xuan⁵, Huynh Tan Loc⁶, and Nguyen Trong Ngu⁶

1. Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, School of Agriculture and Aquaculture, Tra Vinh University, Tra Vinh City, Vietnam.
2. Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture, Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam.
3. Department of Science and Technology, Tra Vinh Province, Tra Vinh City, Vietnam.
4. Department of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Technology, Tien Giang University, My Tho City, Vietnam.
5. Department of Food Technology, College of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Can Tho University of Technology, Can Tho City, Vietnam.
6. Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture, Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam.

Background and Aim: This study was conducted to identify the diversity of feather color and to determine the relationship between plumage color and egg yield as well as eggshell patterns and internal egg quality traits of Japanese quails.

Materials and Methods: For investigating phenotypic diversity, a total of 600 quails from five breeding farms were evaluated to record head feather, shank, and plumage color. An on-station experiment was also conducted on 360 laying quails to examine the relationship between plumage color and egg production and egg weight during 24 weeks of laying. Eggs collected during this period were also used for identifying eggshell patterns and examining their relationship with internal egg quality characteristics.

Results: Plumage color was primarily wild-type, with the highest proportion being 56.3% (p<0.001). Brown color was also found at a relatively high proportion in the population (16.7%), followed by black color (11.3%). The egg production and laying rate of quails with wild-type and brown plumage colors also significantly (p=0.001) differed from those of quails with other plumage types. Egg weight was also higher in these quail groups, especially than that of quails with yellow plumage color. Four patterns of eggshell were identified, among which spotted and dark eggshells were predominant (45.2% and 43.1%, respectively); however, patterns did not affect internal egg quality characteristics.

Conclusion: Plumage color was primarily wild-type in both male and female quails. Egg yield over a 24-week laying period was superior in quails with wild-type and brown plumage colors, whereas a relationship between eggshell patterns and egg quality traits could not be established. Keywords: egg yield, feather color, linkage, morphological characteristics.

Keywords: egg yield, feather color, linkage, morphological characteristics.

How to cite this article: Lan LTT, Nhan NTH, Hung LT, Diep TH, Xuan NH, Loc HT, Ngu NT (2021) Relationship between plumage color and eggshell patterns with egg production and egg quality traits of Japanese quails, Veterinary World, 14(4): 897-902.

Received: 30-08-2020 Accepted: 23-02-2021 Published online: 14-04-2021

Corresponding author: Nguyen Trong Ngu E-mail: ntngu@ctu.edu.vn

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.897-902

Copyright: Lan LTT, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.