Differentiation of quail (Coturnix japonica) breeds based on the morphological parameters of eggs

For quail breeding in Russia, a variety of populations is characteristic in which the pedigree of individuals is often unknown. Advanced breeding with quails ( Coturnix japonica ) requires identification of breeds, including the common origin. Egg weight is a mandatory descriptive attribute when testing poultry breeds and lines for distinctness, uniformity and stability. This paper is the first to provide data for quail breeds’ differentiation by egg morphological parameters and estimates the influence of the quail breed on the parameters under consideration. The work aimed to study if it is possible to discriminate quail breeds by origin based on the morphological characteristics of eggs. Eggs were collected in the breeding herds of Japanese quail ( n = 240), Omsk quail ( n = 720), Pharaoh ( n = 720), and Texas white quail ( n = 360) of 238-242 days of age (SibNIIP - Branch of the Omsk ASC, Omsk). Three successively laid eggs were taken from each laying hen. Morphological parameters of eggs included large diameter (mm), small diameter (mm), egg weight (g), absolute weight of shell (g), yolk (g), and albumen with fractionation (g), albumen height (mm), yolk height (mm), shell thickness (µm) at the sharp pole, at the equator and at the blunt pole. All parameters were assessed according to the “Methodology for anatomical cutting of carcasses and organoleptic assessment of the quality of meat and eggs” (Sergiev Posad, 2013). Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v.23 software. Breed affiliation was considered as a factor influencing the egg morphological composition. The strength of the influence of the breed (η2) was assessed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). As breeds deviated towards meat productivity, the weight of an egg and its components increased. Purposeful selection of Japanese, Omsk, Pharaoh and Texas White quails for economically useful traits led to their significant differences in egg weight (η2 = 0.723; p 2 = 0.642; p 2 = 0.796; p 2 = 0.627; p 2 = 0.776 and η2 = 0.852, respectively; p function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }