Effects of Maternal Body Weight, Some Blood Parameters and Egg Quality Traits on Fertility, Hatchability and Chick Weight of Japanese Quail

A total number of one hundred and fifty-three females and males of Japanese quail at 14 weeks of age were used with sex ratio 2 female / 1 male to study the effect of maternal body weight, some blood parameters and egg quality traits on fertility% (F%), hatchability% for total and fertile eggs (H/TE % and H/FE %), and chick weight (CW). Birds classified into three groups (light, medium and heavy) according to the body weight at six weeks of age (BW6), (seventeen replicates of each group) and the averages were 205.9, 229.5 and 250.9 g of females and were 179.8, 194.8 and 205.8 g of males. The results obtained as follows: The eggs weight (EW) and CW increased significantly with increasing the BW6. The medium group had the highest value of H/TE %. Medium and heavy groups had higher plasma calcium (Ca), total lipids (TL), triglycerides (TG), Red blood cells (RBCs) count than the light group. The heavy female group had the highest significant value of white blood cells (WBCs) count, hemoglobin (Hb), egg surface area (ESA), shell weight / unit surface area (SWUS), egg length (E L), egg width (E WD), albumen weight (Alb W), shell weight (SW) and shell thickness (ST) while it had significant decrease in Haugh unit compared to the other groups. There were significant positive phenotypic correlations between F % and each of plasma Alb, Ca, TL, TG, SWUS, yolk % (Y%) and shell % (S%) and negatively with albumen % (Alb%). The H/TE % positively correlated with each of BW6, plasma Alb, Ca, TL, TG, RBCs count and yolk diameter (YD), but it correlated negatively with plasma P, glucose, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Alb %. The H/FE % correlated positively with each of plasma TP, Ca, RBCs count, WBCs count, Hb %, packed cell volume% (PCV %) and YD and negatively with P, glucose, ALT and yolk index (YI). Significant positive phenotypic correlations were found between CW and each of BW6, plasma TP, Alb, Ca, TL, TG, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), RBCs count, WBCs count, Hb %, PCV %, EW, ESA, EL, Alb W, SW, SWUS, yolk weight (YW) and ST, but it correlated negatively with plasma P, glucose, ALT and Y%. It can be concluded that the medium and heavy Japanese quail females had some blood parameters and egg quality traits caused improving in each of F%, H/TE%, H/FE% and CW. Therefore, the selection for high body weight or for high some blood parameters may be cause good effects on studied traits.