Genetic parameters of body weight and egg traits in meat-type quail

Data from two quail strains, UFV1 and UFV 2, measured weekly from hatch to sixth week in a total of seven live body weight traits were used aiming to estimate genetic correlations and heritabilities. After females were evaluated they were monitored in their egg-laying phase, in which the total egg number, the average weight of the eggs and the average specific gravity of eggs were measured. Multi-trait analysis was performed with the ten traits measured for estimation of heritabilities, genetic and residual correlations. For body weight traits, heritabilities varying from 0.25 to 0.53 for UFV1 and from 0.27 to 0.53 for UFV2 were estimated; genetic correlations increased as the interval between records was reduced. For egg number, the heritability estimate was of low magnitude (0.05 and 0.04), whereas for average egg weight (0.41 and 0.39) and egg specific gravity (0.31 and 0.18), they were of moderate magnitude for UFV1 and UFV2, respectively. The genetic correlations between body weights and egg number were negative in UFV1 and positive in UFV2; for average egg weight, they were positive, and for specific gravity, they were negative for both strains. It can be concluded, then, that selection based on body weight in the growth phase of meat quail must be done preferably at early ages such as weight at the third or fourth week of life, once they are positively correlated with weight at slaughter age and have few effects on the production and quality of eggs.