Repeatability Estimates of Egg Production and Quality Characteristics of Japanese Quail in A Semi- Arid Area of Nigeria

Abstract

Repeatability estimates of egg production and quality characteristics of Japanese quail were investigated. Egg number, egg mass and hen-day egg production were the egg production traits considered while the egg quality traits were egg weight, egg length, egg width, shell thickness, yolk height, yolk width, yolk length, albumen height, albumen length, albumen width, shape index, albumen index and Haugh unit. Both the egg production and the quality traits were moderate to highly repeatable. Egg mass (0.569 ± 0.108) had higher estimate among egg production traits and egg number (0.544 ± 0.112) the lowest while for egg quality traits, the highest and lowest estimates were for Haugh unit (0.845 ± 0.037) and albumen length (0.453 ± 0.079), respectively. These high repeatability estimates indicated that fewer records would be required to determine the ability of quail hens to repeat their performance for these traits.