Relationship of Body Weight at Sexual Maturity with Body Weights at Various Ages in Lines of Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), Unselected and Selected for Four-Week Body Weight

Abstract

Oğuz, I., Akbaş, Y. and Altan, Ö. 2001. Relationship of body weight at sexual maturity with body weights at various ages in lines of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), unselected and selected for four-week body weight. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 19: 219–223.

To evaluate the relationship between body weights at sexual maturity and at various ages in two lines of Japanese quail, unselected and selected for four-week body weight for ten generation, body weights of female quails were measured at different days. Selection for increased 4-week body weight resulted in changes in weights at various ages and increased the body weight at sexual maturity. In two lines, correlations between body weights at various ages and body weight at sexual maturity, and regression of body weight at various ages on weight at the sexual maturity were generally positive and significantly different from zero. Selection for increased 4-week body weight in Japanese quail resulted in a delay in age at sexual maturity and body weights at sexual maturity were highly related to juvenile body weights in both Japanese quail lines.

Keywords:

• Japanese quail
• selection
• sexual maturity
• body weight
• Coturnix coturnix japonica