A. Velez et al., CROSSBREEDING EFFECTS ON REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS IN 2 STRAINS OF DUCK (ANAS-PLATYRHYNCHOS) - BROWN TSAIYA AND PEKIN, British Poultry Science, 37(3), 1996, pp. 571-577
1. The reproductive performances of 211 domestic duck females (Anas pl
atyrhynchos) from the pure breeds Brown Tsaiya (Ts) and Pekin (Pk) and
their two reciprocal crossbreds were analysed. 2. Differences in the
4 genotypes, additive direct and maternal crossbreeding effects and he
terosis were estimated on the following traits: age at first egg, egg
production to the ages of 30, 35, 40 and 52 weeks of age, egg weight a
t 30 weeks of age, and (egg) fertility by artificial insemination with
Muscovy drakes' pooled semen. 3. Egg production up to 52 weeks of age
was higher in Ts than in Pk (respectively 214 +/- 7 and 150 +/- 8 egg
s), but not statistically different from that of the reciprocal crossb
reds. The ratio of settable eggs to total eggs was nearly 90%, without
any difference between genotypes. 4. Average egg weight at the age of
30 weeks was 75 +/- 0.9 g for Pk, which was higher than the correspon
ding values for Ts (62 +/- 0.8 g), but not significantly different fro
m the crossbreds. 5. An effect of genotype was found on egg fertility:
the Pk strain exhibited the lowest value, 71.3 +/- 3.1% compared with
75.9 +/- 2.1% for Ts, 80.6 +/- 2.6% for Ts x Pk and 74.6 +/- 1.9% for
Pk x Ts. 6. Crossbreeding genetic variables showed favourable direct
genetic effects for egg production and (egg) fertility in Ts, while Pk
had favourable direct genetic effects on egg weight. The Pk genotype
had a favourable maternal effect on fertility. Direct heterosis was 34
% and 10% for egg production up to 30 and 52 weeks of age respectively
, 8.8% for egg weight and 5.4% for (egg) fertility. 7. Crossing Ts wit
h Pk seems profitable for the production of mule ducklings.