MULTIPHASIC ANALYSIS OF EGG-PRODUCTION IN JAPANESE-QUAIL

A multiphasic function that considers egg production of individual hen s to result from more than one phase was used to describe egg producti on for Japanese quail. Each phase is determined by number of eggs with in a clutch, including internally laid eggs, and pause between clutche s. Cumulative egg production was fitted by using a function (Koops and Grossman, 1992) expressing time in terms of cumulative egg number. Da ta from nine hens over a 31-day period were analyzed to estimate param eters for lag and delay. The data were preadjusted for internal laying . Lag ranged from -1.14 to .19 h. Unlike chickens, there was no clear relationship between lag and average clutch length in Japanese quail. Average delay was about 21.6 h and seemed to be longer than that in th e chicken. Furthermore, the residual standard error for delay was high er in Japanese quail than in the chicken.