ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to compare the effect of season on fertility and hatchability traits of sigmoid strain of Japanese quail eggs. A total of 580 eggs from 100 breeder quails (288 eggs in the mid rain and 292 eggs in the late rain) were used. The eggs were collected and hatched in 8 different weeks (4 weeks for each season). Students t-test was used to compare the means of the measured traits for the two seasons. Phenotypic correlations among the traits were also estimated for each season. The different fertility and hatchability traits studied were; Average Egg Weight (AEWT), Fertility (FER), Hatchability of Fertile Eggs (HFE), Hatchability of Set Eggs (HSE), Dead-in-Germ (DIG), Dead- in-Shell (DIS), Normal Chicks (NC), Abnormal Chicks (AC) and Chicks weight at Hatch (CWT). AEWT and CWT showed no significant differences in the mid and late seasons. FER, HFE, HST, DIG, DIS, NC, AC were significantly different at (P<0.05) for the mid and late seasons in the various weeks. Comparing between the two seasons, showed significance in FER and HSE, as higher percentages were observed in mid rain 90.30 ± 1.64 and 31. 39 ± 4.68, respectively. Lower percentages of 85.89+ 1.84 and 19.72 ± 2.50 in the late rain. HFE, NC and CWT were higher in mid rain but with no significant effects between the two seasons (P>0.05).AEWT and CWT were increasing in the weeks of late rain as the birds advances in age (10.40, 10.67 and 7.70, 7.78) were observed. AEWT and HSE, AEWT and FER had perfect associations (P<0.05), AEWT and HFE (0.95) were perfectly correlated at P<0.01 in the mid rain season. Moderate associations were observed between CWT and FER (0.618) at P<O.05. NC and HFE (0.618) at l1⁄40.01. From the findings it can be concluded that mid rain season can be selected for breeding as associations between the traits (AWET and FER, AEWT and HFE, AEWT and HST, HFE and HSE, FER and DIS) showed perfect positive correlations. AEWT and DIS, AEWT and DIG had negative but moderate associations which are of high important in poultry breeding. Above all, association between FER and NC was highly favorable in mid rain compared to late rain (0.634) at P<0.05. Therefore mid rain was also suitable for the fertility and hatchability of sigmoid strain of Japanese quail eggs in this environment.