Poultry breeding method

Abstract

The invention relates to a poultry breeding method, comprising the following steps: S1, constructing a female group; S2, inseminating the female group, then continuously collecting breeding eggs for N days from each female individual, and measuring the number of incubated eggs IN, sperm storage days MD, maximum consecutive fertilized egg production days SD, and fertilization rate FR of each female individual based on the collected breeding eggs; S3, repeating step 2 multiple times; S4, calculating a sperm storage capacity index ISC_A according to different weights based on the aforementioned data of each female individual; calculating the average value of the sperm storage capacity index ISC_A of each female as an average sperm storage capacity index; S5, inputting the average sperm storage capacity index data and pedigree data of each female individual into an animal model BLUP, calculating a sperm storage capacity index breeding value, and selecting the remaining female individuals after eliminating the females with the lowest sperm storage capacity index breeding value as target individuals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of breeding, and in particular to a poultry breeding method. Background Art

[0002] Fertilization capacity is a key indicator of poultry reproductive capacity and propagation efficiency. In poultry breeding, efforts are underway to improve the fertilization capacity of purebred and complementary lines by selecting individuals with superior reproductive performance, thereby increasing the number of healthy chicks each hen can produce, and thereby enhancing the propagation efficiency of breeding poultry. However, this approach currently faces several challenges and limitations.

[0003] Female poultry have the ability to store sperm. After a single mating or artificial insemination, they can continue to produce fertilized eggs for a certain period of time. Fertilization rates decrease with longer mating or insemination intervals. With the application of artificial insemination technology, shortening the interval between artificial inseminations can further improve the fertilization rate of breeding birds. For example, in poultry production, insemination is often performed every 5-6 days to maintain a high fertilization rate. However, frequent insemination further increases the demand for workers and labor intensity during the breeding phase of breeding chickens, and causes significant stress to the breeders. This is inconsistent with the development concept of improving the quality and efficiency of the poultry breeding system. More importantly, under the conventional insemination model, the fertilization rate of breeding birds is at a high level after insemination, which does not reflect the differences in sperm storage capacity between individuals. Furthermore, the genetic variation in fertilization rate within the population is low, making genetic improvement difficult.

[0004] Secondly, the continuous fertilization ability of poultry includes sperm storage ability, fertilization ability and the ability to continuously produce fertilized eggs. Fertilization rate, as a traditional evaluation method for group reproduction level, can only provide limited information and cannot comprehensively evaluate individual fertilization ability. There are certain defects in using only fertilization rate to evaluate the continuous fertilization ability of individual breeding poultry.

[0005] Therefore, a new technology and method is needed to comprehensively evaluate the sustained fertility ability of individual poultry and address the limitations and shortcomings of existing methods. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to solve the problems existing in the above technology, the present invention provides a poultry breeding method, comprising the following steps:

[0007] S1 constructs the female group;

[0008] S2 inseminates each female in the female population, then collects hatching eggs from each female for N consecutive days. Based on the collected hatching eggs, the number of incubated eggs (IN), sperm storage days (MD), maximum consecutive days of fertile eggs (SD), and fertilization rate (FR) of each female are measured.

[0009] The number of eggs set to incubate (IN) refers to the number of eggs of qualified quality that are hatched within N days; the number of days of sperm storage (MD) refers to the date of the last fertilized egg within N days; the maximum number of consecutive days of fertile eggs laid (SD) refers to the maximum number of consecutive days of fertile eggs laid within N days; and the fertilization rate (FR) refers to the ratio of the total number of fertile eggs within N days to the total number of eggs set to incubate (IN).

[0010] S3 step 2 is repeated m times;

[0011] S4: Calculate the sperm storage ability index ISC_A = IN*FW1+MD*FW2+SN*FW3+FR / N*FW4 based on the number of eggs incubated IN, sperm storage days MD, maximum consecutive days of fertilized eggs SD and fertilization rate FR of each female individual according to the following formula;

[0012] Calculate the average value of the m sperm storage ability indexes ISC_A obtained for each female to obtain the average sperm storage ability index;

[0013] Among them, FW1 to FW4 are weight ratios;

[0014] S5 inputs the average sperm storage ability index data and pedigree data of each female individual into the animal model BLUP, calculates the sperm storage ability index breeding value ISC_B, and sorts the female group according to the sperm storage ability index breeding value ISC_B. The remaining female individuals after the last place is eliminated are the target individuals.

[0015] There is a 10-day interval between each insemination.

[0016] Wherein, in step S4, FW1 is not greater than 5%.

[0017] In step S4, FW1 is 5%, FW2 is 30%, FW3 is 25%, and FW4 is 40%.

[0018] Wherein, this method also includes the following steps:

[0019] S0 builds the male group;

[0020] S01 mates the male group with the female group in step S1, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:K;

[0021] S02 collects semen from the male group as a source of semen for insemination of the corresponding female individual in step S2;

[0022] S6 calculates the average fertilization rate FR of all females mated by each male individual p , the average value of sperm storage days MD p , the coefficient of variation of fertilization rate of each male individual FRCV p and coefficient of variation of sperm storage days MDCV p ;

[0023] Among them, the coefficient of variation of fertilization rate FRCV P The calculation formula is as follows:

[0024]

[0025]

[0026]

[0027] Among them, FR1~FR K Fertilization rate of K females mated to a male, FR P is the average fertilization rate of K females mated by a male, FRSD is the standard deviation of the fertilization rate of K females mated by a male, and FRCV is the standard deviation of the fertilization rate of K females mated by a male. p The coefficient of variation of the fertilization rate of K females mated to a male;

[0028] Coefficient of variation of sperm storage days MDCV P The calculation formula is as follows:

[0029]

[0030]

[0031]

[0032] Among them, MD1~MD K The number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to the male, MD P is the mean number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male, MDSD is the standard deviation of the number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male, and MDCV is the mean number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male. p The coefficient of variation of the number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male;

[0033] S7 calculates the fertilization ability index IFC_A of each male individual according to the following formula;

[0034] IFC_A=FR p *MW1-FRCV p *MW2+MD p *MW3-MDCV p *MW4;

[0035] Calculate the average value of the m fertilization ability indexes IFC_A obtained for each male to obtain the average fertilization ability index;

[0036] Among them, MW1 to MW4 are weight ratios;

[0037] S8 inputs the average fertilization ability index and pedigree data of each male individual into the animal model BLU to calculate the fertilization ability index breeding IFC_B of each male individual;

[0038] S9 sorts the male population according to the fertilization ability index breeding value IFC_B, and the remaining male individuals after the last one is eliminated are the target individuals.

[0039] Among them, MW1 to MW4 are 40%, 25%, 25% and 10% respectively.

[0040] Among them, step S6 also includes FR P ,MD P , FRCV P , MDCV P Perform homogenization.

[0041] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: by measuring the continuous fertilization ability of female individuals with a 10-day insemination cycle, the genetic variation of the continuous fertilization ability trait is greater than that of the traditional 5-day insemination cycle, thereby increasing the breeding space for the fertilization ability of female poultry; various indicators for measuring the sperm storage ability of female poultry and the fertilization ability of male poultry are weighted to form a comprehensive selection index, which can make a more comprehensive evaluation of the sperm storage ability of female poultry and the fertilization ability of cockerels. Continuous breeding of pure lines based on this breeding index can continuously extend the group insemination interval from a 5-day cycle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The following is a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art may make similar generalizations without violating the connotation of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0043] The method of the present invention is applicable to laying hens, broiler chickens, ducks and other livestock species, and is described below using broiler breeding data as an example.

[0044] (1) There are 325 roosters and 2,600 hens in the 11th generation of purebred broiler candidate flocks, all of which are 28 weeks old. This generation will be tested and selected for its ability to continuously fertilize. 100 roosters will be eliminated based on their fertilization ability, and 800 hens will be eliminated based on their sperm storage ability.

[0045] (2) 325 candidate roosters and 2600 candidate hens were grouped into families according to the ratio of 1:k=8. Each rooster and 8 hens formed a rooster family, and a total of 325 rooster families were formed.

[0046] (3) Conduct m = 3 continuous fertilization capacity tests on the combined families. For each test, perform one artificial insemination according to the family combination. The insemination date is recorded as D-1, the first day after insemination is recorded as D0, the second day after insemination is recorded as D1, and so on. Collect hatching eggs from D1 to D10 for each test.

[0047] The interval between two insemination measurements was 10 days.

[0048] The hatching eggs are marked with the measurement batch, hatching egg date and hen information, such as B1-D1-00001, which means the hatching eggs were taken from the first batch of measurement by the hen with wing number 00001 on day D1.

[0049] In order to make the test results more accurate, an insemination can be carried out on the paired family 10 days before the formal insemination without collecting the breeding eggs.

[0050] (4) The collected eggs were stored in an egg storage at approximately 16°C. Every 5 days, the eggs were incubated. If a hen laid two eggs on the same day, one egg was randomly retained for incubation. On the 14th day of incubation, the eggs were checked and the marking information of the unfertilized eggs was recorded, including the hen's wing number, the batch number, and the date of the eggs.

[0051] (5) According to the daily fertilization rate of hatching eggs of each batch of hens, the number of incubated eggs IN, sperm storage days MD, maximum number of consecutive days of fertilized eggs SD and fertilization rate FR of each batch of hens were calculated.

[0052] The number of incubated eggs (IN) refers to the number of qualified hatching eggs that are hatched within N = 10 days, the sperm storage days (MD) refers to the hatching date of the last fertilized hatching egg within 10 days, the maximum number of consecutive days of fertilized eggs (SD) refers to the maximum number of consecutive days of fertilized eggs produced within 10 days, and the fertilization rate (FR) refers to the ratio of the total number of fertilized eggs within 10 days to the total number of incubated eggs (IN).

[0053] Table 1: Measurement data and index calculation results of a batch of some hens

[0054]

[0055] Note: In the columns of D1-D10, 2 indicates fertile eggs, 1 indicates white eggs, and 0 indicates no eggs.

[0056] (6) Genetic variation in sperm storage is small, followed by genetic variation in fertilization rate, and the greatest genetic variation in maximum consecutive days of fertile eggs. The smaller the genetic variation, the more difficult breeding becomes. Furthermore, in terms of trait importance, fertilization rate > sperm storage days > maximum consecutive days of fertile eggs. Therefore, the weights for FR, MD, and SD were set to 40%, 30%, and 25%, respectively.

[0057] (7) According to ISC=IN*0.05+MD*0.30+SN*0.25+FR / 10*0.40, the sperm storage capacity indexes ISC_1, ISC_2 and ISC_3 of the three batches of hens were calculated respectively, and then the average sperm storage capacity index ISC of the three batches of hens was calculated;

[0058] Table 2: Calculation process of fertility index of some individual hens

[0059]

[0060] (8) Input the fertilization ability index data and pedigree data of the individual hen into the animal model BLUP to calculate the sperm storage ability index breeding value ISC_B of the hen. In this embodiment, the pedigree data includes the pedigree data of the ancestral generation and the paternal generation, that is, the pedigree data of three generations including the candidate population;

[0061] (9) Calculate the average fertilization rate FR of all hens mated by each rooster p , the average value of sperm storage days MD p , the coefficient of variation of fertilization rate of each rooster p and coefficient of variation of sperm storage days MDCV p ;

[0062] Among them, the coefficient of variation of fertilization rate FRCV P The calculation formula is as follows:

[0063]

[0064]

[0065]

[0066] FR1~FR K The fertilization rate of K hens mated to a rooster, FR P FRCV is the average fertilization rate of K hens mated by a rooster, FRSD is the standard deviation of the fertilization rate of K hens mated by a rooster, p The coefficient of variation of the fertility rate of K hens mated to a rooster.

[0067] Coefficient of variation of sperm storage days MDCV P The calculation formula is as follows:

[0068]

[0069]

[0070]

[0071] MD1~MDK The number of days of sperm storage for K hens mated with a rooster, MD P is the average number of days of sperm storage for K hens mated by a rooster, MDSD is the standard deviation of the number of days of sperm storage for K hens mated by a rooster, and MDCV is the standard deviation of the number of days of sperm storage for K hens mated by a rooster. p The coefficient of variation of the number of days of sperm storage of K hens mated to a rooster.

[0072] (10) Breeding value FR for roosters P ,MD P , FRCV P and MDCV P Perform normalization processing;

[0073] The normalization method is:

[0074] Where x′ i is the breeding value of rooster i after normalization, x i is the unnormalized breeding value of rooster i, max(x) is the maximum breeding value of all roosters before normalization, and min(x) is the minimum breeding value of all roosters before normalization;

[0075] (11) According to the importance of traits, the rooster FR P , FRCV P ,MD P , MDCV P The weighted weights were set as 40%, 25%, 25% and 10% respectively, and the fertilization ability index of individual cockerels was calculated as IFC_A = FR*0.40-FRCV*0.25+MD*0.25-MDCV*0.10;

[0076] Calculate the fertilization ability indexes IFC_1, IFC_2 and IFC_3 of the three batches of roosters respectively, and then calculate the average fertilization ability index IFC of the three batches of roosters;

[0077] Table 3: Calculation process of fertility index of some individual roosters

[0078]

[0079] (12) The average fertility index and pedigree data of each rooster were input into the animal model BLUP to calculate the breeding value of the fertility index of the rooster IFC_B;

[0080] (13) The candidate roosters are sorted from large to small according to the breeding value of the fertilization ability index IFC_B, and the last 100 are eliminated. The remaining 225 are used as the rooster selection test group; the candidate hens are sorted from large to small according to the breeding value of the sperm storage ability index ISC_B, and the last 800 are eliminated. The remaining 1800 are used as the hen selection test group;

[0081] In addition, the candidate male and female chicken groups were eliminated at the bottom according to the fertilization rate breeding value and used as the selected control group;

[0082] (14) Comparison of the continuous fertilization ability of the selected test group and the control group. The results of rooster selection are shown in Table 4, and the results of hen selection are shown in Table 5:

[0083] Table 4: Comparison of performance of selected groups between male fertility index selection and traditional fertility selection

[0084]

[0085] Table 5: Comparison of performance of selected flocks between hen fertility index selection and traditional fertility rate selection

[0086]

[0087] As shown in the table, compared with traditional fertility selection, selecting males based on their fertility ability index increased their sperm storage days by 0.06 days and reduced their coefficient of variation (CV) by 1.21 percentage points. The fertility rates of hens bred with males were more consistent, with the CV remaining roughly the same, though the fertility rate decreased by 0.20 percentage points. Hens selected based on their fertility ability index also produced an average fertile egg count of 0.25 more eggs, a maximum continuous lay of fertile eggs of 0.37 days, and a 0.08-day increase in sperm storage days, while the fertility rate decreased by 0.29 percentage points. Reproductive traits are low-heritability traits. Although fertility rates decreased somewhat when selecting males based on fertility ability and hens' fertility ability indexes compared with traditional selection methods, the number of fertile eggs, continuous lay of fertile eggs, and the number of sperm storage days in hens were significantly improved. It can be seen that using the rooster's fertilization ability and hen's sperm storage ability index to evaluate and select purebred chickens can overcome the limitations of existing evaluation methods, effectively improve the hens' sperm storage days and continuous fertilization ability, and maintain a high fertilization rate, which is very meaningful for improving the reproductive traits of breeding chickens.

[0088] Obviously, the embodiments described are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A poultry breeding method, characterized in that: The steps include: S1 constructs the female group; S2 inseminates each female in the female population, then collects hatching eggs from each female for N consecutive days. Based on the collected hatching eggs, the number of incubated eggs (IN), sperm storage days (MD), maximum consecutive days of fertile eggs (SD), and fertilization rate (FR) of each female are measured. The number of eggs set to incubate (IN) refers to the number of eggs of qualified quality that are hatched within N days; the number of days of sperm storage (MD) refers to the date of the last fertilized egg within N days; the maximum number of consecutive days of fertile eggs laid (SD) refers to the maximum number of consecutive days of fertile eggs laid within N days; and the fertilization rate (FR) refers to the ratio of the total number of fertile eggs within N days to the total number of eggs set to incubate (IN). S3 step S2 is repeated m times; S4: Calculate the sperm storage ability index ISC_A = IN*FW1+MD*FW2+SN*FW3+FR / N*FW4 based on the number of eggs incubated IN, sperm storage days MD, maximum consecutive days of fertilized eggs SD and fertilization rate FR of each female individual according to the following formula; Calculate the average value of the m sperm storage ability indexes ISC_A obtained for each female to obtain the average sperm storage ability index; Among them, FW1 to FW4 are weight ratios; S5 inputs the average sperm storage capacity index data and pedigree data of each female individual into the animal model BLUP, calculates the sperm storage capacity index breeding value ISC_B, and ranks the female group according to the sperm storage capacity index breeding value ISC_B. The female individuals remaining after the last place is eliminated are the target individuals; The following steps are also included: S0 builds the male group; S01 mates the male group with the female group in step S1, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:K; S02 collects semen from the male group as a source of semen for insemination of the corresponding female individual in step S2; S6 calculates the average fertilization rate FR of all females mated by each male individual p , the average value of sperm storage days MD p , the coefficient of variation of fertilization rate of each male individual FRCV p and coefficient of variation of sperm storage days MDCV p ; Among them, the coefficient of variation of fertilization rate FRCV P The calculation formula is as follows: Among them, FR1~FR K Fertilization rate of K females mated to a male, FR P is the average fertilization rate of K females mated by a male, FRSD is the standard deviation of the fertilization rate of K females mated by a male, and FRCV is the standard deviation of the fertilization rate of K females mated by a male. p The coefficient of variation of the fertilization rate of K females mated to a male; Coefficient of variation of sperm storage days MDCV P The calculation formula is as follows: Among them, MD1~MD K The number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to the male, MD P is the mean number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male, MDSD is the standard deviation of the number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male, and MDCV is the mean number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male. p The coefficient of variation of the number of days of sperm storage of K females mated to a male; S7 calculates the fertilization ability index IFC_A of each male individual according to the following formula; IFC_A=FR p *MW1-FRCV p *MW2+MD p *MW3-MDCV p *MW4; Calculate the average value of the m fertilization ability indexes IFC_A obtained for each male to obtain the average fertilization ability index; Among them, MW1 to MW4 are weight ratios; S8 inputs the average fertilization ability index and pedigree data of each male individual into the animal model BLU to calculate the fertilization ability index breeding IFC_B of each male individual; S9 sorts the male population according to the fertilization ability index breeding value IFC_B, and the remaining male individuals after the last one is eliminated are the target individuals.

2. A poultry breeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: There was a 10-day interval between each insemination.

3. The poultry breeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S4, FW1 is not greater than 5%.

4. A poultry breeding method according to claim 3, characterized in that: In step S4 , FW1 is 5%, FW2 is 30%, FW3 is 25%, and FW4 is 40%.

5. The poultry breeding method according to claim 1, characterized in that: MW1 to MW4 are 40%, 25%, 25% and 10% respectively.

6. A poultry breeding method according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that: Also includes step S6 for FR P ,MD P , FRCV P , MDCV P Perform homogenization.

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