Matching method for two-line auto-sexing of meat quails and egg quails

Abstract

The invention relates to a secondary self-sexing mating method for meat quails and egg quails, and belongs to the technical field of self-sexing breeding of quails. The method comprises the following steps: (1) hybridizing an egg-type Beijing white-feather male quail and a meat-type Difark female quail to produce an F1 generation; male and female quails are identified according to the feather color of the F1 generation, the chestnut feather is a male quail, and the white feather is a female quail; or (2) hybridizing a Chinese yellow-feather male quail and a meat type Difankg female quail to produce an F1 generation; male and female quails are identified according to the F1 generation feather color, the chestnut feather is a male quail, and the yellow feather is a female quail. According to the method, Beijing white-feather quails and Chinese yellow-feather quails are respectively hybridized with meat type Difankg (FM line) quails, and the characteristics of white-feather and yellow-feather sex-accompanying inheritance are utilized to realize self-sex identification of the first generation of hybrid. And the first generation of hybrid has the characteristics of good meat production performance and high egg production performance of parents, can realize germplasm resource innovation of egg-type and meat-type quails, and has important practical application value for relieving supply and demand contradiction of high-quality quail meat in China and improving comprehensive benefits of quail breeding industry.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for sexing and breeding meat and egg-producing quails using a two-line system, belonging to the field of quail sexing and breeding technology. Background Technology

[0002] Quails are mainly divided into egg-laying and meat-laying types. Egg-laying quails are characterized by their small size, high egg production, and strong adaptability, while meat-laying quails are characterized by rapid growth, larger weight, tender and juicy meat, strong adaptability, and high reproductive capacity. Major breeds or strains of egg-laying quails include the Japanese quail, Korean quail, Beijing white-feathered quail, and Chinese yellow-feathered quail; breeds of meat-laying quails include the Dufak (FM strain), the French Savoie quail, and the French Ferronmat quail.

[0003] Currently, there are many breeding systems for egg-laying quail, among which binary or ternary crosses composed of Korean quail (wild-type chestnut-feathered), Beijing white-feathered quail, and Chinese yellow-feathered quail have wide application value in production. However, since both Beijing white-feathered quail and Chinese yellow-feathered quail are mutants of Korean quail, the adaptability of the production flocks has decreased and inbreeding depression has become severe in crossbreeding. Meat-producing quail production has been affected by the culling of egg-laying quail, and the market has been squeezed, resulting in a lack of high-quality quail meat supply. Furthermore, the low market demand for high-quality quail meat has led to a limited number of high-quality meat-producing quail or dual-purpose (meat and egg) breeds being cultivated. The lack of a sound breeding system and the drive for market profits have resulted in farmers neglecting the selection and retention of breeding quail, often fattening male and female quail directly for market after about 40 days, causing periodic shortages of breeding stock. This has resulted in the fact that most of the quail meat currently on the market are Defak (FM strain) quail introduced in the 1990s, while the French Savimate and Filonmate quail meat introduced at the same time are becoming increasingly rare on the market. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for sexing and breeding meat and egg-producing quail, in order to solve the problems of declining adaptability and severe inbreeding depression in the breeding of quail in the prior art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A method for sexing meat and egg-laying quail by two-line self-selection includes the following steps:

[0007] (1) Egg-producing type Beijing white-feathered male quail and meat-producing type Difak female quail were crossbred to produce F1 generation;

[0008] (2) Based on the plumage color of the F1 generation, male quail are identified by their chestnut plumage and female quail are identified by their white plumage.

[0009] This invention, a pioneering method for sexing meat and egg-laying quail, involves hybridizing Beijing white-feathered quail and China yellow-feathered quail with meat-type Difak (FM strain) quail. Utilizing the sex-linked inheritance characteristics of white and yellow feathers, the sex of the first-generation hybrids is determined. Furthermore, the first-generation hybrids possess the high meat and egg production performance of both parents, enabling innovation in the germplasm resources of both egg-laying and meat-type quail. This method has significant practical application value for alleviating the supply and demand imbalance of high-quality quail meat in my country and improving the overall efficiency of quail farming.

[0010] Preferably, the F1 generation male quails are fattened and sold. The meat quality of the F1 generation male quails is superior to that of the parent male quails, further improving the meat value of the F1 generation.

[0011] Preferably, the F1 generation white-feathered female quails are used for egg production. After laying eggs, the F1 generation female quails can be further fattened and sold, further improving economic benefits.

[0012] A method for sexing meat and egg-laying quail by two-line self-selection includes the following steps:

[0013] (1) Egg-producing Chinese yellow-feathered male quail and meat-producing Difak female quail were crossbred to produce the F1 generation;

[0014] (2) Based on the plumage color of the F1 generation, male quail are identified by their chestnut plumage and female quail are identified by their yellow plumage.

[0015] This method can distinguish the sex of quails by the plumage color of the F1 generation, improving the survival rate of quails. The F1 generation chestnut-feathered male quails are superior to the egg-producing Chinese yellow-feathered male quails in the parent line after fattening. The yellow-feathered quails in the F1 generation can not only be used for egg production, but can also be fattened for meat production after the egg production value ends, realizing dual-purpose breeding for meat and eggs and improving the economic benefits of quail breeding.

[0016] Preferably, the male quails of the F1 generation are fattened and sold.

[0017] Preferably, the F1 generation yellow-feathered female quails are used for egg production. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is an example of the feather color separation of the F1 generation of the Beijing White Feather (♂) × Difak (♀) two-line matching in Example 1 of the present invention (wherein, chestnut feathers are male quails and white feathers are female quails).

[0019] Figure 2 This is the feather color separation of the F1 generation of the Chinese yellow-feathered (♂) and Difak (♀) two-line matching in Example 2 of the present invention (wherein, chestnut feathers are male quails and yellow feathers are female quails). Detailed Implementation

[0020] Domesticated meat-producing quail and egg-producing quail share a common ancestor, both originating from wild Japanese song quail. Early experimental verification in this invention revealed that the genetic mechanism of plumage color in French Dufak (FM strain) quail is consistent with that in Beijing white-feathered quail and Chinese yellow-feathered quail. This is the genetic basis for the proposal and implementation of this invention. The reason for this may be that the plumage color of French Dufak (FM strain) quail is similar to that of wild-type Korean quail, sharing the same main plumage color gene loci. Furthermore, both Beijing white-feathered quail and Chinese yellow-feathered quail originate from Korean quail. By crossing these two egg-producing quail with meat-producing Dufak (FM strain) quail, the recessive sex-linked inheritance characteristics of white and yellow plumage can also be expressed in the hybrid offspring.

[0021] The method of this invention significantly reduces the cost of manual sexing and improves the efficiency of large-scale breeding. At the same time, it produces high-quality meat quail and egg quail. In the F1 generation, white-feathered or yellow-feathered quail can be used for both meat and eggs.

[0022] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0023] I. Specific embodiments of the method for sexing meat and egg-laying quail of the present invention are as follows:

[0024] Example 1

[0025] The method for sexing meat and egg-laying quail in this embodiment adopts the following steps:

[0026] (1) F1 generation was produced by crossbreeding egg-producing male Beijing white-feathered quail with meat-producing female Difak (FM strain);

[0027] (2) On the day the quails hatch, sexing is determined by the plumage color of the F1 generation. Male quails have chestnut feathers, and female quails have white feathers. The accuracy of sexing is 100%. Chestnut-feathered quails have a clear dorsal line, while white-feathered quails have no visible dorsal line. Figure 1 As shown in Table 1, the separation of feather colors in quail chicks is as follows.

[0028] Table 1. Feather color and sex separation of F1 generation from two-line sex-separated breeding pairs of meat and egg quail.

[0029]

[0030] After sexing, female quails are used directly for egg production and can be fattened for sale after laying eggs. Male quails can be fattened and sold in a centralized manner. This is of great significance for simplifying the sexing process, separating male and female quails for early rearing, and improving management efficiency. Furthermore, the resulting F1 generation exhibits high hybrid vigor. Male quails are larger and have better meat production performance, while female quails have lower egg production performance than Beijing White-feathered Quail, but higher than French Dufak (FM strain) quail.

[0031] Its inheritance pattern is as follows:

[0032]

[0033] Example 2

[0034] The method for sexing meat and egg-laying quail in this embodiment adopts the following steps:

[0035] (1) F1 generation was produced by crossbreeding egg-producing Chinese yellow-feathered male quail with meat-producing Difak (FM strain) female quail;

[0036] (2) On the day the chicks hatch, sexes are determined by the plumage color of the F1 generation; males have chestnut feathers, and females have yellow feathers. See Figure 2 As shown in Table 2, the separation of feather colors in quail chicks is as described in the table.

[0037] Table 2. Feather color and sex separation of F1 generation from two-line self-separated male-female breeding pairs of meat-and-egg quail.

[0038]

[0039] After sexing, female quails are used directly for egg production and can be fattened for sale after laying eggs. Male quails can be fattened and sold in a centralized manner. This is of great significance for simplifying the sexing process, separating male and female quails for early rearing, and improving management efficiency. Furthermore, the resulting F1 generation exhibits high hybrid vigor. Male quails are larger and have better meat production performance, while female quails have lower egg production performance than Chinese yellow-feathered quails but higher than French Dufak (FM strain) quails.

[0040] Its inheritance pattern is as follows:

[0041]

[0042] In accordance with the "Conditions for the Approval and Genetic Resource Identification of New Poultry Breeds and Breeding Systems," the body weight and body dimensions (body length, shank length, chest width, chest depth, and sternum length) of the F1 generation male and female quails from the two breeding methods in Examples 1 and 2 were measured, as shown in Table 3. Their body weight was significantly greater than that of Beijing White-feathered Quail and China Yellow-feathered Quail, but less than that of Diffak (FM) Quail. The F1 generation's initial birth weight, age at first laying, egg weight, and number of eggs laid at 35 weeks of age are shown in Table 4. Their egg production performance was significantly higher than that of Diffak (FM) Quail, but lower than that of Beijing White-feathered Quail and China Yellow-feathered Quail. Because the F1 generation male quails were heavier than Beijing White-feathered Quail and China Yellow-feathered Quail, they exhibited better meat production performance compared to their egg-laying quail parents, meeting the standards for meat production performance of poultry in my country, but lower than that of Diffak (FM) Quail. The dressing percentage, semi-cleaned portion percentage, and fully eviscerated portion percentage of adult F1 generation male and female quails are shown in Table 5.

[0043] Table 3. Comparison of body size and weight between male and female F1 generations of meat and egg quail.

[0044]

[0045] Note: In the weight column of the table, different letters on the right shoulder of the number indicate significant (p<0.05) or highly significant (p<0.01) differences, while the same letter indicates no significant difference (p≥0.05).

[0046] Table 4. Comparison of main egg production performance of F1 generation (separate sexes) of meat and egg-laying quail with their parents.

[0047]

[0048] Note: In the table, different letters on the right side of the numbers indicate significant (p<0.05) or highly significant (p<0.01) differences, while the same letters indicate no significant differences (p≥0.05).

[0049] Table 5. Comparison of main meat production performance between male and female F1 generation quail (two strains) and Difak meat quail.

[0050]

[0051] Note: In the weight column of the table, different lowercase letters on the right shoulder of the weight number of 5-week-old male quails indicate significant (p<0.05) or highly significant (p<0.01) differences, while the same lowercase letter indicates no significant difference (p≥0.05); for adult male quails, different uppercase letters on the right shoulder of the weight number indicate significant (p<0.05) or highly significant (p<0.01) differences, while the same uppercase letter indicates no significant difference (p≥0.05).

[0052] Through hybridization experiments and related data measurements, this study not only demonstrates the sex and plumage separation of the F1 generation using two sex-separation hybridization methods, but also shows that sex separation can be achieved, resulting in fattening male quails and egg-laying female quails. Furthermore, it verifies that the hybrid generation possesses the characteristics of both parents having good meat production and high egg production performance. This enables the innovation of egg-type and meat-type quail germplasm resources, and has significant practical application value for alleviating the supply and demand imbalance of high-quality quail meat in my country and improving the overall benefits of quail farming.

Claims

1. A method for breeding meat and egg quail secondary self-alternate male and female sets, characterized in that, It comprises the following steps: (1) cross the egg type Beijing white male quail with the meat type Difak female quail to produce F1 generation; (2) identify the male and female according to the feather color of F1 generation, the chestnut feather is male quail and the white feather is female quail.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is characterized by, The male quail of F1 generation is fattened and sold.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method is characterized by, The white female quail of F1 generation is used for egg production.

4. A method for breeding meat and egg quail secondary self-alternate male and female sets, characterized in that, It comprises the following steps: (1) cross the egg type Chinese yellow male quail with the meat type Difak female quail to produce F1 generation; (2) identify the male and female according to the feather color of F1 generation, the chestnut feather is male quail and the white feather is female quail.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method is characterized by, The male quail of F1 generation is fattened and sold.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the method is characterized by, The white female quail of F1 generation is used for egg production.

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