Compare the chick length and weights of the Ross broiler breeder in different ages and farms

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University-Qaemshahr Branch, Qaemshahr, Iran

Abstract

reeder flock age affects the quality and quantity of eggs and chicks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of breeder flock age on egg (quality and quantity) and weight and height of hatched chicks. In recent study 271 fertilizable eggs were selected randomly from 3 farms of broiler breeder. Broiler breeder eggs were used when they were 30 (young), 36 (peak), 43 (after peak), 53 (old), 60 (very old) and 82 (molt) weeks. Collected eggs after hatching were stored during 3 to 4 hours at ambient temperature. Quantitative traits such as weight of chick and chick height were considered. The effect of ages and farms on the chick weight and chick height were significant (P < 0.001). The chick weight increased until 53 weeks then decreased. The chick height increased with age increment. According to limitation of researches about studying the effect of age of broiler breeder flock on the chick production, it is needed to carry out a research to eliminate unknown points. Since the majority of poultry have no sufficient information about the quality of chick and the best age of broiler breeder for buying chicks it could be answered to many questions using the results of this research.

Keywords