Genetic and Phenotypic Parameter Estimates of Body Weight and Egg Production Traits of Tilili Chicken in Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT: High genetic variation in African indigenous chicken populations provides opportunities for long-term genetic improvement. This study estimated genetic parameters for economic traits based on data derived from a nucleus flock comprising two generations, derived from 40 sires and 200 dams in a line breeding program through mass selection. Body weight (BW) at different weeks was analyzed for 1370 chickens. Similarly, egg performance was evaluated on 473 hens kept for 44 weeks. Genetic parameters were estimated using a multi-trait animal model based on an average information-restricted maximum likelihood (AI-REML) algorithm in WOMBAT software. Body weight showed significant heritability (p < 0.001), ranging from 0.251 for body weight at 8 weeks of age (BW8) to 0.34 for body weight at 1

SUBMITTER: Kassa B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12466866 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature