Egg production response of sex-linked albino (sa1) and colored (S) hens to high and low light intensities during brooding-rearing

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Egg production response of sex-linked albino (sa1) and

colored (S) hens to high and low light intensities during

brooding-rearing

A Bordas, P Mérat

To cite this version:

Original

article

Egg production

response

of

sex-linked

albino

_(s

_a1

₎

and colored

_(S)

hens

to

_high

and low

_light

intensities

during brooding-rearing

A

_Bordas,

P

Mérat

Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Laboratoire de Génétique Factorielle,

78352 Jouy-en-Josas, cedex fiance

(Received

6 _{September 1991; accepted} 22 _January

₁₉₉₂₎

Summary - In order to _study the response of albino genotype to different _{light intensities,}

sex-linked albino or silver female chicks hatched from _heterozygous sires were distributed

in 2 windowless chick rooms, one with a _{light intensity} of about 1

lux,

the other _receiving

170 lux on average. At the age of 17 weeks all the pullets were submitted to a _high level of _{light intensity} of 210 to 480 lux. All the females were _given 10 h light per 24 h till

17 _weeks, then 14 h. _Age at first egg of birds receiving

high light

intensity as chicks was

14 d _earlier, their _{hen-day production} was _{slightly superior,} and their mean _{egg weight}

1.5 g lower as _compared to females _receiving dim

_light.

On an _average, the albino _gene

depressed initial

_growth,

retarded age at first

_egg

_by 5 _d, lowered egg weight by 2 g,

increased _{hen-day production by 5%,} and lowered the _frequency of pause days. With low

light intensity during brooding-rearing, hen-day production of the albino hens was 7.5%

higher than that of colored females and _they gave 12.8 eggs more, similarly to a _previous

experiment. These _advantages of albinos were attenuated with _{high light intensity} in the

juvenile period. However, there were no _{significant genotype} x treatment interactions.

hen _/ sex-linked albino _/ egg production / light intensity

R.ésumé - _Réponse de la _production d’oeufs de _poules albinos

_(s

_8l

₎

et colorées _(S) à l’intensité lumineuse en _{poussinière.} En vue d’étudier la _réponse du _génotype albinos à

différentes intensités d’éclairement, des poussins femelles albinos ou _argentés

_(gène

lié au

sexe)

issus de _{pères hétérozygotes} ont été _répartis dans 2 _{poussinières} sans

_fenêtres,

l’une avec une intensité lumineuse d’environ _{1 lux,} l’autre recevant en moyenne 170 lux. A l’âge

de 17 _semaines, toutes les _poulettes étaient soumises à une _forte intensité _lumineuse, de

!10 à ₄₈₀ lux. Toutes les femelles étaient éclairées 10 h par 2.j h jusqu’à 17 _semaines,

1,¢ h ensuite. _L’âge au 1er oeuf des poulettes _{ayant reçu} une _forte intensité lumineuse au

stade _juvénile était de 14 j plus précoce, leur intensité de ponte était _{légèrement supérieure,} leur poids moyen d’ceuf de 1,5 g plus faible par comparaison aux femelles soumises à un

retardait _l’âge au ler _oeuf de 5 _j, réduisait le _poids de _l’a=uf de 2 _{g, augmentait} l’intensité de _ponte de 5% et diminuait la _fréquence des _jours de pause. Avec la plus faible intensité lumineuse en _{poussinière,} l’intensité de ponte des _poules albinos _dépassait de

_7,5%

celle

des femelles colorées et les albinos donnaient _{12,8 ceufs} de plus. Ces avantages des albinos étaient atténués en _présence d’une _forte intensité lumineuse en _{période juvénile.} Il _n’y

avait _{cependant pas} d’interaction _{significative génotype} x traitement.

poule / gène lié au sexe albino _/ intensité lumineuse _{/ production} d’oeufs

INTRODUCTION

In a

_previous

_paper

_(Merat

and

_Bordas,

₁₉₈₉₎

we

_compared

_egg

_production

criteria for sex-linked albino

_(s

_al

₎

or colored

(S)

hens of the same

origin

with _exposure to

high

or low

_{light intensity during}

the

_{laying period.}

We showed that the albino hens

were

_slightly

inferior to the non-albinos with _exposure to the lower

_{light intensity}

but

_superior

to those with _{exposure to} the

_{higher light intensity. Following this,}

we wanted to

_reverify

the results obtained at

_{high light}

_intensity

and further to examine the effects of

_lighting

level

_during

the

_{brooding-rearing}

_period.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Genotypes

Female chicks were hatched from 13

_heterozygous

_(S/s

_al

₎

sires

_belonging

to a

medium-heavy brown-egg

type line maintained

_segregating

for the alleles

s

al

(obtained

in 1979 from RG

_{Somes, University}

of

_{Connecticut, CT,}

_USA)

and S

(silver).

The albinism allele

_being

used in the _{present report} is the one

designated

by

Silversides et al

_(in

_press)

as

-’.

l

S’

These males were

pedigree

mated to 60 hens from a sex-linked dwarf

_brown-egg

_type line selected for egg

production

traits

(Boichard,

1990, personal

communication)

and fixed for the s+

_(gold)

allele. The

parents utilized were similar to those used for a

_{previous experiment}

!M6rat

and

Bordas,

1989).

About half the female progeny of this cross were of the sa _genotype,

and the other half were of the S _genotype. In

_total,

175 females were hatched on

20/10/1989.

They

were sexed at 1

_day-old

and their _genotype at the

_silver/gold

locus was determined from _eye color.

Experimental

conditions

The chicks were raised in floor pens in a windowless house where

_they

received 10 h

light

per 24 h. Each genotype within each sire

_family

was distributed

_equally

in 2 identical rooms; in one of them an _average

_{light intensity}

of 1.0 lux at the

_height

of the birds

_(0.5

to 2.0 lux

_depending

on measurement

_location)

was

provided by

incandescent bulbs. In the

_other,

3 additional fluorescent tubes

_provided

a mean

light intensity

close to 170 lux

₍₁₅₀

to about 190 lux

_according

to measurement

period

the chicks were

_given

ad libitum a mash

_containing

180 g crude

_protein

and

11.7 MJ metabolizable _{energy per}

_kg.

The _temperature was maintained around

20°C after _{the age of 5} weeks. At the age of 17

weeks,

the

pullets

were

equally

distributed,

for each _genotype and each

_light

treatment received

_during

brooding-rearing,

into 4 identical rooms each

_containing

48 individual _cages on 2 levels. In all

these 4 rooms the hens received ad libitum a mash

containing

155 g crude

protein,

34 g calcium and 11.05 MJ metabolizable energy per

kg.

The temperature was 22°C f 1°. The

_photoperiod

was 14 h

light

_per 24 h. The

lighting

_intensity,

obtained

_using

fluorescent

_tubes,

was

_{uniformly high, corresponding}

to the

_{&dquo;high&dquo;}

level used

_by

M6rat and Bordas

_(1989).

Its values in

_lux,

measured in each room,

averaged

484

and 456 for the upper cage level and 210 and 200 for the lower cage level at the

beginning

and at the end of the

_{experimental period}

respectively.

The 4 rooms

showed _very similar values.

Variables - statistical

_analyses

The different variables appear in table I. The egg number was recorded from the first egg laid

by

an individual hen to the end of the control

_period,

ie 54 weeks of

age. Per cent

shell-less,

double-yolked

or cracked eggs,

hen-day

percent

production,

mean clutch

_length,

and _{percent pause}

_days

_(taken

as at least 2 consecutive

_days

without

_oviposition)

were measured over the same

period.

During

a

28-day

period

between 33 and 37 weeks of age, after the

peak

of

laying,

feed intake

₍₀₎

was

individually

recorded

_together

with _egg mass

(E),

body

weight

variation

_(AW)

and mean

_{body weight}

_(W).

Two derived variables were feed

efficiency

(O/E)

and the residual _component of feed intake

_(R)

obtained as the

difference between 0 and a

_predicted

intake T from a

_{multiple regression equation}

with the

_independent

variables

_E,

W and AW

_(Byerly

et

_al,

_1980).

The

_equation

was the

following:

The mean _egg

_weight

was measured from a 2-week collection between the _ages

of 35 and 37 weeks.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .

Concerning

laying

hens in individual _cages, no effect was found associated with the

level of the _cages, in

_spite

of the difference of

_light

_intensity

mentioned

_above,

and

accordingly

the 2 levels have been

_pooled

in the

_{following analysis.}

Table I

_gives

the mean values _per

_genotype

and

_lighting

treatment and the statistical

_significance

of the main effects and their interaction.

Figure

1 shows the

_laying

curves for each

_experimental

_group till the end of the

experimental period.

The

_mortality

in the

_{brooding-rearing period}

was low and is not

_presented

in detail. The

_mortality

from the _age of 17 weeks till the end of the

_{recording period}

totalled 16 hens

_(8.4%)

and did not differ

_{significantly}

either between treatments or

of age were

_respectively

7/47

and

3/48

for colored and albino females at

_{high light}

intensity,

and

_2/49

and

_4/47

for the colored and albino females at low

_light

_intensity.

Effects associated with the Sal gene

Pooling

the 2 _treatments, the albino _gene was associated with a

_{slight depressing}

effect on 8-week

_{body weight}

_(P

<

_0.10);

a similar effect was not

_significant

at later

ages.

The

s’

l

_layers

showed on _average a

_5-day

retardation of’the _age at first egg, and 5%

higher

hen-day laying

percentage than S

_females,

with average clutches

longer

by

1

_day

and fewer pause

days.

As a _consequence the number of _eggs from

s

al

_layers

was

_superior

(

+

7.3),

but on the whole this effect was not

_significant.

The

mean _egg

_weight

was 2.1 g lower for the albino than for the colored hens.

A

_slight

reduction of

_{body weight}

and mean _egg

_weight

was found associated

with the

s

al

gene

by

M6rat et at

(1986)

and Silversides and Crawford

(1990a, b).

A

_delay

for the sexual

_maturity

of albino

_females,

_comparable

to that found in the

present

work,

was mentioned

_by

M6rat et at

₍₁₉₈₆₎

and Silversides and Crawford

(1990b).

M6rat and Bordas

₍₁₉₈₉₎

did not find this

_{relationship,}

not did

they

find

a _genotype effect on _egg

_weight.

On the other

hand,

the _present results _agree with

those of M6rat and Bordas

₍₁₉₈₉₎

concerning

the absence of any effect associated with the

s

al

allele on

_{eggshell strength}

and feed

_{efficiency. However,}

in both studies

the _percentage of cracked _eggs was

_{slightly higher}

for albino hens. In both studies

also,

the

_{body weight gain}

of adult hens in a 28-d

period

was

_{slightly superior}

for albino

_{females, possibly}

as a late

compensation

for the small initial

growth

In

_interpreting

the differences

_concerning

_egg

_production

_traits,

it is

_interesting

to compare the present results with those of M6rat and Bordas

_(1989),

in

_spite

of the absence of

_{statistically significant}

_genotype x treatment interactions shown in table I. From this table it is seen that for

hen-day laying

_percentage and mean clutch

length,

the

_advantage

of the

s

al

over the S hens is 7.5% and 1

_{day respectively,}

the

percentage of _pause

_days

of the former is 7.3%

less,

and

_{they lay}

12.8 eggs more

in the environment characterized

_by

low

_light

_intensity

in the

_{brooding-rearing}

house. A t-test between the mean of the albino and that of colored hens within this environment is

_significant

at the 1% and 5% level for

_{hen-day laying}

rate and egg number

respectively.

This

lighting

treatment was the same

(low

_{light intensity}

before 17

_{weeks, high}

intensity

afterwards)

as the one called

_{&dquo;high intensity group&dquo;}

in the _report

_by

M6rat and Bordas

_(1989).

M6rat and Bordas

₍₁₉₈₉₎

found that the

superiority

of the albino hens over the colored ones was 9.4% for

_{hen-day laying}

_rate,

2.7

days

for mean clutch

_length,

and 19.1 _eggs. These differences seem

_reasonably

similar in the 2

_experiments.

In the present

work,

the same

differences, although

being

in the same

_direction,

are

_numerically

less in the _group

_receiving

the

_higher

light intensity

in the

_rearing

_period:

2.3% for

_hen-day

_percent

_production

and

_only

1.7 more eggs

produced by

the

s

al

hens.

Effect

_{of light intensity}

Irrespective

of the _genotype, the

_lighting

_intensity

received until the _age of 17 weeks has several

_{highly significant}

effects. The

_{brighter light}

increases the 8-week

_weight

by

about _{30 g, it hastens}

_by

14

_days

the mean age at _{first egg, and} seems to

_slightly

increase

_(+3.2%)

the

_{hen-day laying}

_rate, so that 19 more _eggs are obtained

_with,

this treatment. Other

effects,

generally

associated with an earlier sexual

_maturity,

are a lower _{average egg}

_weight

_{(-1.5 g),}

an increased _percentage of shell-less and

double-yolked

eggs, and a reduced

body weight

_gain

of adult hens. The adult

_body

weight

shows a

_{non-significant}

100 _g

_reduction,

and feed

_efficiency

and percent

cracked _eggs are not affected. In

_total,

the more intense

light

at the

_juvenile

_stage is

_superior

for _egg

_production,

with a

_slight

_advantage

of the

s

al

_genotype

_suggested

in this environment.

The

_stimulating

effect on sexual

_maturity,

found here to be associated with a

high

light intensity given

to young

chicks,

was not found in earlier works. Sauveur

(1988)

mentions that the range of 1 to 5 lux

_{applied during}

the

_{growing period}

has no effect on

_{laying. Skoglund}

et al

_(1975),

with intensities of 5 to more than

50 lux and Morris et al

_(1988),

with mean intensities of 2 and 10 lux observed no

advantage

for _egg

_production

associated with

_{brighter light,}

but their treatments

mainly

concerned the egg

laying period.

Brake

_{(1988, 1989)}

_compared

the effect of 8 h

_{light provided by}

incandescent bulbs

_{(20 lux)}

or

_daylight

(800 lux)

on

_subsequent

egg

production,

the former group showed an

_advantage

or not

_depending

on the season.

The _apparent

_discrepancy

between our results and those of others may be due to

the fact that we _gave 10 h

lighting

_per

day

in the

brooding-rearing

house instead of the 8 h more

_{usually provided,}

so that with this

_{longer daily}

illumination the

_light

study

the effects of

_light

_per se, but to

_investigate

the

specific

response of albino

birds to this environmental

_{factor, including}

a

_comparison

with a former

_experiment

which conditioned the choice of

_lighting

treatments.

In

_conclusion,

this work _agrees with a

_{previous study}

_(Mérat

and

_Bordas,

₁₉₈₉₎

as

_regards

an

_advantage

of albino hens for _egg

_production

traits when

_they

are

given

dim

_light

as

juveniles

and

_{bright light during}

the _egg

_{production period.}

This

advantage

is lowered if the

_{light intensity during}

the

_{growth period}

is

_higher.

On the other

_{hand, owing}

to stimulation of sexual

_maturity

_by

a more intense

_light

up to

17 weeks _{of age,}

_irrespective

of the _genotype at the S

_locus,

under our conditions

the

_subgroup

which showed the best

_laying

_performance

was

_{represented by}

the albino hens

_receiving

a

high light intensity

both before and after the age 17 weeks.

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₍₁₉₈₈₎

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Effect of

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Gous

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