A case report of poultry genetic resources conservation

Abstract

Four strains of chickens were obtained at the Magneraud INRA Research Station for possible use in commercial crosses. The selection, as such, was stopped in 1977 but a conservation programme was put forward in order to maintain their original genetic characteristics. The technical name and the main features of those strains were as follows : M-22, a single comb white Wyandotte ; M-33, a synthetic population including 50 per cent French Marans breed ; M-88, a synthetic population of mainly Wyandotte and Rhode-Island breed origin, bearing the dwarfing dw gene ; P-00, a blue-egged white Leghorn. The conservation programme included a moderate selection pressure and half of the females studied were chosen as breeders on the basis of producing a normal commercial egg number at 42 weeks of age. The present paper presents and discuss results obtained in 5 generations hatched between 1981 and 1985. The best layer appeared to be the P-00 strain followed by M-22. Laying characteristics of the M-22 and M-33 strains were similar to commercial dwarf broiler breeder female lines and might be used as such, for producing a « label » chicken. The M-33 strains might be of interest to improve brown color of the eggshell. The M-88 strain was the poorest layer, with a high percentage of broken eggs but a relatively high egg weight.