Aim: This study aimed to contribute to the productivity improvement of the local chickens by enhancing their egg production traits using a crossbreeding program between Alexandria (local strain) and Lohmann White (commercial strain). Materials and Methods: One thousand two-hundred and eighty-five 4-week-old chicks from two strains: Alexandria local strain (AA) and Lohmann White commercial strain (LL) and their reciprocal crosses obtained from 16 males and 160 females, were used to produce four genetic groups (AA, LL, AL, and LA). Differences among genotypes, direct additive, heterosis, and reciprocal effects were investigated regarding the following traits: Body weight at 4 and 8 weeks and at the age of sexual maturity, age at sexual maturity, egg production, average egg weight, and egg mass during the first 90 days of laying. Results: Statistically significant effects of the genotypes were observed on traits studied. Analysis of direct additive effects showed that AA was superior as a sire strain for improving body weight at early age. For egg traits (age at sexual maturity, egg production, average egg weight, and egg mass), LL was better as a sire strain to improve these traits. Significant positive heterosis percentages were observed for body weight. The crosses (AL and reciprocal) were significantly superior in egg traits (egg production, average egg weight, and egg mass) compared to the local strain. The cross (LA) laid significantly earlier than the local strain. Analysis of reciprocal effects cleared that the local strain could be used as a strain of dam to improve body weight and egg traits. Conclusion: Crossing improved egg production, egg weight, and egg mass in hybrids compared to the local strain.

This research was conducted to determine the most affecting parameters on hatchability of indigenous and improved local chickens' eggs. Five parameters were studied (fertility, early and late embryonic mortalities, shape index, egg weight, and egg weight loss) on four strains, namely Fayoumi, Alexandria, Matrouh, and Montazah. Multiple linear regression was performed on the studied parameters to determine the most influencing one on hatchability. The results showed significant differences in commercial and scientific hatchability among strains. Alexandria strain has the highest significant commercial hatchability (80.70%). Regarding the studied strains, highly significant differences in hatching chick weight among strains were observed. Using multiple linear regression analysis, fertility made the greatest percent contribution (71.31%) to hatchability, and the lowest percent contributions were made by shape index and egg weight loss. A prediction of hatchability using multiple regression analysis could be a good tool to improve hatchability percentage in chickens.

Water treatment technologies have received great attention recently, as water is the most important nutritional element, and animals consume it daily in larger quantities than those of food. The ideal water treatment affects the chemical composition and physical properties of water, having a significant positive impact on the animal’s physiology, productivity, and welfare. Studies conducted on water ionization devices for broiler chickens remain limited; therefore, this study was planned to investigate the effect of ionized drinking water on the productive performance, physiological status, and carcass characteristics of broiler chicks. A total of 900 one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly and equally assigned to three groups, each with six replicates (50 birds/replicate). The first group (C) received tap drinking water and served as a control, while the second group (T1) received ionized drinking water from an ionizing device that worked for 1 h/100 L. The third group (T2) received ionized drinking water from an ionizing device that worked for 2 h/100 L. Water analysis for each treatment was performed. Productive traits, such as weekly body weight, feed intake, and water intake, were recorded. Hematological parameters and biochemical constituents were measured according to the reference’s description. Furthermore, carcass characteristics, such as carcass weight and dressing percentage, and bacterial count of the intestine, such as Lactobacilli and Coliform counts, were determined. From the results, ionized water (T1 and T2) had a negative ORP, which is often desirable as it suggests the presence of antioxidant properties and lower total dissolved solids (TDSs), heterotrophic plate count (HPC), and algal total count (ATC) than in tap water. The treated chicks showed higher final body weights and better feed conversion rates than the control. Ionized water also improved carcass quality characteristics, such as carcass weight and dressing percentage. T1 and T2 chicks exhibited higher hemoglobin, total protein, globulin, G and M immunoglobulin, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels, as well as lower malondialdehyde (MDA) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels than the control. Furthermore, they had lower pathogenic bacteria counts. Therefore, it is recommended to employ the ionizing approach for broiler chicken drinking water, particularly a 2 h/100 L ionization application, for better animal productivity, health, and welfare.

Background and Aim: There is a limited amount of research conducted on quail breeding domestically and internationally, particularly at the molecular level. This study aimed to detect single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) genes across two quail varieties and their hybrids correlate these genetic factors with body weight (BW) and growth rate at 0 and 6 weeks, and assess crossing effects. Materials and Methods: White and Japanese quail were crossed. Simultaneously producing pure varieties and crosses (genotypes) was achieved through this breeding strategy. Fifty females from each genotype were randomly selected for blood sampling. Genomic DNA was extracted and amplified from the blood using the DNeasy blood kit (Qiagen, Germany). Nucleotide polymorphism between quail genotypes was determined through DNA sequencing. Results: Two types of alleles (A and B) for the GH gene in quails showed significant genotypic differences (AA, BB, and AB). The quail carried a mutated IGF-1 gene. For growth traits, substantial positive heterosis was detected. Conclusion: The genotype AA had the highest BW and weight gain. The white variety can act as a sire, and both white and Japanese varieties can function as dams to improve growth traits. The growth characteristics of the hybrids surpassed those of the original varieties. Keywords: crossing effects, genes for growth hormone and insulin, growth, polymorphism, quail.

The current experiment was carried out to compare REML-based to ANOVA-based methods (Griffing, Cockerham, Henderson) in estimation of crossbreeding genetic parameters in chicken experiments. The current experiment involved a full 4*4 diallel crossing among four Egyptian breeds (Alexandria (AA), Fayoumi (FF), Matrouh (MM) and Golden Montazah (GG). The studied traits were body weight at hatch (BWH), body weight at 4 weeks of age (BW4), body weight at 8 weeks of age (BW8) and body weight at 12 weeks of age (BW12). The general comparison among models showed the superiority of REML-based method, especially in prediction ability with significant difference. A close comparison between REML and Griffing methods showed consistency between both methods with the advantage of accurate estimation and prediction ability of the REML-based method. The analysis of the empirical data showed the superiority of the AA line in general combining ability (GCA). The genotypes of MG, FM and AG showed the highest specific combining ability (SCA) in the end of the experiment at 12 weeks of age.