Genetic Selection for Body Weight in Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Under Different Nutritional Environments

Japanese quail is an interested bird due to its early sexual maturity, high egg production and low requirements of housing space and feeding cost. Genetic selection was conducted for high four week body weight in Japanese quails using two different nutritional environments to determine the effect of nutritional environment on selection response of body. Japanese quails were selected under standard crude protein level diet (24.15 % CP) referred as SHW line, and under a low protein diet (18.07 % CP) referred as LHW line, and kept a control line for each nutritional environment as SCL and LCL respectively. The results showed that selection response for body weight of females in low protein diet (27.73 g.) was higher than males and females in selected line in standard protein diet (20.77 and 20.70 g. respectively). In general there were significant heavier body weight of birds in standard crude protein diet compared with low crude protein diet in each of base population, selected parents and progeny in first generation. There were significant differences between SHW and LCL in body weight and weight gain at six weeks of age, while there were significant differences between LHW and both SCL and LCL in feed intake and feed conversion at six weeks of age.