Egg Yield Characteristics of Broiler Parent Stocks

This study was carried out to compare egg yield parameters of broiler parent stocks Ross 308 and Ross 508. Ross 308 with 4 replications and (4 poultry houses each having 2200 bird capacity, total 8901 hens) and Ross 508 with replications (5 poultry houses with 2200 poultry houses each having 2200 bird capacity, total 10334 hens) were used to compare their egg yield parameters. Hen-day egg production (%), hen-haused total egg number, egg weight (g), discarded eggs (%), mortality rates (%), feed intakes, 24-week old body weight of hens, 38-week old body weights of hens and egg production upper limits (%) were found in Ross 308 vs Ross 508 broiler parent stock hens as following; 67.76 vs 65.55 % (P 0.01), 155 vs 153 (P 0.05), 61.96 vs 59.64 g (P 0.01), 5.42 vs 6.63 % (P 0.01), 9.61 vs 8.79 % (P 0.05), 169.14 vs 164.73 g (P 0.01), 3157.41 vs 2932.94 g (P 0.01), 3818.25 vs 3876.40 g (P 0.05) and 87.80 vs 76.99 % (P 0.01). In this study, results showed that Ross 308 broiler parent stocks were higher than Ross 508 with respect to egg yield parameters. This kind of studies should also be carried on in other commercial parent stocks besides Ross breeders in order to give guidance to poultry producers.