Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 21 ISSUE 3
Written by Bababunmi Alaba AJAYI, Kolade Ezekiel ADAMOLEKUN, Aminat Omolola OLAYIWOLA

This study was conducted to determine the effect of genotype and age on fertility of one chicken egg type (Hy-Line) and one broiler (Marshal) parent stocks in the derived savanna zone of South-western Nigeria. Cumulative data records from the hatchery of a reputable commercial poultry breeder farm were extracted and analysed with STATA® statistical package. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation analysis were carried out. Results show that the percentage fertility in the two production types of breeders were high, indicating that the two breeder stocks can be used as egg line and broiler parent stocks in the study area. Pearson’s correlation shows that age has a direct relationship with fertility in both breeds although not significant in Hy-Line but significant in Marshal (p<0.001). This indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between age and fertility, such that as age increases, fertility also increases to a peak and later declines as the age increases. It was concluded that, Hy-Line out-performed Marshal throughout the period of study and reached peak fertility (98.34%) earlier (30-40 weeks) than Marshal (91.11%) at between 41-50 weeks of age. Hy-Line showed higher fertility percentage than Marshal and it persisted till greater than 60 weeks of age.

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