Metabolic Rate and Egg Production in Japanese Quails Can Be Predicted by Assessing Growth Parameters of Laying Hens

The aim of the current study was to assess the female metabolic rate and test the hypothesis that there is a relationship between the egg productivity of Japanese quails from eight breeds and their morphometric, or growth, parameters. Parameters measured were body weight (B), volume (V), and surface area (S), as well as the metabolism level expressed by the ratio S/V. The collected egg performance traits were as follows: the number of eggs produced (N), the average egg weight (W), and the total egg mass (M) (i.e., N multiplied by W). To measure the S and V values, a novel technique was developed that takes into account the similarity of the quail’s body to an ellipsoid. An analysis of the relationships between productivity indicators allowed us to introduce a new index called the metabolic index, B·S/V, based on all three main growth parameters in quails. Using the values of this index, we were then able to judge indirectly the level of quails’ egg productivity. We went on to assess the N, W, and M values, not only depending on the size of the bird’s growth parameters but also according to the degree of their changes during quail growth. These changes were expressed as the slope angles of trend lines describing the growth process data. This approach produced more accurate results for predicting the egg productivity in terms of W and M.

本研究旨在评估雌性日本鹌鹑的代谢率，并验证如下假说：8个品系日本鹌鹑的产蛋性能与其形态计量学（或生长）参数之间存在关联。本次测量的参数包括体重（B）、体体积（V）、体表面积（S），以及以S/V比值表征的代谢水平。所收集的产蛋性能指标如下：产蛋总数（N）、平均蛋重（W）以及总蛋重（M），即N与W的乘积。为测定S与V值，本研究开发了一种新方法，该方法基于鹌鹑躯体近似椭球体的特性。通过对产蛋性能指标间关联的分析，我们基于鹌鹑的三项核心生长参数，构建了一项名为代谢指数（B·S/V）的新指标。借助该指数的数值，我们可间接评估鹌鹑的产蛋性能水平。后续我们不仅基于鹌鹑生长参数的大小，还结合其在生长过程中的变化幅度，对N、W、M值进行了评估。上述变化以描述生长过程数据的趋势线斜率进行表征。该方法在预测W与M维度的产蛋性能时，可获得更为精准的结果。