Heritability estimates of internal egg quality traits in two strains of white leghorn layers

A study was undertaken on the inheritance pattern of various internal egg quality traits in two strain of White Leghorn layers maintained at AICRP On Poultry Breeding, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. Three consecutive eggs were collected from each hen at 64 weeks of age and their quality were studied within 24 hours after laying. Hatch corrected data were used to estimate the heritability values. Significant strain differences were observed for all the parameters studied. The egg weight was found to be highly heritable in both the strains (0.52 to 0.54), suggesting that improvement of egg weight in both the strains is easier through mass selection. The haugh unit, albumen index, yolk index were found to be moderately heritable indicating scope for improvement of this trait through proper selection.