I have browsed through the egg production section of poultry Breeding Applied which was published in 1936.
This quote strikes me as typical of the thinking that males are more important than females when it comes to passing on egg laying (or any other) characteristics:
This quote strikes me as typical of the thinking that males are more important than females when it comes to passing on egg laying (or any other) characteristics:
Since the male generally contributes ten times as many progeny to the flock as does each female, the extreme value of this progeny test, especially in males, becomes obvious.
Nothing in this book points to males being more important in egg laying ability of a single offspring, but since an individual rooster has many more offspring than a single hen, an individual rooster's genetics is more important to a flock than an individual hen's genetics.
There is mention of two sex-linked genes that affect laying ability: a recessive gene for rapid feathering and a dominant gene for early sexual maturity. But, there are no studies to quantify the effect these genes have on fecundity.
In Gowell's Experiments, conducted at the Maine Experiment Station from 1899 to 1906, Gowell mated Barred Plymouth Rock hens that had laid over 150 eggs but fewer than 200 eggs in their first year to males whose mothers had laid 200 eggs. In all eight years of the experiment, the average production of the daughters was lower than the average production of the mothers.
Nothing in this book points to males being more important in egg laying ability of a single offspring, but since an individual rooster has many more offspring than a single hen, an individual rooster's genetics is more important to a flock than an individual hen's genetics.
There is mention of two sex-linked genes that affect laying ability: a recessive gene for rapid feathering and a dominant gene for early sexual maturity. But, there are no studies to quantify the effect these genes have on fecundity.
In Gowell's Experiments, conducted at the Maine Experiment Station from 1899 to 1906, Gowell mated Barred Plymouth Rock hens that had laid over 150 eggs but fewer than 200 eggs in their first year to males whose mothers had laid 200 eggs. In all eight years of the experiment, the average production of the daughters was lower than the average production of the mothers.
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