Application of genomic selection in commercial egg-type populations

Publication date: 20/07/2020
Extent: 18 pages

Contributions by: J. E. Fulton, Hy-Line International, USA; and A. Wolc, Hy-Line International and Iowa State University, USA

Chapter synopsis: The important traits for commercial egg production are lifetime egg production, feed consumed per egg produced, and various internal and external egg quality traits. These traits are expressed only in females and thus the selection of males can only be done indirectly based on the performance of their female relatives, in particular sisters. Furthermore, these traits require long term data collection for most accurate information, lifetime productivity and sustainability measurements. Genomic information that impacts these traits is contained within both the male and female at time of hatch. Selection for various egg production traits can benefit considerably by harnessing the genomic information from both genders at an early age. This chapter describes the application of genomic selection as utilized within the poultry layer breeding industry and summarizes recent reports of improvements based on genomic selection.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2020.0065.21