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. 2025 Aug 8;57(7):353.
doi: 10.1007/s11250-025-04612-3.

Genetic parameters estimation for egg quality traits of four chicken breeds using a full diallel cross

Philimon Teshome  1   2   3 , Gebeyehu Goshu  4 , Wondmeneh Esatu  5 , Tadelle Dessie  5
Affiliations

Genetic parameters estimation for egg quality traits of four chicken breeds using a full diallel cross

Philimon Teshome et al. Trop Anim Health Prod. .

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate heterosis effects (He), general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), reciprocal effects (RE), and maternal effects (Me) for egg quality traits in a 4 × 4 diallel cross involving four chicken breeds: Improved Horro (H), Sasso (S), Potchefstroom Koekoek (K), and Dz-white feathered (D). A total of 480 eggs from 4 purebreds and 12 crossbreds were evaluated for traits like egg weight (EWT), egg length (EL), egg width (EW), shell weight (SWT), shell thickness (ST), shell ratio (SR), albumen height (AH), albumen width (AW), yolk height (YH), yolk width (YW), yolk weight (YWT), yolk ratio (YR), and hugh unit (HU). Results showed positive He for most traits. GCA were significant (p < 0.001) for EWT, EL, EW, AW, YW, YWT, and YR. Variation due to SCA was high (p < 0.001) for all traits. K×S cross showed positive RE for EWT and AW. D×S cross had the highest positive RE for ST. Both additive and non-additive gene actions play significant roles in controlling egg quality traits. EWT and YWT were primarily influenced by additive genetic effects, while EL, EW, ST, and YR were dominated by non-additive effects. Me exhibited significant variation across genotypes for most traits. In conclusion, future breeding strategies aiming for additive genetic gains should prioritize breeds S and K in recurrent selection programs, while crosses such as S×D, K×D, and H×K can be utilized to exploit heterosis for targeted traits. Additionally, maternal lines should be optimized to reduce Me and enhance overall performance.

Keywords: Combining ability; Diallel cross; Heterosis effect; Maternal effects; Reciprocal effect.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: The protocol for the conduct of animal experiment was approved by the animal research ethical review committee of Collage of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture of Addis Ababa University under the certificate reference number VM/ERC/01/06/15/2024. The birds were treated humanely in accordance with all international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care of animals used in research and teaching. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing interests that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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