User: Jean-Michel Allard Prus (Couvoir Scott)
The production of chicken meat relies on having enough fertile eggs, which are then incubated to produce day-old chicks that will later grow into broilers. It’s well-established that the fertility of male breeders declines significantly after they reach 50 weeks of age. Having tools available for on-Farm use to assess the reproductive capacity of male breeders can assist hatching egg producers in Québec in identifying and selecting males with high reproductive potential. This, in turn, can lead to an overall improvement in flock fertility. Ultimately, better fertility can positively impact both the poultry sector and the industry in Québec.
The goal of this project is to harness advanced analytics related to traits associated with male breeder fertility. These markers can then be used to create a rapid test that hatching egg producers can utilize on-Farm to differentiate between male breeders with optimal reproductive potential and those with less-than-ideal fertility. Implementing these tests alongside current practices can enhance the fertility of breeder flocks.