Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions
Male chickens belonging to three Italian purebreds – <em>Ermellinata di Rovigo</em> (ER), <em>Robusta lionata</em> (RL) and <em>Robusta maculata</em> (RM) – were studied. All the birds were reared under the same rearing conditions (from May until autumn). Chickens...
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doaj-8efc598112f04168b33953c5409bd09b2020-11-25T03:28:19ZengTaylor & Francis GroupItalian Journal of Animal Science1594-40771828-051X2015-06-0114210.4081/ijas.2015.36532355Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditionsChiara Rizzi0Rina Verdiglione1Dipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse naturali e Ambiente, Università di PadovaDipartimento di Agronomia, Animali, Alimenti, Risorse naturali e Ambiente, Università di PadovaMale chickens belonging to three Italian purebreds – <em>Ermellinata di Rovigo</em> (ER), <em>Robusta lionata</em> (RL) and <em>Robusta maculata</em> (RM) – were studied. All the birds were reared under the same rearing conditions (from May until autumn). Chickens were reared under infra-red lamps from birth until 4 weeks of age with a 24L:0D photoperiod. Then they were kept outdoor: the photoperiod changed according to the season (from 16L:8D to 12L:12D). At 138 and 168 days of age 20 birds/breed were weighed and then slaughtered. Testicular samples were collected, after evisceration, processed and embedded in paraffine wax. Sections were stained for morphological observations, observed with light microscope, and then classified according to the testis maturation stage. <em>Ermellinata di Rovigo</em> chickens showed the lowest (P<0.01) body weight and the highest (P<0.01) testes weight; testes maturity was higher (P<0.01) in ER than in RL, whereas RM was intermediate. For each genotype testes weight and testes maturity did not significantly differ with aging. Correlations between testes weight and body, comb, and wattles weight, according to the breed, were calculated at 168 days of age. For ER no significant correlation was found, whereas RL showed a significant (P<0.01) positive relationship between testes weight and body weight, and sexual secondary characters. <em>Robusta maculata</em> showed a significant correlation between testes weight and comb (P<0.01) and wattles weight (P<0.10). Our results suggest that under the studied environmental conditions ER showed the highest testes development according to its more precocious achievement of adult body weight, whereas RL was the least precocious purebred.http://www.aspajournal.it/index.php/ijas/article/view/3653ChickenLocal breedTestisSeasonalitySexual maturity |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Chiara Rizzi Rina Verdiglione |
spellingShingle |
Chiara Rizzi Rina Verdiglione Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions Italian Journal of Animal Science Chicken Local breed Testis Seasonality Sexual maturity |
author_facet |
Chiara Rizzi Rina Verdiglione |
author_sort |
Chiara Rizzi |
title |
Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions |
title_short |
Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions |
title_full |
Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions |
title_fullStr |
Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three Italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions |
title_sort |
testicular growth and comb and wattles development in three italian chicken genotypes reared under freerange conditions |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
series |
Italian Journal of Animal Science |
issn |
1594-4077 1828-051X |
publishDate |
2015-06-01 |
description |
Male chickens belonging to three Italian purebreds – <em>Ermellinata di Rovigo</em> (ER), <em>Robusta lionata</em> (RL) and <em>Robusta maculata</em> (RM) – were studied. All the birds were reared under the same rearing conditions (from May until autumn). Chickens were reared under infra-red lamps from birth until 4 weeks of age with a 24L:0D photoperiod. Then they were kept outdoor: the photoperiod changed according to the season (from 16L:8D to 12L:12D). At 138 and 168 days of age 20 birds/breed were weighed and then slaughtered. Testicular samples were collected, after evisceration, processed and embedded in paraffine wax. Sections were stained for morphological observations, observed with light microscope, and then classified according to the testis maturation stage. <em>Ermellinata di Rovigo</em> chickens showed the lowest (P<0.01) body weight and the highest (P<0.01) testes weight; testes maturity was higher (P<0.01) in ER than in RL, whereas RM was intermediate. For each genotype testes weight and testes maturity did not significantly differ with aging. Correlations between testes weight and body, comb, and wattles weight, according to the breed, were calculated at 168 days of age. For ER no significant correlation was found, whereas RL showed a significant (P<0.01) positive relationship between testes weight and body weight, and sexual secondary characters. <em>Robusta maculata</em> showed a significant correlation between testes weight and comb (P<0.01) and wattles weight (P<0.10). Our results suggest that under the studied environmental conditions ER showed the highest testes development according to its more precocious achievement of adult body weight, whereas RL was the least precocious purebred. |
topic |
Chicken Local breed Testis Seasonality Sexual maturity |
url |
http://www.aspajournal.it/index.php/ijas/article/view/3653 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT chiararizzi testiculargrowthandcombandwattlesdevelopmentinthreeitalianchickengenotypesrearedunderfreerangeconditions AT rinaverdiglione testiculargrowthandcombandwattlesdevelopmentinthreeitalianchickengenotypesrearedunderfreerangeconditions |
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