Hybrids generated by crossing elite laying chickens exhibited heterosis for clutch and egg quality traits

Crossbreeding advantage in hybrids compared with their parents, termed heterosis, has been exhaustively exploited in chicken breeding over the last century. Reports for crossbreeding of elite laying chickens covering rearing and laying period remain infrequent. In this study, resource populations of Rhode Island Red (RIR) and White Leghorn (WL) pure-bred chickens were reciprocally crossed to generate 4 distinct groups that were evaluated for prelaying growth, egg production, and egg quality. Birds monitored for prelaying growth consists of 105 (RIR), 131 (WL), 207 (RIR × WL) and 229 (WL × RIR), and 30 pullets from each group were evaluated. Egg laying records were collected from 102, 89, 147, and 191 hens in the 4 populations, respectively. In addition, expression of 5 candidate genes for egg production in the ovarian follicles was measured by RT-qPCR. Results showed that BW of hatched chicks in the WL line was higher than the other populations. However, the 2 crossbreds grew faster than WL purebred throughout the prelaying period. Low to medium heterosis was observed for BW and body length before the onset of lay. White Leghorn and the hybrids commenced laying earlier than RIR pullets and egg production traits were favorable in the crossbreds compared with purebreds. Heterosis for egg number and clutch size was moderate in WL × RIR but low in RIR × WL hens. Expression of antimullerian hormone gene was high in WL and RIR × WL hybrids, suggesting WL parent-specific enhancing dominant expression. Shell weight was higher in the crossbreds than purebreds at 52 wk of age, but RIR hens laid eggs with higher shell ratio than the other populations (P < 0.05). Conversely, WL and the hybrids had higher eggshell strength than RIR birds (P < 0.05). Eggshell strength was the only egg quality trait that showed heterosis above 10% in WL × RIR hybrids at 32 and 52 wk of age. White Leghorn × RIR hens demonstrated higher percent heterosis for economic traits than birds of the reciprocal hybrid. This means that RIR breed is a better dam than a sire line for growth, egg laying, and egg quality traits.