The Influence of the Rate of Feathering Allele K on Various Quantitative Traits in Chickens

THE influence that various quanlitative traits have on the more complex quantitative traits in chickens has been a rather active area of study. A number of these studies have dealt with the sex-linked rate of feathering locus (K) and its influence on body weight. The majority of investigators, including Martin (1929), Gerick and Platt (1932), Jaap and Morris (1937), Warren and Payne (1945), Glazener and Jull (1946), Hurry and Nordskog (1953), Plumart and Mueller (1954), Saeki and Katsuragi (1961), and Goodman and Muir (1965) found that the rapid feathering allele, k, was associated with more rapid growth. On the other hand, Radi and Warren (1938), Hays (1951), Godfrey and Farnsworth (1952) and Lowe et al. (1965) found no difference in rate of growth associated with the two alleles K and k. Sheridan and McDonald (1963) reported that birds carrying the K allele were larger at 5 weeks of age, whereas…