Genetic selection of broilers

Dear Vice President of Cobb-Vantress Inc,

I am very happy with your approach on selection programs for future improvements in broiler stocks . I am a poultry consultant in India and i found cobb is doing very well all over in Asia as cobb4,cobb5 .Your information on future genetic selection criteria have been very critical and need of the day to exploit the genetic contribution to induce immunity to various problems encountered in the field conditions as well as to support the muscular growth by concentrating on skeletal selection criteria. I am hopeful your team RnD will further make contribution to world in terms of food production protecting the various well being and environmental issues as well. More utilization of feed within time frame would contribute significantly for the over all efficiencies of the stocks. More control of breeding stocks for restriction of egg wt and number of hatching egg per dam , and better transfer of immunity to Hatching eggs would be very much useful along with all other vital issues which you have briefed .Thank you for the information on genetic progress and targets.

Dear John Hardiman VP Cobb

Thanks for the very nice and informative article. I am very pleased that people like you in the industry has shared his work and the knowledge with others. It is very informative especially all this improvement in the Poultry and meat industry nowadays sucessfully fillfull the current daily Protein requirements of the daily humen life in both case meat and egg sector .
I have really enjoyed this type of work while I was working on the PL project and know all the very basics of this work .
Brother Maheswar Rath: nowadays when someone is selecting some GP project for there GP and PS all the criteria you have discussed needs to be discussed with the GGP /PL company and they have a lot of choices for it ie that how much body wt you will need at the brolier level and eggs and chicks at the PS level, also the selection of Males are very important at this stage .

Thank you again for such discussion .

Dear John (VP COBB),
Thanks for this informative article.
I am a principal at the only livestock production institute in Lusaka, Zambia and I have been keeping broilers since 1993.
The commercial results you have reported on make good reading and I have personally observed them in Zambia. I should hastly indicate that my observation has been that while there is a remarkable decrease in the feed conversion ratio (FCR) for the cobb 500, there has been an increase in lameness. It is, however, pacifying to read that new traits have been incorporated into your commercial selection programmes which are also aimed at improving skeletal and leg health. This is good news because the high incidence of lameness that I have observed in the cobb 500 takes away from the benefits of a reduction in FCR.
Thanks for the update and good luck.

Kelvin Musonda
Principal
Palabana Institute of Animal Husbandry