Abstract：The Mimas pigcon and the Silver King pigeon are both large meat pigcon breeds with a large breeding scale in China. In order to understand the production potential and differences between the two breeds, 100 breeding eggs of Mimas and Silver King pigeons were randomly selected for artificial incubation.The egg shape index was recorded. The egg weights were recorded and then the eggs were broken to observe the development of the embryos every day during the incubation period. When the pigeons came out of their shells, they were fed by the corresponding pigeonbreeder, and the weight and appearance of the squabs were recorded during the lactation. The results showed that the egg weight, egg length and egg shape index of Mimas eggs were significantly higher than those of Silver King pigeon eggs(P<0.01).Egg weights of Mimas and Silver King pigeon eggs showed a decreasing trend from the 0th to 17th day of incubation. There was no significant difference in the growth and development process of Mimas and Silver King pigeon embryos from 0-17 d of incubation, but the yolk absorption of Silver King pigeon embryos was lower than that of Mimas embryos on the 17th day of incubation. The recorded body weights of squabs showed that the body weights of Mimas were significantly higher than that of Silver King pigeons on the 2nd and 5th day of lactation( P<0.05)， but the body weights of Silver King pigeons were significantly higher than those of Mimason at the 16th to 20th day of lactation (P<0.05).The external appearance of the squabs showed that the skin of the Silver King pigeons showed melanin deposition on the 4th day of lactation, which was significantly different from the appearance of the Mimas, and the Silver King pigeons on the 14th to 20th day of lactation had better feather development and coverage than the Mimas. In summary, the breeding and growth performance of the Mimas and Silver King pigeons have their own advantages, The Mimas having a better egg potential due to its larger egg size, while the Silver King pigeon has a faster growth rate in the later stages of lactation period, the Silver King pigeon is with higher feather attachment, which make it more suitable for meat use.In addition, the Mimas and Silver King pigeons can be crossbred according to the production needs to produce new meat pigeon breeds.This study provides basic data for the further development of the production potential of Mimas and Silver King pigeons and the breeding of new varieties.
2024, Vol. 37 
