Differences in composition of avian bone collagen following genetic selection for resistance to osteoporosis

1. Collagen characteristics were compared in the tibiotarsus and humerus from 103 females and 38 males aged 68 to 72 weeks from the G6 generation of lines of laying hen selected for resistance or susceptibility to osteoporosis (high and low bone index (BI) lines). 2. Selection over the latest generation resulted in further divergence in the breaking strengths of humerus (from 12.3 to 21.8%) and tibia (from 22.3 to 37.3%) in hens. Males also...