Comparative study of indigenous chickens on the basis of their health and performance

Abstract

Three hundred crossbred chickens (at age of 11 wk) were randomly housed in 15 open-sided deep litter pens with 20 chickens in each pen under completely randomized design for a period of 9 wk. Before evaluating their hematobiochemical and carcass characteristics, the birds were provided with grower mash ad libitum throughout the experimental period. Blood samples were taken from each genotypic group (nanaff, Nanaff, and NanaFf), when the birds were 18 and 20 wk old, respectively, for the evaluation of hematobiochemical parameters. At the end of the trial, 15 chickens from each of the 3 genotypic groups were randomly selected and slaughtered to determine the carcass parameters. The findings from the study revealed that except for total cholesterol, spleen, and neck weight, there was no significant genotypic effect (P > 0.05) on hematobiochemical and carcass parameters measured. The nanaff genotype birds had significantly higher (P < 0.05) cholesterol levels than both Nanaff and NanaFf genotype birds, both of which did not differ significantly. The Nanaff had significantly (P < 0.05) higher spleen and neck weight than both the nanaff and NanaFf. The latter 2 did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). Also, hematobiochemical assays of all the birds were within normal range. From a health point of view, the indigenous naked neck genotype seems superior because its fat and cholesterol contents were low. Thus, it is strongly recommended that there should be a conscious effort to develop and commercialize the naked-neck and frizzled birds especially in developing countries.