Abstract
Seasons play an important role in the performance of breeder chickens, but lack of adequate records on its specific effects in specific seasons could influence the efforts of breeders to improve on local ecotypes of chicken for standardization into breeds. This is why Nigeria still depends mainly on imported breeds of chicken for commercial production of chicken. In this study, the influence of Early Wet (EW), Late Wet (LW) and Early Dry (ED) and Late Dry (LD) seasons on reproductive parameters of Bovan Nera (BN) and Isa Brown (IB) parent-stock chickens were studied in the humid South-West Nigeria. Ten-year data on both genotypes were obtained from Ajanla Farms Hatchery Ibadan and analysed for Eggs Set (ES), Egg Fertility (EF), Egg Hatchability (EH), Pullet Day-old Chicks (PDC) and Hatching Rejects (HR) to study the effect of seasons on these parameters. ANOVA (p<0.05) showed that seasons have significant influence on EF, EH and HR in BN; and ES, EH and HR in IB. Late wet season gave the best results on reproduction thus making it potentially the most favorable season for hatching activities in both genotypes, and therefore may signal good fortune in commercial chicks production enterprises of breeder chickens in hot humid regions.
Highlights
Poultry production has responded to the demandsupply gap in the protein requirement of humans for several years
This lack of records militates against improvement efforts that could be put in place to improve breeder chicken performance in environments with multiple seasons such as in South-west Nigeria
This study aims to reexamine the effect of seasons on reproduction in chickens with a view to broaden the current knowledge on the effect of seasons on the reproductive performance of breeder chicken especially under humid tropical environment
Summary
Poultry production has responded to the demandsupply gap in the protein requirement of humans for several years To continue in this regard the effect of seasons on re-productivity is of interest to farmers and breeders alike. Many farmers and researchers believe that this effect is negligible on the over-all performance of poultry in the region This belief has led to the lack of adequate records on poultry performance on many poultry farms and the paucity of information on this area of study for planners and researchers alike. This lack of records militates against improvement efforts that could be put in place to improve breeder chicken performance in environments with multiple seasons such as in South-west Nigeria. The hypothesis tested was that chicken productivity is not significantly affected by multiple seasonal changes in the hot-humid tropics
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