Growth and Reproductive Performance of Kadaknath Chicken Reared under Deep Litter System in the Hill Ecosystem of Meghalaya, India

Abstract

The Kadaknath is important native chicken breed in India. The present study was undertaken with the objective to evaluate the performance of Kadaknath chicken under deep litter system in agro-climatic condition of Meghalaya to check for its adaptability in the hill ecosystem. The study was conducted at Poultry Farm, Indian Council of Agricultural Research ( ICAR)Complex for North Eastern Hill (NEH) Region, Umiam, India. A total of 300 Kadaknath parent stock chicks were procured from Directorate of Poultry Research (DPR), Hyderabad, India. The chicks were reared upto 72nd weeks to check their production performance viz., Average weekly body weight (gm), body weight gain (gm), feed intake (gm) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Egg production traits and reproductive performances were also recorded upto 72 weeks of rearing. The result reveals that the average body weight of day old Kadaknath chicks was about 27.05±0.32 gm. At 4th week of age, the average body weight was 117.37±2.69 gm andat 8th week of age, about 250.34±2.51 gm. In terms of average body weight gain (gm), it was found that the overall body weight gain from 0-8 weeks of age was 223.29±14.39 gm. The total feed consumption was about 771.43±1.94 gm upto 8th weeks of rearing. The FCR from 0-8 weeks of age was 3.56. The mortality rate of kadaknath chicks was observed to be about 5.00 % and 0.67 % during 0-4 and 4-8 weeks of age respectively. In conclusion, the Kadaknath chicken is adapted well to the hill ecosystem of Meghalaya.