Comb Types Research Articles

Phenotypic Characterization and Husbandry Practice of Indigenous Chicken Ecotypes at West Guji, Ethiopia

This study was conducted with the objectives of characterization of indigenous chicken ecotypes and their husbandry practice at West Guji. A total of 204 households were randomly selected from two purposively selected woredas and 612 mature chickens were used for qualitative and quantitative traits data collection. The collected data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version, 20) and the General Linear Model procedure (PROC GLM) of SAS. The qualitative data of feather distribution, plumage color, beak color, eye color, comb types, earlobe color, head shape, and shank color were collected. The result showed a significant difference between the districts (P< 0.05). Further, wing span, chest circumstance, body weight, and body length quantitative data were also recorded. The result revealed that there was a significant difference in quantitative traits in the study areas (P< 0.05). Egg production potentials, body weight, plumage color, hatchability, growth rate, and mothering ability were traits preferred by the household for female selection. The average age at first egg laying of indigenous chicken was 6.69±0.36 months and the number of eggs per hen per clutch was 12.16±0.26. The current finding revealed that about 93.5% of the observed chicken’s ecotypes were feathered and 6.45% were naked necks. The dominant chicken’s plumage colors identified were; brownish (29.28%), red (24.05%), and multicolor/ambesma (14.65%). The production systems practiced in the study area were extensive. Finally, phenotypic characterization of indigenous chicken ecotypes and performance evaluation should be supported by genetic characterization methods.

The Neolithic and Early Metal complexes of the Chepkul 5 settlement in the North of the An-dreevskaya Lake System

The problems of development of the early Neolithic and Early Metal Age complexes in the Tobol-Ishim interfluve are still insufficiently studied. A certain understanding of the cultural and historical processes that took place during these periods can be based on the materials of the multi-layered settlement of Chepkul 5, located on the territory of the Andreevskaya lake system near the city of Tyumen. The purpose of this work is to introduce into scientific discourse the research materials of the early Neolithic and Bayryk Culture complexes. Within the Neolithic pottery complex of Chepkul 5, it is possible to conditionally distinguish groups of vessels comparable to the ware of the Boborykino, Koshkino, Basyanovo and comb types, which find similarities in the vast territory from the eastern slopes of the Urals to the Baraba forest-steppe, and from the Lower Ob River to the steppes of Kazakhstan. Stone tools of such complexes, including Chepkul 5, contain points with high steep retouch, oblique points on blades, and geometric microliths. The presence of lips (overhangs) on the rims on the inside of the vessels, and certain other characteristics of ceramics, bring the analysed complex closer to the ware of the Boborykino Culture of the Yurtobor 3 settlement [Zakh, 1995]. Considering the date from charcoal from the settlement of Yurtobor 3 — 6591–6478 cal BC (UPI-559) [Zakh, 1995, 2009] — the time of existence of the settlement Chepkul 5 in the early Neolithic can be correlated with the end of the humid stage and the beginning of the dry period (8.2–5.5 cal ka BP) [Zach, 2021]. According to the location of the pits in the trench of the Early Metal Period dwelling 2 of Chepkul 5, which contained pottery with comb-pit and large-stroke ornamentation, the building can be reconstructed as a semi-dugout with a pillar-frame structure, with an area of about 40 m2. Similar structures, ware, stone and clay sinkers and other items belong to the Bayryk Culture, are dated to the 3rd mil. BC and can be considered together with the Ishim complexes of the Alexandrovo stage of the Ekaterinino Cultures within the comb-pit community of the 3rd mil. BC. However, the complexes of the Tobol and Ishim regions belong to different cultures, as evidenced by the complete absence of clay sinkers in the Ishim region and in the territories to the east. The presence of the latter, as well as drawings on dishes and petroglyphs in the Early Metal Period cultures of Trans-Urals, suggests that the population of the Tobol region was engaged in drive hunting for waterfowl during molting [Zakh, 2022], which could not but affect its cultural specificity.

Performance of STBC Based MIMO-OFDM Using Pilot-aided Channel Estimation

Many studies have been published to address the growing issues in wireless communication systems. Space-Time Block Coding (STBC) is an effective and practical MIMO-OFDM application that can address such issues. It is a powerful tool for increasing wireless performance by coding data symbols and transmitting diversity using several antennas. The most significant challenge is to recover the transmitted signal through a time-varying multipath fading channel and obtain a precise channel estimation to recover the transmitted information symbols. This work considers different pilot patterns for channel estimation and equalization in MIMO-OFDM systems. The pilot patterns fall under two general types: comb and block types, with a proper arrangement suitable to the multiple transmit antennas. The two main channel estimation methods, LS and MMSE, are compared by evaluating performance in terms of Bit Error Rate (BER) to analyze the performance of pilot-aided channel estimation for 2x2 and 4x4 MIMO arrangements utilizing LTE parameters and the effects of modifying different numbers of OFDM subcarriers under different channel models It has been discussed, a 4x4 system performs better than a 2x2 system in terms of BER with an acceptable amount of additional complexity.

Correlation of Hatching Weight with Body Weight at Two Months of Age from Crossbreeding of Layer Chicken with Kampung Chicken Based on Four Comb Types

This study aims to determine the correlation of hatching weight with two-month-old body weight (final weight) of crossbreeds of a layer with kampung chickens based on four comb types. The research was conducted in Dalem Lauq Hamlet, Sakra Village, Sakra District, East Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). The material used was a total of 50 F1 chicks; 13 chicks were the result of crossing Isa Brown layer hens with cockerels from kampung chicken single comb (SC), 11 chicks crossed with rose comb (RC), 13 chicks crossed with walnut comb (WC), and 13 chicks crossed with pea comb (PC). The observed variables were hatching weight (HW), final body weight (BW), body weight gain (PBB), and correlation of HW with BW. The results of analysis of variance of HW, BW, and PBB among treatments were not significantly different (P>0.05). Positive correlation of HW with BW at RM (0.47) and RT (0.06). The results of HW regression analysis had a positive effect on BW in F1 from RC and SC.
 Keywords: Correlation, Crosses, Laying Hens, Kampung Chickens, Comb Type

Quantitative and qualitative traits characterisation of indigenous chickens in Southern African countries

Indigenous poultry production is important to human lives as they alleviate poverty by providing an affordable source of animal proteins. Besides, it serves as the easiest source of income for rural farmers in developing countries. The current review was conducted to evaluate the research findings of indigenous chickens’ quantitative and qualitative traits characterisations in Southern African countries. Quantitative and qualitative traits characterisation is the first step for genetic improvement in livestock. The documents used in the review were attained from different search engines, most of which were published lately (after 2010). Potchefstroom Koekoek, Venda, Naked Neck, Ovambo, Boschveld and Tswana indigenous chicken breeds in the Southern African countries were characterised. The studies suggest that there are variations in quantitative traits including live weight, egg weight, wing length, comb length and shank length and qualitative traits including feather color, comb type, comb color and eggshell color of indigenous chickens of Southern African countries. The single red comb types and red wattles were observed in most indigenous chicken breeds in Southern African countries. The present review concludes that the characterisation of quantitative and qualitative traits assists greatly in the differentiation and identification of indigenous chicken breeds.

Reproduction and Growth Performance of Kampung Unggul Balitbangtan (KUB) Chicken Cross

In Indonesia, one of the sources of regional livestock genetic diversity is the kampung chicken. This study aimed to assess the development and reproductive potential of F1 Kampung Unggul Balitbangtan (KUB) crosses (KUB roosters with different types of combs crossed to layer chickens). This research was conducted at a private chicken company in Gunungkidul regency using 40 KUB roosters and 320 layer chicks. The KUB roosters were separated into four groups based on their comb types: single, walnut, and double. Each set of ten males was housed in a single cage, with a male-to-female ratio of one to eight (male and female). Observed reproductive variables included egg weight (EW), hatch weight (HW), fertility, hatchability, number of eggs, number of day-old chicks (DOCs), and number of saleable chicks. The body weight (BW) of the offspring at ages ranging from DOC, 4, 8, to 12 weeks of age is one measure of their growth characteristics. The analysis of variance using a one-way design and the DMRT test were performed to describe the difference in growth and reproductive performance across groups. As a result, each comb type revealed a significant difference in EW, HW, fertility, hatchability, egg and chick production, DOC, and saleable chick production (P<0.05). Compared to other combs, the single comb performed the best in terms of EW, HW, fertility, number of eggs, and number of DOC. The most hatchable and sellable chicks were from walnut comb. Therefore, comb size has a positive correlation with chicken reproduction and productivity. Comb type groups have no effect on BW at 12 weeks (P>0.05), while they significantly affect BW for DOC at 4 and 8 weeks (P<0.05). The rose comb shows BW at its maximum point. In conclusion, the rose comb has the biggest body weight and the single comb has the best reproductive performance in comparison to other comb types.

Triple-Band Implantable Antenna Design for Biotelemetry Applications in MICS/ISM/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Bands

Our objective is to design triple-band implantable antennas with wide bandwidths and appropriate sizes for biomedical applications. The targeted design frequencies are 400 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and the new Wi-Fi band of 5.7 GHz. Three triple-band antennas with bandwidth improvements are presented to insure all-time data connection. The proposed triple-band implantable antennas benefit from combining long-distance data transfer at lower frequency bands and a higher effective bandwidth, and high-speed communications at higher frequency bands, which will have flexibility for a variety of applications. A comprehensive explanation of the design procedure to achieve multiple-band implantable antennas is provided. Furthermore, miniaturization techniques are utilized to design antennas in compact sizes suitable for biomedical applications. In this paper, three-layer structures including skin, fat, and muscle are used for the designs, then antennas are placed in the chest, neck, head, and hand of different human voxels to compare antennas’ performance. Additionally, normal and overweight human effects on antenna performance were compared. Antennas have 2 to 6 dBi directivity for telemetry usage, and they are designed to satisfy the absorption limit for the human body to keep the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) averaged over 1 g of tissue less than 1.6 W/kg and over 10 g of tissue less than 2 W/kg, according to IEEE standard. The antennas include fractal, meandered, and comb types with sizes of 1.4 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm, 3.04 mm × 10 mm × 17.25 mm, and 1.4 mm × 12 mm × 12 mm, respectively. The designed antenna showed an impedance bandwidth of 53 MHz to 120 MHz, 90 MHz to 320 MHz, and 300 MHz to 1200 MHz at the three bands. The meandered antenna was selected for validation of simulations, and its S parameters were measured in the equivalent liquid phantom of body tissues.

Assessment of linkage disequilibrium patterns between structural variants and single nucleotide polymorphisms in three commercial chicken populations

BackgroundStructural variants (SV) are causative for some prominent phenotypic traits of livestock as different comb types in chickens or color patterns in pigs. Their effects on production traits are also increasingly studied. Nevertheless, accurately calling SV remains challenging. It is therefore of interest, whether close-by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with SVs and can serve as markers. Literature comes to different conclusions on whether SVs are in LD to SNPs on the same level as SNPs to other SNPs. The present study aimed to generate a precise SV callset from whole-genome short-read sequencing (WGS) data for three commercial chicken populations and to evaluate LD patterns between the called SVs and surrounding SNPs. It is thereby the first study that assessed LD between SVs and SNPs in chickens.ResultsThe final callset consisted of 12,294,329 bivariate SNPs, 4,301 deletions (DEL), 224 duplications (DUP), 218 inversions (INV) and 117 translocation breakpoints (BND). While average LD between DELs and SNPs was at the same level as between SNPs and SNPs, LD between other SVs and SNPs was strongly reduced (DUP: 40%, INV: 27%, BND: 19% of between-SNP LD). A main factor for the reduced LD was the presence of local minor allele frequency differences, which accounted for 50% of the difference between SNP – SNP and DUP – SNP LD. This was potentially accompanied by lower genotyping accuracies for DUP, INV and BND compared with SNPs and DELs. An evaluation of the presence of tag SNPs (SNP in highest LD to the variant of interest) further revealed DELs to be slightly less tagged by WGS SNPs than WGS SNPs by other SNPs. This difference, however, was no longer present when reducing the pool of potential tag SNPs to SNPs located on four different chicken genotyping arrays.ConclusionsThe results implied that genomic variance due to DELs in the chicken populations studied can be captured by different SNP marker sets as good as variance from WGS SNPs, whereas separate SV calling might be advisable for DUP, INV, and BND effects.

Неолитическая керамика посольского и усть-бельского типов из окрестностей г. Красноярска в фондах Красноярского краевого краеведческого музея

This article presents the Neolithic ceramics of the Ust-Belaya and Posolskaya types from sites in the vicinity of Krasnoyarsk from the funds of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local History. These materials were found at the sites of Ust-Sobakino, Bazaikha, Ladeiki, and Nyasha in the 1890s–1920s. During these years, various researchers collected exhibited material, including Neolithic ceramics, and handed it over to the museum's funds. The only excavations of the Neolithic site during this period were carried out in 1929 at Ust-Sobakino by V. Kartsov. Most of the material received was not published. 110 fragments from 29 vessels of the Ust-Belaya type and 12 fragments from 8 vessels of the Posolskaya ones were analyzed. Vessels of the Ust-Belaya type were found at all objects and have a simple closed, rarely open form. The ornament could occupy both the upper part of the vessel and cover it entirely. The rim on the outer side, or on both sides, is decorated with oblique impressions of a comb stamp, rarely smooth or other types of serrated. In the rim area there is a belt of rounded pits. The main part of the ornamental composition is represented by lines of a receding scapula or rows of impressions of comb, larval and other types of serrated stamp (rarely smooth). Posolskaya type pottery was found at Nyasha and one fragment at Bazaikha. Vessels have a closed shape with weak profiling. The ornament is localized in the upper part of the vessel and, in general, demonstrates the stability of the compositions: in all cases, horizontal motifs predominate. The rims are decorated on the outside with imprints of a comb stamp set at an angle and have a belt of round holes. Below the composition continues with horizontal drawn lines, or a receding shoulder blade with a narrow-rounded working edge. Overall, the collection of Neolithic ceramics of both types finds broad analogies in the materials of Baikal-Yenisei Siberia. The lower time limits for both types of ceramics in the region are determined by the dates from the Elenev Cave site – 6900±115 BP (SOAN-3998) for the Posolskaya type and 6475±190 BP (SOAN-2906) for the Ust-Belaya type. The upper limit is determined in the same way according to the date from Nyasha 4080±60 BP. However, for the Southern Angara and Baikal regions, dates were obtained in a narrower chronorange from 5852±34 (ОхА-22373) to 5585±20 BP (UCIAMS-207539).

Усть-бельская керамика с эпонимного местонахождения из фондов Иркутского областного краеведческого музея им. Н. Н. Муравьева-Амурского

This article presents Ust-Belaya ceramics of the Ust-Belaya site from the funds of the Muravyov-Amursky Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local History. The multilayered site Ust-Belaya is located 110 km northwest of Irkutsk at the Belaya River mouth (left tributary of the Angara). The considered Ust-Belaya ceramics belongs to the finds from the excavations of 1958–1964. The collection includes 1331 fragments from at least 60 pots. The vessels have a simple closed, rarely open shape and a rounded bottom. The ornament could be located both the upper part of the vessel and cover it entirely. Vessels ornamented with horizontal straight lines predominate. In three cases they are complemented by zigzag lines. The rim on the outer side or on both sides is decorated with oblique impressions of a comb stamp, rarely smooth or other varieties of serrated tools. Almost all vessels in the rim area have a line of rounded pits. The main part of the ornamental composition is represented by lines of a receding scapula or rows of impressions of comb, larval and other types of toothed stamp (rarely smooth), which are set close, separately or using the technique of retreat. Signs of making, recorded on ceramics during the study, allow us to identify several features in the production of Ust-Belaya type ceramics. The vessels were formed by the method of zonal patchwork modeling, partially or almost completely on a base form, which could be another vessel. In the production of vessels, they were knocked out with a smooth mallet, achieving dense and thin walls. Upon completion of the modeling, a rim was formed using an additional structural element such as a conditional tape or funiculus. Then the vessel was ornamented, and the walls were smoothed or rubbed from the inside. Since the finds of 1958–1964 deposited in a mixed compression layer, which complicates dating. In 2017–2018 at the Ust-Belaya site, located on the middle floodplain, Ust-Belaya pottery was recorded in a clear stratigraphic position. Based on bones from the layer, dates were obtained with a range of 6730–6306 cal BP. Also, according to one Ust-Belaya vessel from other excavations of Ust-Belaya in 1957, a date was obtained from carbonized organic residues (foodcrusts) from the inner surface with a value of 6977–6800 cal BP. By analogy with these assemblages, the age of the collection of Ust- Belaya ceramics presented by us is tentatively determined in the range of 6977–6306 cal BP.

Morfometric Based on Comb Types of Kampung Chicken in Mataram City

This study aimed to determine the morphometrics based on the type of free-range chicken comb in Mataram City. The research was conducted in the districts of Ampenan, Selaparang, and Cakranegara, Mataram City. The material used was 270 adult free-range chickens consisting of 135 roosters and 135 hens. The method used was a survey. Samples were taken by means of random sampling.The variables observed were comb types, sex, comb heigth, shank length, tibia length, femur length, sternum length, the distance between the pubic bone and the distance between the pubic bone and the chest, and body weight. Data collected were tabulated based on the type of comb and gender. The frequency of the comb type was calculated, and the morphometric data were analyzed by analysis of variance followed by the F test. The results show that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in shank length, tibia length, sternum length, the pubic bone distance and pubic bone distance to the chest in male and female single-comb chickens, rose, walnut and pea

An investigation of the efficacy of hygienic behavior of various honey bee (Apis mellifera) races toward Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) mite infestation

Hygienic behavior in honey bees reflects the social immunity against parasites and diseases and is considered one of the main factors of genetic resistance of the bee breeding program. Hygienic behavior refers to the uncapping and removal of diseased and dead larvae and pupae from sealed brood cells by the worker bees. Here, the hygienic behavior of Apis mellifera races was investigated in response to pin-killed assay and artificial Varroa mite-infested brood cells. Moreover, the reproduction behavior of Varroa mites was determined in various sizes of honey bee race comb cells. The results revealed that the percentage of uncapping and removal of dead broods were significantly higher in the Italian as compared to the Carniolan bee colonies (p < 0.05). Similarly, a significant difference was present in response to artificially infested brood cells with Varroa mites in Italian and Carniolan colonies over the day of inspection (p < 0.05). Overall, the width of cells of the two types of combs was significantly different. The smaller width of cells size combs reduces the Varroa mite reproduction behavior compared to larger cell size combs. More infestation of Varroa mite occurred in drone brood cells as compared to worker brood cells in both old and new comb types. This study contributed to understand the hygienic behavior of A. mellifera races in preparation for selecting and developing hygienic lines of bees given the important contribution of hygienic behavior to honey bee health.

Frequencies of different phenotypes and body parameters of mature indigenous chicken in deciduous rainforest zone of Nigeria

The study was conducted using 800 adult local chickens comprising 355 males and 445 females, which were obtained from 2 major markets in Ado Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti state, Nigeria. Convenience sampling technique was employed in selecting animals for observation. The birds were individually observed for phenotypic expression of shank colour, feather morphology, feather structure, polydactyly, ptylopody and comb types. The number in each group was expressed as a percentage of the total number of birds. The body size parameters measured include body weight, body girth, body length, shank length, wing length, toe length, keel length and shank diameter. The result revealed that the phenotypic frequencies of birds with dominant genes for feather morphology (FF, Ff), feather structure (NaNa + Nana), poly dactyl (PoPo + Popo) and ptylopods (FshFsh + Fshfsh) were 0.033, 0.037, 0.042 and 0.046 respectively, while that of the recessive gene carriers were 0.967, 0.963, 0.958 and 0.954 respectively. The calculated gene frequencies for frizzled (F), Naked neck (Na), Polydactyly (Po) and ptylopods (Fsh) were 0.035, 0.024, 0.034 and 0.035 respectively. The local chicken showed different plumage coloration with black, brown and pink predominating. The male birds were superior to their female counterparts with significant differences (P&lt;0.05) in all the parameters measured except weight.

Possibilities of wide-angle tellurium dioxide acousto-optic cell application for the optical frequency comb generation.

The development of the optical frequency comb (OFC) generation and practical application methods is one of the most important and rapidly developing areas of the modern optical electronics. One of the comb types is acousto-optical (AO) OFCs. This type of OFCs is obtained by the multiple passage of an optical signal through a closed loop containing an acousto-optic frequency shifter (AOFS). Despite the fact that AO OFCs have been studied quite intensively lately, the published papers did not focus on the influence of the main element, the AO cell used as AOFS, parameters on the characteristics of the obtained optical comb, primarily on the comb spectral width, number of spectral components and its envelope shape. In this paper, we perform a theoretical analysis of all possiblities in paratellurite crystal wide-angle AO diffraction geometries in order to determine the most suitable for the application as AOFS in a frequency shifting loop.

English

This study aimed at characterizing phenotypes, production systems and the reproductive performance of indigenous chickens in Rwanda. Indigenous chickens (n=529) from 265 chicken rearing households drawn from all the five provinces of Rwanda were used in this study and analysis was performed using Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS, version 9.2) software. Four comb types were observed, with strawberry (51%) being most dominant, as was whiteness of ear lobes (57%). Rounded ear lobe shape (92%) and curved beaks (99.6%) were both almost universal. Beak colour varied between green, black, yellow and brown with the latter most prevalent (51%). Evenly distributed feathers were most common (99.8%) whereas naked-neck phenotype was rare (0.2%). Almost all chickens had brown eyes, and thick skins (88.4%) that were yellow-coloured (69%). Most chickens (39%) had yellow coloured shanks. Significant variations were observed in age at sexual maturity for both male and female chickens across provinces (p>0.05). The biggest egg clutches were from the western province (14.7 eggs) while the smallest was 6.6 eggs in the southern. Egg hatchability was highest (85%) in the western province and lowest (52%) in the eastern province.We conclude that the Rwanda indigenous chickens might have useful genetic potential, and planning for proper and sustainable utilization of this indigenous chicken genetic resource is the best way forward. Key words: Indigenous chickens, phenotypes, production, reproduction, population structure.

PHENOTYPIC VARIATION IDENTIFICATION OF KAMPUNG CHIKEN CARU IN BALI

This study aimed to identify phenotypic variation of kampung chicken caru. This study was held at farmers,collectors and vendors kampung chikens in animal market in Bali. Phenotypic factors identified were comb types,feather, beak, and shank colors. The quantitative characters that were body mass and dimential. The qualitativedata collected was grouped the variation and the quantitative data then analyzed using descriptive quantitative andthe coefficient of variation was calculated. Black caru chicken had single and rose combs with beak and shank colorwere black and yellow. Whereas, red caru chicken had single, pea and rose combs with beak and shank color wereblack, white and yellow. For yellow caru chicken the comb was single and pea with the beak and shank were yellow.White caru chicken had single and pea combs with the color of the beak and shank were white. Similar to blackcaru, brumbun also chicken had single and pea comb with the color of beak and shank were black, white and yellow.Tibia length of brumbun caru chicken was vary (CV&gt;15%) whereas wing length of red caru chicken was uniform(CV&lt;15%). In conclusion, kampung caru chiken had vary of penothipic variation.

Phenotypic Characterization of Indonesian Native Chicken with Different Combs

The study was conducted to characterize the phenotypic appearance of Indonesian native chickens with difference combs. A total forty chickens were divided onto four groups based on comb type: single, pea, rose and walnut. Qualitative data were tabulated onto head, body and tail parts, and analysed statisticaly using desciptive statistics. As a results, beak color of chicken was vary from dark yellow, light yellow, pale yelow and white. The dark yellow of beak was dominated by chicken with single comb (40%). Light yellow mostly found in chicken with rose comb and, walnut have dominantly pale yellow (50%). Only Chicken with single and pea have white beak color in a few percentage (10%). All comb types of chicken have dark eye color. Chicken with single, pea and walnut combs dominantly have red brown crown color 50%, 40% and 80%, respectively. Chickens with rose comb were most found havnig red crown color (50%). Similary in neck feather color was dominated by single, pea and walnut. Chickens with rose comb indicated yellow (50%) and red crown (40%) color. For chest feather color, chicken with single and walnut comb were dominanted black color (50% and 40%, respectively). The pea and rose comb of chicken mostly have whitebrown (40%) and red (40%) color of chest feather. For abdomen feather color, chicken with single (50%), pea (40%) and walnut (40%) were mostly have black color, but chicken with rose comb indicated mostly red (40%). Similary in back feather color, balck feather was dominated in single, pea and walnut. Both primer and seconder wing feather color were found black in all comb types. The tail feather color was vary, chicken with single comb was dominantly have black color (40%).Chicken with rose and walnut comb have black-white tail feather, 50% and 60%, respectively. Most of chicken with pea comb have black-green tail feather color. All the comb type dominantly have black thigh color. Inconclusion, this study may provide an important view for designing conservation and breeding strategies to efficiently protect and utilize the existing variation phenotypics among local chicken populations.

The transformation of Late Antique comb types on the frontier of the Roman and Germanic world – Early medieval antler combs from Rákóczifalva (County Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hungary)

The transformation of Late Antique comb types on the frontier of the Roman and Germanic world – Early medieval antler combs from Rákóczifalva (County Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Hungary)

Phenotypic Characterization and Farm Management of Indigenous Chicken Reared in Highland Region of Northern Thailand

The aims of this study were to phenotypically characterize and to describe the production system of Thai indigenous chicken reared by hill tribe people living in the highland region of Phayao province, Northern Thailand. A survey using the random sampling method was carried out in 3 villages consisting of 2 different tribes, Hmong and Mien. Data were recorded of 320 chickens; 160 male and 160 female. Effects of supplemented indigenous microorganism on growth performance of crossbred Thai indigenous chickens were performed using 200 birds. The results showed that Thai indigenous chicken in highland region forms a very heterogeneous character; they exhibited wide variation in color, plumage, comb type, skin color, eye color, shank color, and beak color. The predominant plumage color of Thai native chicken in the region was black followed by red brownish, white and multicolor. The overall means indicated that about 73.5, 55.6, 65.8 and 61.4% of the chickens had pea comb types, black shank color, eye color, and black beak color, respectively. The mean of flock size was less than 10 chickens per household (63.3%). The production systems in the study region were classified into three system; free-ranges, semi free-ranges and semi-intensive. Only 13.3% of the farmers knew about proper vaccination programs, while 88.7% never vaccinated their chicken. Thai indigenous crossbreed chickens that were fed diets containing indigenous microorganisms had a significantly (P<0.05) higher body weight at week 1 and 6 compared to commercial probiotics. The major use of chicken by both Hmong and Mien people is not only for food but also for socio-cultural values. The study also identified that women were more involved in chicken management activities than men. Further research is needed, especially on breeding plans and management practices.

Morphological features of indigenous chicken ecotype populations of Kenya

This study characterized indigenous chicken (IC) ecotypes morphologically. Five IC ecotypes studied were Kakamega (KK), Siaya (BN), West Pokot (WP), Narok (NR) and Bomet (BM). Data on morphological features were collected from 1 580 chickens and 151 for zoometric measurements. Descriptive statistics, non-parametric and F tests were used in analysis. A non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis, Binomial test and Mann–Whitney U test was used to evaluate whether the ecotype have effects on the qualitative morphological variables. Zoometric measurements was analysed with the PROC GLM of SAS. Results revealed that, black, black-white striped, brown and red body plumage colours were significantly different (P 0.05). Distribution of body feathers (%), comb types (%) and zoometric measurements were significantly different (P <0.05). Eye colours varied significantly (P <0.001) within the ecotypes unlike between the populations. In conclusion, IC ecotypes studied are heterogeneous population with huge variability in morphological features.