Desi Chicken Research Articles

Outbreak and management of Mycoplasma gallisepticum infection in desi chicken and turkey flocks in an organized mixed farm

In an organized farm, desi chicken and turkeys were reported with the clinical signs of congestion of conjunctival mucous membrane, dullness, unilateral and bilateral head swelling and nasal discharge. Flock strength was 545 desi chickens and 296 turkeys of 75 and 50 days old respectively. Morbidity was 3.67 and 6.75% and mortality was 0.91 and 0.67% in chickens and turkeys respectively. On investigation, clinical signs started 12 days after the introduction of desi chicken from another organized farm. In total, 10 chickens and 20 turkeys showed clinical signs, of which 5 desi chicken and 2 turkeys died. On necropsy, the birds showed congestion of conjunctival mucous membrane, unilateral and bilateral infraorbital sinus swelling and caseous material with mucous exudates in the infraorbital sinus. Lungs were congested and edematous. Thoracic and abdominal air sacs were cloudy with beaded appearance, thickened with yellowish caseous material. Infraorbital sinus and ocular swab were collected from live birds. Infraorbital sinus swab, lung and air sacs were collected from dead birds. Mycoplasma gallisepticum was isolated from infraorbital sinus and air sac samples and was also confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Histopathologically, mucopurulent sinusitis and airsacculitis were noticed. The Mycoplasma gallisepticum outbreak was effectively controlled by using effective treatment with 1% Tylosin and following strict bio-security measures.

Comparative performance of Vanaraja, Srinidhi and Desi chicken under traditional system among tribal community of Assam

A study was conducted covering a total of one hundred chicken farmers in tribal dominated Boko Block of Kamrup district in Assam to assess different productive and reproductive traits of Desi, Vanaraja and Srinidhi birds under field condition. Information was obtained on mean body weight at various ages, age at first egg, annual egg production, fertility and hatchability and mortality rate. Body weight, egg production and egg weight were significantly (P£0.05) higher in Vanaraja and Srinidhi birds compared to Desi chicken. The age at first egg was significantly (P£0.05) higher in Desi chicken while compared with Vanaraja and Srinidhi under traditional system of management. However no significant (P£0.05) difference was found between Vanaraja and Srinidhi in their body weight and egg production at various ages. Higher mortality percent in Vanaraja (12.23±1.62) and Srinidhi (11.34±1.23) were recorded during 0 to 5 week. No significant (P£0.05) differences were found among all three groups of birds in fertility and hatchability.

Incidence of Fowl Chlorea in Desi Fowl Farms of Tirupur District

Desi birds are often susceptible to fowl cholera, a serious, highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida. This study involves the diagnosis of fowl cholera by gross necropsy examination, isolation and identification of organism by culture method. Six different flocks of adult desi chicken were subjected to necropsy examination and a total of 30 carcasses were examined for diagnosis of the disease. Fowl cholera was confirmed in all six outbreaks by gross and microscopic examination and bacterial isolation by culture method. The women self help groups were advised to follow strict biosecurity and ethnoveterinary practices for prevention and control of diseases.

Identification of best performer hilly chickens of Bangladesh in consideration of climate change factors: light and heat

The best performer hilly chickens in consideration of light and heat were assessed under rural conditions. Based on the survey, the chickens and farm household were selected. The chickens were provided supplementations of concentrate feed (50g/chicken/day). The selected chickens were divided into 3 groups (heat stress, light and control) for the study of their egg production potential. Heat was generated in the chicken's shelter by keeping a black shaded light (Lantern) for 2 to 3 h more after sunset. A lighting device (Lantern) was kept in the chicken's shelter for 2 to 3 h more after sunset for increasing the duration of day light. Temperature and humidity index was calculated from the recorded temperature and humidity. The individual chicken's egg production, egg weight and mature live weight were studied for different types of hilly and non-descriptive desi chickens. It was observed that hilly chickensproduced more eggs than desi. The hen house egg production percentage (19.95%) and yearly egg production (90no/year/chicken) of desi white was significantly higher than spotted hilly (17.29% and 83.4 no egg, respectively) but reddish brown hilly type produced more number (100.80 no/year/chicken) of eggs than all types. The egg weight varied from 41.27 g to 43.85 g. Mature live weight were significantly different between hilly and desi(1438.70 g vs 1309.27 g). Among the 3 treatments, the lighting group hilly chickens produced 7.71 and 5.60 more eggs than control and heat stress group, respectively. One hour lighting length increased egg production by 4 to 5.8%.

Molecular characterization of velogenic viscerotropic Ranikhet (Newcastle) disease virus from different outbreaks in desi chickens.

Aim:Diagnosis of velogenic viscerotropic Ranikhet disease from six different flocks of desi chicken in and around Mumbai by gross and histopathological examination, isolation of virus and molecular methods.Materials and Methods:A total of 25 carcasses (varying between 2 and 6 carcasses from each flock) of six different flocks of adult desi chicken were subjected to necropsy examination for diagnosis of the disease during the span of a year (2014-2015). After thorough gross examination, the tissue samples were collected and processed for virus isolation and histopathological examination. The 20% tissue homogenate was inoculated into 9-day-old specific pathogen free (SPF) embryonated eggs. Mean death time (MDT) of embryos after inoculation and intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) were used to judge velogenic nature of the virus. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was isolated from six cases and confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) targeting the partial fusion protein gene of the viral genome.Results:A total of 25 carcasses (varying between 2 and 6 carcasses from each flock) of six different flocks of desi chicken were presented for postmortem examination to Department of Veterinary Pathology, Bombay Veterinary College, Parel, Mumbai during 2014-2015. The gross and histopathological examination revealed lesions suggestive of viscerotropic velogenic form of the Newcastle disease (ND). The 20% tissue homogenate was inoculated into 9-day-old embryonated eggs from SPF chicken. NDV was isolated from six cases and confirmed by RT-PCR targeting the partial fusion protein gene. MDT of all the isolates was <60 h which indicated velogenic nature of the virus. ICPI of the isolates ranged between the 1.63 and 1.78. In four out of six outbreaks concurrent moderate to heavy infection of Ascardii galli in one flock and Railetina spp. in three flocks was also noted. In this study, viscerotropic velogenic form of ND was confirmed in all six outbreaks by gross and microscopic examination, virus isolation and RT-PCR.Conclusions:In this study, viscerotropic velogenic form of ND was confirmed in all six outbreaks by gross and microscopic examination, virus isolation and RT-PCR. Nowadays, vaccine strains Lasota, B1 and F strains are used widely in India to control the infection of NDV. However, virulent NDV strains are still isolated frequently in the birds under backyard and also in commercial venture which demonstrates that NDV remains an on-going threat to commercial as well as backyard poultry flocks.

Assessment of Immune Response Against Newcastle Disease Oral Pellet Vaccine in Desi Chicken by ELISA Test

Assessment of Immune Response Against Newcastle Disease Oral Pellet Vaccine in Desi Chicken by ELISA Test

Studies on the effectiveness of oral pellet vaccine in improving egg production and egg quality in desi chicken.

Aim:To study the effect of Newcastle disease (ND) oral pellet vaccine in egg production and egg quality in desi chicken.Materials and Methods:The study was conducted at Veterinary University Training and Research Centre, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. A total of 48-day-old desi chicks obtained from a private hatchery in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, were maintained under cage system of rearing up to 52 weeks of age as per standard management practices. All the 48 chicks were divided into six groups having eight chicks in each group were subjected to different treatment regimes. All the birds were challenged at 52 weeks of age with 0.5 ml dose of 104.0 egg infectious dose 50 virulent ND field virus. 10 eggs from each group were randomly collected during the last 3 days of 8 weeks interval period from 28 to 52 weeks of age and were used to measure the egg quality parameters. The production performance of each group was assessed at 4 weeks interval period from 25 to 52 weeks of age.Results:In all the six treatment groups with respect to egg production, no significant difference (p≥0.05) was noticed from 25 to 52 weeks of age. Similarly, in egg weight, egg shape index and specific gravity, no significant difference (p≥0.05) was noticed from 28 to 52 weeks of age.Conclusion:From this study, it is concluded that the administration of ND oral pellet vaccine to desi chicken does not affect the egg production performance, egg weight, egg shape index, and specific gravity of egg.

Production of Pigment Enriched Desi Chicken Eggs by Feeding of Tagetes erecta Petals

The present study was carried out with an aim of enriching desi chicken egg with carot- enoid pigment and to improve its colour of consumers' preference. A total of 96 adult Nicobari fowls at the age of 30 weeks were subjected to four dietary treatments consisting of 1 (T-1), 2 (T-2), and 3 (T-3) g marigold dried petal powder per day per hen and control (c). The mean egg production pa- rameters, egg quality characters and reproductive trait were recorded for 120 days. Marigold feeding to Nicobari fowl up to 3 g did not show any adverse effect on the palatability of feed, egg production performance, egg weight, egg mass output, hatchability and feed efficiency. Significant (P<0.05) improvement in the Roch yolk colour score from 4 to 8 reflected the enrichment of caroteinoid pig- ments in egg yolk. Feeding of dried Marigold petals up to 3 g per hen per day as supplemental feed additive for rural poultry could enrich carotenoid pigments in desi eggs and thereby could improve yolk colour of consumer's preference under semi-intensive system of management to meet the grow- ing demand and changing consumers need for enriched poultry production.

&lt;b&gt;An ex situ study on body characteristics and effect of plumage color on body weight of indigenous chicken (&lt;i&gt;Gallus domesticus&lt;/i&gt;) in Bangladesh&lt;/b&gt;

The study was conducted at the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh with the objectives of comparing the body characteristics and body weight of three Indigenous chicken genotypes namely Common Desi, Hilly and Naked Neck. Of the four hundred and eighty nine birds analyzed the proportion of Common Desi, Naked Neck and Hilly chicken were 49.49, 24.95 and 25.56% respectively. The most predominant plumage color was reddish black (33.13%). Four types of shank colors were most frequently observed, i.e. white (39.87%), yellow (37.22%), black (20.04%) and mixed (2.87%). The earlobes were mainly reddish white (44.79%) followed by white (29.24%) and red (25.97%). The most predominant skin color was white (92.22%). Most birds had a single comb (96.12%). Hilly birds were heavier than the other Indigenous chicken groups (p &lt; 0.05). The mature weight between Common Desi and Naked Neck did not differ significantly (p &gt; 0.05) but significantly differed from that of Hilly chicken. In terms of shank length and circumference, there were no significant (p &gt; 0.05) differences between Common Desi and Naked Neck chicken, but Hilly chicken had significant (p &lt; 0.05) differences from both.

Observation on occurrence of neural form of Marek's disease in desi chickens

Occurrence of Marek's disease (MD) was investigated in desi (Village) chickens. Clinically birds showed paralysis (lameness) of leg with typical posture of one leg forward and one leg backward, emaciation, torticollis, in-coordination, pale comb and wattle and paralysis of wing and neck with mortality ranged from 1% to 10 %. Necropsy examination of live sacrificed or dead birds revealed severe enlargement and edema of sciatic nerves with loss of cross striations and glistening appearance and atrophy of lymphoid organs. Histopathological examination of the nerve samples in most cases revealed focal cellular infiltration without any edema (type C nerve lesions) and intramural edema, infiltration by lymphocytes and plasma cells (type B nerve lesions) in few cases. Out of these eighteen farms investigated, concurrent infection of aspergillosis in two farms and colibacillosis and tapeworm infestation was observed in one farm each.

Effect of egg weight on hatchability and hatchling weight in Fayoumi, Desi and crossbred (Rhode Island Red X Fayoumi) chickens

Aim: An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of egg weight on hatchability, embryonic deaths and hatchling weight of three rural breeds (Fayoumi, Desi and crossbred (Rhode Island Red X Fayoumi) chickens. Materials and Methods: Three different egg weight groups classified into small: ( 45g) were used in the experiment. A complete randomized design was used for the experiment. Simultaneously quadratic type equation was used to determine the egg weight for optimum hatchability and hatchling weight. Results: Percentage hatchability of medium-sized eggs was higher (P < 0.05) than those in large sized eggs. Similarly, large–sized eggs had higher (P < 0.05) percentage hatchability than small sized eggs in all breeds. Hatchability percentage changed by ratio 0.4077 with one unit change in mean egg weight of Fayoumi. The hatchability changed by ratio 0.5488 with one unit change in egg weight of Desi. The hatchability changed by ratio 0.3767 with one unit change in egg weight of crossbred chickens. Mean hatchling weight in Fayoumi eggs changed by ratio of 0.6760; Desi eggs by ratio of 0.5955 and crossbred chicken eggs by ratio of 1.3613 with one unit change in mean egg weight. The overall mean hatchling weight as percentage of mean egg weight in case of Fayoumi was 67.10, in Desi 62.42 and 68.36 in case of cross birds. There was no evidence that hatchabilitypercentage increased with increase in egg weight in all the three strains of birds. Small-sized eggs had higher (P<0.05) embryonic deaths than those of medium and large-sized eggs in three breeds. Hatchling weight from large eggs were (P < 0.05) higher than those of small eggs in three breeds. Mean hatchling weight of Fayoumi changed by ratio 0.676 with one unit change in mean egg weight. In case of Desi chickens, mean hatchling weight changed by ratio 0.5955 with one unit change in egg weight. In case of crossbred chicken, mean hatchling weight changed by ratio 1.3613 with one unit change in egg. Conclusion: This study revealed that medium sized eggs were more appropriate for better hatchability percentage and lower embryonic deaths in three rural breeds. However, large sized eggs were suitable for better hatchling weight.

Comparative study of growth performance, egg production, egg characteristics and haemato-biochemical parameters of Desi, Fayoumi and Rhode Island Red chicken

A total of 2001 un-sexed day-old chicks of each Desi, Fayoumi and Rhode Island Red (RIR) breeds were obtained from hatchery of Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi. The birds were maintained on deep litter system for a period of 72 weeks. In floor pens, each breed was reared separately in a single pen until seven weeks of age when 2001 birds were randomly distributed between pens, with 21 to 24 birds of the same breed per pen (2.00 to 2.50 ft2/bird). The results revealed that the average day-old weight was highest in RIR, intermediate in Desi and lowest in Fayoumi. The RIR breed consumed more feed and gained maximum (p<0.05) weight than those of Desi and Fayoumi breeds at all ages of growing phase. The feed conversion was poor (p<0.05) in Desi and better in RIR breed. Desi and Fayoumi chicks had lowest (p<0.05) mortality than RIR breed. The breast and thigh meat composition was found non-significant (p>0.05) amongst three breeds. The age of sexual maturity was lowest in Fayoumi followed by RIR and Desi. The highest egg production was obtained by RIR with 41% followed by Fayoumi (36%) and the Desi breed (29%). The egg weight and egg mass were highest (p<0.05) in RIR, but non-significant (p>0.05) differences were found between Fayoumi and Desi breeds. The internal egg quality parameters including yolk weight, albumen weight, yolk plus albumin weight and albumin height were significantly higher in RIR breed than those of Fayoumi and Desi breeds. However, shell and yolk thickness did not differ significantly amongst three breeds. There was non-significant (p>0.05) difference in blood glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, calcium, protein, uric acid and alkaline phosphatase values amongst three breeds. There was non-significant (p>0.05) difference in haematological values among all breeds. The total erythrocyte count, haemoglobin and packed cell volume increased with the advancement of age. However, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin values decreased gradually with the advancement of age. It may be concluded that overall RIR chickens performed better than Fayoumi and Desi chickens. However, early age of sexual maturity was noticed in Fayoumi chickens, and low mortality was observed in Desi chickens.

Morphological characterization of indigenous chickens of Sikkim and West Bengal, India

The study was conducted to characterize the variations in physical characters and some important feather and skin mutations observed in different populations of native chickens of West Bengal and Sikkim, India. The data encompassing eight different phenotypes such as, naked neck chicken, frizzled chicken, muffed/bearded chicken, creeper chicken, crested chicken, rumpless chicken, feathered shank chicken and fibromelanosis chicken, were collected from six districts of West Bengal and two districts of Sikkim. Seven qualitative traits such as colour of the egg shell, feather, skin, shank, comb and earlobe as well as the type of feather, and three quantitative traits such as shank length, egg weight and body weight, were assessed in a total of 2 170 fowls of both sexes. The data were analysed statistically using descriptive statistics, the differences in means were compared using Duncan's multiple range test and ?2 was used for non-parametric characters. Each of the populations had multiple variants and mixed feather colours were seen in most of the chickens while the feather, skin and shank colours were all black in fibromelanosis chickens. The shank colour was predominantly blue, followed by yellow and white. The skin colour in most of the chickens was white. Most of the chickens had a single comb (except for the crested chicken). The highest body weight was observed in the desi chicken while the rumpless chicken weighed the least. The egg-shell colour varied between cream and light brown in all the flocks except for the fibromelanosis chicken whose egg-shell colour was tinted bluish. The highest recorded egg weight was observed in the naked neck chicken, whereas the hatchability and egg weight were the lowest for the rumpless chicken. In the recent years, it has been observed that there is a significant reduction in the population of native chickens. This may be attributed to the restocking with Rhode Island Red and synthetic Kruilor chickens following the avian influenza outbreaks in the region. Hence, immediate steps need to be taken to preserve whatever is left in the native chicken ecotypes in the region.

A comparison between the effects of a probiotic and an antibiotic on the performance of Desi chickens

A study was conducted to compare probiotic with antibiotic, using drinking water supplemented with Biovet and TNF-60. The 8-days old Desi chicks were randomly divided into 9 separate floor pens each comprising 75 birds and three pens (replicates) per treatment group following completely randomized design. At the end of 6 weeks trial, body weight (BW) and feed to gain ratio (FCR) were determined. At the end of experiment, serum cholesterol was determined. The BW of birds given antibiotic and probiotic was significantly greater than control. Similarly, better FCR was observed in birds those given drinking water with antibiotic and probiotic. There was less mortality recorded with probiotic treatment. Cholesterol contents were reduced significantly in probiotic supplemented group as compared to antibiotic and control groups. It may be concluded that performance in Desi birds could be maintained when supplementing probiotic incorporated in broiler's drinking water. The supplementation of probiotic may lead to the development of low-cholesterol chicken meat as demanded by health-conscious consumers. Probiotic may be replaced with the antibiotic to avoid its residual effects on birds as well as human health.

Survivability and causes of loss of broody-hen chicks on smallholder households in Bangladesh

We determined the flock sizes and rates of loss caused by different factors in broody-hen chicks (BHC) up to 60 days of age on 600 randomly selected smallholdings in Bangladesh. The smallholders were beneficiaries of a village poultry production chain called ‘Smallholder Livestock Development Project-2’ (SLDP-2) which was undertaken with the financial assistance of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). For estimating survival time of BHC, we observed chicks in 80 smallholdings. SLDP-2 aims at ameliorating poverty among women by poultry rearing at village level; in total, 104,000 key rearers, constituting 96% of all of the beneficiaries of the SLDP-2 area, were enrolled in 26 upazilas (a lower administrative unit of Bangladesh). A key rearer is a smallholder who rears at least five ‘Sonali’ (RIR×Fayoumi) and some indigenous (desi) chickens in a semi-scavenging system. Sonali chickens are supplied from the development project, and have higher egg production while the broodiness of the desi hens is exploited to get chicks hatched for future stocks; thus, the chicks hatched and reared to 60 days old at key rearers’ households are called BHC. In this study 32% of the smallholders had BHC each month. At the beginning of a month, the median number of chicks in a flock was 8, and the mean survival time was 50.5 days. Incidence rates of loss of BHC from disease, predation, selling and slaughtering were 0.102, 0.086, 0.009 and 0.002 per chick-month at risk, respectively. The major predators were crows, mongooses and eagles with incidence rates of loss being 0.018, 0.016 and 0.010 per chick-month at risk, respectively. Colibacillosis (both single and mixed infections) contributed to the death of 21% of dead BHC collected; Newcastle disease and salmonellosis contributed to the next highest (14 and 12%) proportional mortalities.