Phenotypic characterization of indigenous chicken breeds under village production system for sustainable development in Ethiopia

This study was conducted to characterize Indigenous Chicken populations under village production system. A total of 180 households were randomly selected from two purposively selected woredas. Two mature chickens per household with a total of 360 (240 females and 120 males) were used for qualitative traits observation and quantitative traits measurement. Quantitative data was collected early morning to avoid the effect of feeding and watering. Further, qualitative traits were assessed through observation birds. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and General Linear Model procedure (PROC GLM) SAS. In general, nine qualitative and twelve quantitative traits were considered for this study. The results revealed that the indexed value of chicken selected based on the selection criteria shows, breeding hens were selected based on their egg production potentials, large body weight, diseases resistance ability, plumage color and growth rate. Moreover, cock selection was based on body weight, plumage color, disease resistance, comb type and growth rate. The average age at first egg-laying for indigenous chicken was 6.12±0.03 months. The study revealed that about 96.7% of the observed chickens were feathered while the rest 3.3% were naked necks. The dominant chickens’ plumage colors identified in the study area were; brownish (34.7%), red (18.9%) and wheaten (15.3%). Shank color was predominant yellow (30%) and white (30.3%) followed by orange (21.9%), black (8.1%), red-brown (5.8%) and green (3.9%). The quantitative traits result showed there was a highly significant difference (P<0.05) between the sexes. The study revealed that the performance of economically important traits variation existing between sexes of chickens and study areas needs improvement through the management and genetic improvement programs.