Comparative growth performance of four genotypes of improved Nigerian indigenous meat-type chickens under derived savanna conditions

Abstract

The study was conducted to compare the growth performance of four genotypes of improved Nigerian indigenous meat-type chickens with the effect of major plumage genes of black, white, frizzle feather and naked neck in the derived savanna zone of Nigeria. Ninety-six day-old chickens comprising four genotypes, Black-Feathered (BF),White-Feathered (WF), Naked Neck (NN) and Frizzle-Feathered (FF) chickens were used. Data recorded were individual weekly and final body weights and climatic conditions of Omu-Aran in the derived savanna zone of Nigeria.
The birds were served feed and water ad-libitum. Results showed that there was no significant difference(p>0.05) in the final body weight among three genotypes: BF (1.138±0.290), WF (1.106±0.210) and NN (1.118±0.290), which were higher (p<0.05) than FF (1.050±0.130). The growth charts of all the genotypes were similar and comparable to the first phase of the sigmoid pattern of the conventional chicken growth chart. It was concluded that BF, WF and NN performed equally under the test conditions but better than FF in terms of body weight at 8 weeks.