ABSTRACT
Fifty five (55) experimental birds were randomly replicated
into 5 deep litter pens in the ratio of 1 cock: 10 hens. Like to like random
mating was ensured to raise 200 chicks in the F1 generation. Chicks were
subjected to measurements like body weight, body length, shank length, shank
colour, beak colour, feather colour, feed conversion ratio, mean feed
consumption, egg colour, egg fertility, egg hatchability, dead embryo and
mortality at hatch and subsequently at 4 weekly intervals.
Data obtained from these traits at ages of 0 (day old) -
week, 4-weeks, 8-weeks,12-weeks 16-weeks and 20 weeks were subjected to
analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a nested or hierarchial design and in a
paternal half sib analysis using SAS (2004) statistical procedure.
Body weight was significantly different among the progeny
and ranged from 30.33g at day old to 1334.67g at 20 weeks of age. Sire had no
significant effect in average body weight gain (ABWG), expect at 8-12weeks of
age. ABWG ranged from 85.05g at 4 weeks to 441.20g at 20 weeks of age.
There was significant (p<0.001) difference in feed
conversion ratio (FCR) at 12 weeks of age. Sire had highly significant
(p<0.001) effect on average feed consumption (AFC) from 4-20 weeks of age.
Sire had significant (p<0.05) effect on body length (BL)
at 12 and 20 weeks of age. Sire had significant (p<0.05) effect on shank
length at 0 week of age.
Sire had highly significant (p<0.001) effect on shank
colour at day old and it ranged from cream colour to cream black colour.
Sire had highly significant (p<0.001) effect on the beak
colour at 0 week, which ranged from cream to cream hazenut.
There were highly significant differences (p<0.001) in
the number of white, light brown and brown eggs laid by the hens mated to the
sires. With respect to the down feather colour of the progeny, sire did not
make any difference. Sire used made no differences (p>0.05) in the number of
infertile eggs laid throughout the experiment. Sire significantly (p<0.001)
influenced the hatchability of eggs laid, the number of embryos that died in
the shell and the number of chicks that died after hatching.
The heritability estimates of body weight (BW) ranged from
0.05 at 4 weeks to 0.54 at 12 weeks of age. The body length (BL) heritability
estimates ranged from 0.06 at 4 weeks to 0.80 at 0 weeks. Heritability
estimates of shank length (SL) ranged from -0.12 at 16 weeks to 0.80 at 0 week
of age. Heritability estimates for shank colour, beak colour and feather colour
were 1.38, 0.80 and 0.17 respectively. The average feed consumption
heritability estimates ranged from 0.16 at 4 weeks to 2.00 at 8 weeks.
Heritability estimates for feed conversion ratio ranged from -0.15 at 4 weeks
to 1.15 at 12 weeks. Heritability estimates ABWG ranged from -0.10 at 16 weeks
to 1.16 at 12 weeks of age.
The phenotypic correlation (rP) was in the range
of -0.0178 between BW and BC at hatch to 0.6496 between BL and SL at 20 weeks
of age.
The genetic correlation, rG (sire) ranged from
-0.22 between BW at 8 weeks and BW at 20 weeks of age to 1.7298 between BW and
SL at hatch.
The data on all the traits studied indicate that the heavy
ecotype could form a foundation stock for layer, meat and dual purpose breed
development in Nigeria.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Evidence
abounds that Nigeria as a Nation is endowed with surplus natural resources that
will make her self-sufficient in animal protein production and even become main
exporters of all kinds of food items. According to Nigerianet (2003), Nigeria,
being the largest geographical unit in West Africa, has a land area of 923,768
square kilometers. According to Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN (2002), Nigeria
population was reported to be 129.9 million in 2004 based on the projected
annual growth rate of 2.8% of the revised 1991 census. At this given growth
rate Nigeria population is estimated to be 141.1 million in 2007. Nwosu (1989)
reported that of the one hundred and thirty three million (133,000,000)
chickens in Nigeria, one hundred and twenty-three million (123,000,000) are
local chickens. RIM (1992), reported that the native chickens constituted 80%
of the one hundred and twenty million (120,000,000) chickens in Nigeria. This
showed that ninety-six million (96,000,000) were native chickens.
The fact
that some developed countries with far less natural resources can still boast
of self sufficiency and their ability to export poultry products call for sober
reflection among Nigerians. Frommer (2006), the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria,
reported that Nigeria’s geographical territory is 30 times bigger than that of
Israel and it’s population is 20 times larger than that of Israel. Annual rainfall
in Israel ranges from 28 inches (70cm) in the north to less than 2 inches (5cm)
in the south. Despite the obvious disparity in natural resources between
Nigeria and the State of Israel, it is believed that the Israel model of
agricultural and research development with some necessary modifications could
be applied in Nigeria. Israeli livestock output for instance, in 2004 was worth
US $1.4 billion (39%) and crops US $2.5 billion (61%). Israel produced almost
70% in monetary terms of its food requirements. The recent purchase of twenty
five thousand (25,000) day old broiler chicks from Israel by the Animal Science
Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in her HUJII broiler project,
to a large extent, substantiates the Israeli Ambassador’s claims.
Moreover,
the records of numerous poultry breeds genetically developed in other
continents as far back as the nineteenth century is equally interesting.
According to the New Encyclopedia Britannica (1995) the Barred Plymouth Rock,
the American breed of importance today was developed in 1865 by crossing
Dominique with the Black Cochin. The Wyandotte (an America breed) developed
from five or more strains and breeds has eight varieties. Rhode Island Red
(RIR) developed in 1857 was from red Malay game fowl crossed with reddish
coloured shanghais with some brown leghorn, Cornish, Wyandotte and Brahma
blood. It is good for meat production and one of the top meat breeds for the
production of egg. It has bright red feather. New Hampshire was developed in US
in 1930 from Rhode Island Red. It is a meat and early maturing breed. The white
Leghorn especially developed in the USA, is one of the 12 varieties of the
Leghorn breed which originated in Italy, a Mediterranean breed. The white
Leghorn is the leading egg producer of the world. Cornish, an English breed,
developed for crossbreeding programmes for broiler production was developed in
England before 1893. It is a poor egg producer. The white Plymouth was
registered in USA in 1888. Brahma is the only Asiatic breed of significance
today developed
These
considerations pose some urgency on animal scientists and the entire nation of
the need to put into motion every programme and action that will make it
possible for our nation, Nigeria, to consolidate its claim as the “giant of
Africa”. Nigeria would have to fulfil the proverb, “the proof of the pudding is
in the eating”, by developing breeds of poultry for Africa that will be called
truly African breeds. It could be observed with some confidence that the
various studies carried out on gene characterization; improvement potential for
meat and egg production; biometric, allometric and anthropometric indices of
the Nigerian local chicken in cited works of Hill (1954), Nwosu (1990); have
served enough background work to justify actual breeding plans for breed
development in Nigeria in the 21st century. These studies done in
the past laid a foundation for the recent findings that the light and heavy
ecotypes both genetically and phenotypically differ (Momoh 2005). Management
and nutrition affect the performance of both the heavy ecotype and the light
ecotype. Heavy ecotype performs better than light ecotype and the battery cage
performance has an edge over that in the deep litter (Tule 2005). The local
chicken by nature is rugged and would require a feed of intermediate standard
rather than depending on/or adopting the standard form from improved breeds put
forward by NRC (Tule 2005). The relevance of the ongoing Ph. D research works
of Ogbu, Cosmos and Ewa, Vivian, who are supervised by Professor Emeritus Dr.
C.C. Nwosu on selection for growth and egg laying parameters on the heavy
ecotype and light ecotype of the Nigerian local chicken is indisputable in the
characterization of the local chicken of Nigeria. The researches and findings
so far carried out on the Nigerian local chicken put the goal of breed development
in Nigeria on course. The findings will provide the basis for the development
of a poultry breed in Nigeria.
Great care,
therefore, must be taken to equally develop the best plan that can maximally
utilize the information found on the Nigerian Heavy and Light ecotype chicken
for the purpose of developing a new breed at a minimal cost and shortest
possible time. According to FAO (2004), strategies to develop poultry breeds
suitable for family poultry in tropical countries must differ from those used
in intensive production and should focus on improving indigenous breed, while
also making use of pure, exotic and crossbred chickens where appropriate. FAO
(2004) and Nwosu (1989) recommended the following rules in improving the
Nigerian breed (i) Germplasm in the traditional condition should not be
modified until management and housing have been improved, even then selection
should be restricted to local breed, FAO (2004). (ii) When technical conditions
are optimum and a ready market exist for the products, then the improved
breeds, crosses and hybrid that have been selected for high performance can be
introduced into the peri urban system even at small scale level (FAO, 2004).
Hence according to Nwosu (1989) (an unpublished research work) care....
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