Introduction and Evaluation of Dual Purpose Chicken (Potchefstroom KoeKoek) Breed at Bako Agricultural Research Center (BARC)

Abstract

To increase the production and productivity of chicken in the area, it is important to introduce and evaluate the exotic chicken breeds with higher productivity. To this effect introduction and evaluation of dual purpose chicken breed was undertaken at Bako Agricultural Research center. The dual purpose chicken (Potchefstroom Koekoek breed) was a day old when the test was started. The experiment was undertaken for forty eight (48) weeks of period 2015/ 2016. The management and the data on the performance of chickens were divided into three parts (0 to 8, 12 to 20, 27 to 48 weeks of age). The chickens were kept in open house. It is concert floor with saw dust bedding at thickness of 5 to 7cm. The feed for the chicks were purchased from “kalit” feed processing plant. The average feed intake of this dual purpose breed (Potchefstroom Koekoek) during starter phase in (g/bird/day) and (g/bird/week) for both sexes are 33.04 and 231.32 respectively. The average weekly total body weight (g/bird/week), weight gain (g/bird/week) and mortality (%) of dual purpose breed for both sexes are 150.92, 42.75 and 3.26 respectively. This is comparable with the breed manuals (standard) of the layers and also that of the trail made at Debre Zeit Agricultural research center on the same breed. The average feed intake of this dual purpose breed during grower stage in (g/bird/day) and (g/bird/week) for female and male are 78.24, 75.68, 547.66 and 529.73, respectively. And also their average weekly total body weight (g/bird/week), weight gain (g/bird/week) and mortality (%)/week of dual purpose breed for female and male are 840.03, 1085.71, 88.32, 133.49, 1.60 and 1.41, respectively. This is also comparable with the breed manuals (standard) of the layers and also that of the trail made at Debre Zeit Agricultural research center on the same breed. The average feed intake of this dual purpose breed during later stage in (g/bird/day) and (g/bird/week) for female is 118.88 and 848.42 respectively. The average total body weight (g/bird/week) and weight gain (g/bird/week) and mortality (%)/week of these dual purpose breed during layer stage (27 to 48 weeks) for female and male is 1792.54, 2542.59, 7.24, 52.10, 0.44, 0.38 and 0.0, respectively. This is again comparable to the breed manuals (standard) of the layers and also to that of the trail made at Debre Zeit Agricultural research center on the same breed. The average egg production per week at minimum and maximum in percentages are 56.97% and 63.73% during the later stage of 27 to 48 weeks). Majority of the egg shape are oval and shell color are brown and the average egg weight and shell thickness were 50.8gm and 0.34, respectively. The average albumen weight, yolk weight, yolk color, and yolk/albumen ratio of these dual purpose breed are 26.13gm, 13.62gm, 3 and 56.86, respectively. These dual purpose breeds are good in fertility (90%) and they start to lay eggs at 22^th weeks of age that is comparable to the standard breed of layers.

Keywords: Potchefstroom Koekoek, dual purpose breed