Phenotypic Characterization of Local Chicken Ecotypes in Selected Districts of North Wollo Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted with the aim to characterize the indigenous chicken ecotypes managed under farmer’s conditions in Habru and Gubalafto districts, North Wollo Zone. Multi-stage sampling technique based on chicken population was used for the study. Six kebeles from the two districts were purposely selected which contained randomly selected 186 households and 375 local chickens. Data was analysed using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 9.4 and the least squares means were separated using the Tukey-Kramer test. The result of present findings showed that 96.27% of the local chickens in Habru and Gubalafto districts had feathered necks, 96.53% normal feather morphologies and only 3.73% chickens had naked neck. The dominant plumage color types were complete white (33.87%) followed by complete black (25.33%) and red (17.60%). The local chickens in the study areas were also predominately described by white (47.20%) and yellow (46.40%) shank colors, white skin color (97.87%), red earlobes (95.20%), and blocky (45.87) and triangular (46.13) body shapes. Single comb (50.13%) is the most common comp type, followed by rose (27.47%) and pea (15.73%) in the studied area. The body weight and shank length were significantly different between the districts. There were positive and strong correlations between body weight, body length, shank length, and egg weight. In both male and female chickens, the body weight was best predicted by including body length and shank length in the model. Discriminate analysis showed that a relatively large number of Habru chickens (46.11%) were misclassified as Gubalafto chickens. Similarly, 45.41 percent of the total Gubalafto local chickens were misclassified as Habru local chickens, showing the level of genetic exchange that has taken place between the two chicken ecotypes over time. The local chickens in Habru district are phenotypically similar and their body weight and other body measurement values fall under the Ethiopian chicken performance range. The findings of this study play a significant role in designing breeding and conservation policies through providing information on phenotypic characteristics of the chicken. They would also be used as important inputs or the basis for conducting further research.