Indigenous poultry breeds represent an important animal genetic resource. However, their characteristics in respect of performance, product quality, and integument condition are often poorly investigated. Therefore, the local breeds Saxonian chickens (SaChi) and German Langshan bantam chickens (GLB) of different plumage colors were characterized. The high-performing hybrid strain of Lohmann brown chickens (LB) served as the control group. For each group, 60 hens and 6 roosters were studied in an extensive free-range system from 21 to 80 wk of life. The plumage and foot pad quality were scored on 9 distinct observation dates and the measurements of the egg quality were performed at 7 different time periods.
The number of eggs per hen housed in the first laying year was significantly lower in the SaChi (146.4 ± 30.8) and the GLB chickens (107.8 ± 20.4) when compared to the LB chickens (295.0 ± 16.8) (P < 0.001). Regarding laying performance, we detected effects of plumage color within both local breeds (P < 0.001). Within 4/7 plumage colors, effects of the breeder were also found (P ≤ 0.037). The eggs of the local chicken breeds showed lower egg weights (P < 0.001), shell breaking strength (P ≤ 0.041), albumen consistency (P < 0.001), and a lower egg shape index (P < 0.001), but higher proportions of yolk (P < 0.001) when compared to the eggs of the LB chickens. The logistic regression models for the plumage and footpad condition demonstrated that the SaChi and GLB hens underwent less plumage loss and footpad swelling than the LB hens (P < 0.001).
Overall, this study shows that the laying performance of the local breeds was significantly lower, but there were noticeable advantages in terms of egg composition and animal welfare indicators when compared to a high-performing hybrid strain. In further studies and the use in extensive production systems, the observed performance differences between plumage colors and breeders should be taken into account.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:88875 |
| Date | 05 January 2024 |
| Creators | Schreiter, Ruben, Freick, Markus |
| Contributors | Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 1537-0437, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japr.2023.100359 |
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