Selection criteria and husbandry practices of indigenous chicken producers in Northwest Ethiopia.

Autor:	Muluneh B; Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O.Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.; Department of Animal and Range Sciences, Wolaita Sodo University, Dawuro Tarcha Campus, P.O.Box 01, Tarcha, Ethiopia., Taye M; Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O.Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.; Institute of Biotechnology, Bahir Dar University, P.O.Box 79, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia., Dessie T; Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O.Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.; International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), P.O.Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia., Salilew Wondim D; Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O.Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.; Institute of Animal Sciences, Department of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, University of Bonn, 53115, Bonn, Germany., Kebede D; Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O.Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia., Tenagne A; Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O.Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.; Department of Animal Sciences, Assosa University, P.O.Box 18, Assosa, Ethiopia.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Heliyon [Heliyon] 2024 Aug 10; Vol. 10 (16), pp. e36094. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 10 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI:	10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e36094
Abstrakt:	This study was conducted to identify the selection criteria and husbandry practices of chicken producers in different agro-ecological zones of Northwest Ethiopia as input for designing a breeding program. The study employed a purposive selection of districts and peasant associations with high indigenous chicken potential. The study areas were stratified based on the major agro-ecologies (highland, midland, and lowland). A total of 360 households were included in the study, and data on chicken breeding practices, selection criteria, and reproductive performance were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. In all agro-ecologies, egg production was prioritized by chicken owners when choosing female chickens. For male chickens, plumage color (index = 0.27), appearance (index = 0.24), and growth rate (index = 0.23) were the main selection factors. Farmers kept chickens primarily to generate cash through the sale of eggs and live animals (male chickens). There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) among agro-ecologies in nutritional management and housing of chickens. Chicken flock composition showed a highly significant difference (p < 0.001) among agro-ecologies, except layers. Most of the farmers had their own cock born in the flock. Chicken owners found in all agro-ecologies were practicing culling unwanted chickens. All the reproductive performance traits have shown a highly significant (p < 0.001) difference among agro-ecologies. A relatively higher inbreeding coefficient (0.18) was obtained in the highland agro-ecology compared to midland (0.16) and lowland (0.12). The study highlighted the importance of designing breeding programs that align with farmers' production objectives and trait preferences based on specific agro-ecologies for sustainable increases in chicken productivity. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. (© 2024 The Authors.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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