Evaluation of two Indian native chicken breeds for reproduction traits and heritability of juvenile growth traits

摘要

The present study was conducted to evaluate two Indian native chicken breeds, namely, Aseel and Kadaknath for fertility, hatchability, genetic parameters of juvenile growth traits, and semen quality traits at the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility was similar in Aseel (86.96%) and Kadaknath (85.15%); however, a relatively higher hatchability was observed in Kadaknath (77.94%) than Aseel (70.74%). Heritability estimates of body weights at 4 weeks of age were almost similar in Aseel (0.37) and Kadaknath (0.39), while the estimate of body weight at 6 weeks of age was higher in Aseel (0.42) than Kadaknath (0.31). The heritability estimate of shank length at 6 weeks of age was lower in Aseel (0.16) compared to Kadaknath (0.35). The age at first egg in the flock was comparable in Aseel (148 days) and Kadaknath (150 days). Aseel breed with significantly ( a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.001) higher body weight, absolute and relative testes weights had significantly higher semen volume ( a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.05) and sperm motility ( a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.01) but had lower seminal plasma cholesterol level ( a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.05) as compared to Kadaknath. It can be concluded that there is a scope for genetic improvement of these two native breeds for juvenile growth traits since heritability estimates of these traits were relatively high.