ON FARM TEST FOR GROWTH PERFORMANCE AND HATCHING RATE IN NATIVE CHICKEN BREEDING FLOCK
S. L. Hsing, D. Y. Lin, and M. C. Wu
Livestock Research Institute (LRI), Council of Agriculture
In order to help native chicken breeding farms to establish the techniques of on farm test for growth performance and hatching rate in their breeding flock. Cooperating with those of native chicken breeding farms under the program of the Innovation Incubator Center of Livestock Research Institute, we proceeded on farm test. Body weight of red feather native chicken was measured before one week of marketing age. Records of hatching rate (chick number/egg number of hatchery) of individual hen will collected from 32~37 week of age. Body weight at 8-week-age in male and female native chickens were 1822 ± 220 g and 1507 ± 168 g (mean ± SD), respectively. Their hatching rate is 73.1±28.7%(mean ± SD). There is significant difference in hatching rate among six lines of this flock (P<0.01). Therefore, we can select chickens with good growth performance and hatching rate of their parent as candidate breeding chicken according to records of on farm test.
Key Words: Breeding Chicken, Growth Performance, On Farm Test