1. A total of 144 chickens purchased from peasants in Morogoro, Tanzania were slaughtered, their crops dissected and the contents analysed. The birds consisted of 48 chickens from each of three climatic zones (warm and wet, warm and dry, cool and wet). Seventy-two chickens were slaughtered in each season, that is short rainy and long rainy season. 2. Cereal grains, bran, green forages, insects/worms and kitchen food wastes were the main crop contents and their composition varied significantly with season and climate. 3. The overall mean chemical compositions (g/kg) of the crop contents were: 430.8 +/- 107.78 dry matter (DM), 104.4 +/- 43.47 crude protein (CP), 61.2 +/- 36.48 ether extract (EE), 58.2 +/- 26.29 crude fibre (CF), 125.4 +/- 58-27 ash, 6.3 +/- 5.19 calcium (Ca) and 3.6 +/- 2.41 phosphorus (P). 4. CP, EE, ash and P contents varied significantly (P<0.05) with season but contents of DM, CF and Ca were not significantly different. 5. CP content was significantly higher (P<0.05) in growers than in adults while the reverse was true for Ca content. Other variables did not differ significantly. 6. Significant differences (P<0.05) in chemical composition were observed among the zones in all parameters except for CP content. 7. The study showed that the chemical composition of feeds eaten by rural scavenging chickens was below the nutritional requirements and varied with season, climate and age of birds.

The productivity of local chickens under village management conditions was studied in six villages situated in three climatic zones within Morogoro District in Tanzania. Two villages were picked in each climatic zone (warm and wet, warm and dry, cool and wet) for the study. The data were obtained by actual measurement, qualitative observations and interview of members of the households directly responsible for the care of chickens. In addition, data sheets were given to selected farmers to record the performance of their chickens. The mean flock size for the three zones was 16.2, with a range of 2 to 58. The overall mean clutch size, egg weight and hatchability were 11.8, 44.1 g and 83.6%, respectively. The overall mean chick survival rate to 10 weeks of age was 59.7%. The mean live weights for cocks and hens were 1948 g and 1348 g, respectively. The mean growth rates to the age of 10 weeks were 4.6 g/day and 5.4 g/day, while those from 10 to 14 weeks of age were 8.4 g/day and 10.2 g/day for female and male birds, respectively. The age at first lay ranged between 6 and 8 months, and the average hen had three laying cycles per year. Most of the chickens were left to scavenge during the day and were provided with simple housing at night (95.2% of the owners). Only small amounts of supplementary feeds were occasionally given and minimal health care was provided. It was concluded that the low productivity of chickens was partly due to the prevailing poor management practices, in particular the lack of proper health care, poor nutrition and housing.

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A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of management, breed, and their interaction on growth performance, egg production, and survivability under on-station and on-farm management conditions in Tanzania. A total of 1200 chicks, 600 for each breed, Kuroiler, and Sasso of mixed sexes were used. Birds under on-station management were confined and fed commercial ration throughout the experiment while those under on-farm management were allowed to semi-scavenge and supplemented with available feeds in the household. Brooding was carried out on-station for six weeks. Thereafter, birds were sub-divided for on-station and on-farm evaluation where data on body weight, egg production traits, and survival rate were taken at different ages from week 6 up to 52. The General Linear Models procedure fitting management, breed, and interaction between management and breed was used to analyze the data. Results show that management conditions had a significant influence on the performance of the breeds. Birds reared on-station performed better in all traits measured than those reared on-farm. The general effect of the breed was significant only for hen-day egg production (HDEP %) and hen-housed egg production (HHEP) in favour of Sasso chickens. Similarly, Sasso was more efficient at converting feed to live body weight. Interactions between management and breed were observed for all traits except peak egg production rate and mortality rate. While Sasso performance was better than that of Kuroiler on body weight, age at first egg, HDEP, age at peak egg production, and HHEP under the on-station management system, their performance in these traits were similar under the on-farm management except for body weight and age at first egg where Kuroiler was superior to Sasso. The survivability was also higher for Kuroiler than for Sasso under both management systems. It is concluded that genotype by environment (GxE) interaction had significant effects on the performance of the two breeds thus, a need to consider such effect when promoting them for either on-station or on-farm rearing.