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Abstract

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.

Towards Conservation of Omani Local Chicken: Phenotypic Characteristics, Management Practices and Performance Traits

“…While clutch size was not related to body length and shank length of hens (r<0.4, p>0.05), there was a significant correlation between body weight and clutch size (r = 0.66, p<0.05). The differences in body weight and body measures between male and female birds are in agreement with reports from Tanzania (Mwalusanya et al, 2002) and Zimbabwe (Mcainsh et al, 2004); such differences are due to the differential effects of androgens and estrogens on growth (Yakubu et al, 2009). The higher body weight of male and female chickens in DF than in the other AEZ might be attributed to less efforts needed by these birds to scavenge their feed: DF farms are smaller-sized than farms in the other AEZ but characterized by highly productive vegetable cultivation, potentially offering plenty of nutritious residues.…”

“…The hens produced on average 5.2±0.23 clutches per year with a total of 12.3±2.85 eggs per clutch (range 8 to 14), resulting in 64.5±6.91 eggs per hen and year. The latter value was higher than that reported for local chicken in Bangladesh (44; Baru and Yoshimur, 1997) and Uganda (40 to 50; Ssewannyana et al, 2008), while it was similar to the production reported from Tanzania (Mwalusanya et al, 2002) and Botswana (Badubi et al, 2006). The proportion of hatched eggs per clutch was 88.1±6.01% with significant differences between EH (92.9±7.16) and the other AEZ (p<0.05).…”

“…A considerable phenotypic variation is another main characteristic of local chicken types throughout the world (Mcainsh et al, 2004). Women are frequently in charge of local chicken husbandry (Mwalusanya et al, 2002) and are especially involved in most activities of poultry management, although a division of labor often exists within the household (Kondombo et al, 2003). However, rural communities often lack the required husbandry skills, training and market opportunities to effectively improve their chicken production (Mwalusanya et al, 2002).…”

Sexual Dimorphism and Breed Characterization of Creole Hens through Biometric Canonical Discriminant Analysis across Ecuadorian Agroecological Areas

“…Husbandry practices characterized by the use of rustic animals in free range conditions with a low capital investment, which enables assuming a relatively low economic risk to implement an efficient productive management to produce high-biological-value protein sources such as meat and eggs [8,9]. Additionally, these products are preferred among consumers because of their pigmentation, taste, and lean quality of meat [10,11]; which translates into acceptable income that returns to each family, closing the cycle [12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

An outlook on livestock welfare conditions in African communities — A review

“…Indigenous chickens also possess the ability to not only rely on provided feed, but also thrive in extensive and rural setups, rummaging for natural food sources throughout the day and thus offer a more organic and affordable protein source [88,120,121]. They can be successfully reared under extensive production conditions, with minimal inputs [122,123]; which allows them to freely express their natural be haviour. Additionally, these chickens can effectively make use of limited space and natural protein sources (such as insects) for their nourishment [88,121], providing them wider nutritional sources to satiate hunger.…”