Nigerian Fulani ecotype chickens - I – Growth performance under two production systems

Abstract

The rearing of indigenous chickens is an integral part of the smallholder farming systems in developing countries, where they are kept by the rural  Poor to satisfy multiple functions Thus, the growth performance of Nigerian Fulani ecotype chicken (NFEC) under intensive and pastured poultry production systems was evaluated. Two hundred, day-old chicks of Nigerian Fulani ecotype chicken (NFEC) were obtained. The chickens were  Separated randomly to intensive and pastured poultry production systems at 12 weeks of age. Data on body weight were taken weekly from day-old to 20 weeks. Data were analyzed using PROC GLM of SAS® at statistical significance level of P<0.05. Results showed significant effect of sex of  chicken from the 10th to the 20th week of age (P<0.05). Significant interaction effect was observed between sex and production system at weeks 16 and 18 (P<0.05) when the male chickens under the intensive production system outpaced their male counterparts in the pastured poultry. Average daily gain for the period of 20 weeks was 6.83g and 9.21g for female and male chickens, respectively. Weight gain pattern across weeks was not  uniform. There was no significant difference in the growth rate in the two production systems (P>0.05). The study revealed that little disparity exists in growth performance of NFEC under the pastured and deep-litter production systems.

Keywords: Growth, Production System, Pastured Poultry, Average Daily Gain