CHARACTERIZATION OF INDIGENOUS CHICKEN PRODUCTION, REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCES AND EGG QUALITY TRAITS IN EZHA DISTRICT OF GURAGE ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to characterizes indigenous chicken production, reproductive performances and egg quality traits in Ezha district of Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Generally, a multistage sampling procedure was applied for the selection of both kebeles and households. From Guraghe Zone, Ezha district was purposively selected based on its potential for indigenous chicken population and accessibility. In the first stage, the district was stratified into two based on agro-ecology i.e highland (3 kebeles) and midland (3 kebeles). In the second stage, representative kebeles were selected from each agroecology purposively based on indigenous chicken production potential and transport accessibility. Then, households that have two or more indigenous chickens & have experiences on chickens’ husbandry practices were identified and listed. In the third stage, a simple random sampling technique was used to select households from each kebele. Lastly, data on both qualitative and quantitative variables were collected from 318 selected households by using a semi-structured questionnaire. In addition, a total of 120 freshly laid eggs from indigenous village chickens were collected from the selected survey members and transported to Debrezeit Agricultural ResearchCenterfor external and internal eggs quality traits analysis. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software. The research finding revealed the main objectives of chicken production in the study area were for both income generation and consumption (50%), while (30.5%) for consumption, and (19.5%) only for immediate income generation. The survey results revealed that about (40.9%) of the respondents constructed separate chicken house, (77.4%) practised of scavenging system with supplementary feeding, (88.4%) provided water for their chicken and (79.5%) of the respondents faced diseases outbreaks. The survey also revealed that the mean number of eggs laid/clutch, numbers of days/clutch/hen, the clutch number/year and annual egg production/hen of local chicken ecotypes were (13.9 eggs, 22.5days, 3.9 clutch number and 53.8 eggs), respectively. The study also revealed that the overall mean age at first mating of male chickens and the age at first egg of female chickens were 5.9 and 6.5 months. This study obtained significantly lower productive and reproductive performancesfrom highland chicken ecotypes. The analysis of the study revealed that egg quality parameters like egg weight, egg length, egg shell weight, egg shape index, albumin weight, albumin width, yolk width and yolk index were significantly different (P<0.05) among the two agro-ecologies. These observed variations might be attributed to various factors such as management differences, quality, and quantity of feed, and production environments in which the animals were maintained. So, the productivity of indigenous village chickens could be enhanced by relatively simple changes in management techniques (feeding, housing, and health care) that promote improvement in productivity and reduction in mortality. Therefore, governmental organizations, NGOs, and other stakeholders should play their role in developing producers' knowledge and capacity.