Assessment of phenotypic diversity and morphometry of indigenous chickens in Kabwe District, Zambia
1 Department of Livestock Development, Mulungushi House. Lusaka. Republic of Zambia.
2 Department of Animal Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Zambia P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia.
3 Department of Agricultural Economics and Animal Production, University of Limpopo, Private Bag X1106, Sovenga 0727, Limpopo, South Africa.
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2024, 24(02), 631–638
Publication history:
Received on 16 September 2024; revised on 30 October 2024; accepted on 02 November 2024
Abstract:
This study characterized Zambian indigenous chickens' phenotypes and morphometric traits in Kabwe District, Zambia, to create a base for breeding program development. To achieve this, 206 hens and 228 cocks we sampled in Kabwe district. Each sampled chicken was phenotyped for 4 qualitative traits: ear lobe color, shank color, comb type, and eye color. Individual linear body measurements were recorded from each chicken using a tailor's tape in centimeters, which included body length (BL), chest circumference (CC), corpus length (CL), keel length (KL), shank circumference (SC), shank length (SL), thigh circumference (TC), and thigh length (TL). The findings showed that the predominant phenotypes were single comb type (98.91%), orange eyes (80.44%), white shanks (33.70%), and red-white earlobe color (50%). The average body weight was 1698.24 g, which showed a significant positive correlation (p<0.05) with all linear body measurements. For both sexes, body weight correlated positively with all linear measurements, except in males where body length showed a nonsignificant negative correlation. A stepwise regression analysis indicated that chest circumference, keel length, body length, shank circumference, thigh circumference, and corpus length (CL) are significant predictors of body weight (R² = 76.90%, P < 0.05). Additionally, the CHAID data mining algorithm identified keel length as the primary predictor of body weight, with corpus length and thigh length also contributing, achieving an R² of 61.20%. These findings provide valuable insights for instituting chicken breeding programs aimed at enhancing productivity and selection decisions.
Keywords:
Bodyweight; CHAID data mining algorithm; Correlation; Phenotypic characterization of chickens; Linear body measurements; Stepwise regression analysis
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Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0