LAYING PERFORMANCE AND EGG QUALITY OF TWO STRAINS OF CHICKEN THE Gallus gallus SPECIES AND THEIR F 1 CROSSES RAISED IN A SEMI-INTENSIVE SYSTEM

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to compare the laying performance and egg quality of Ivorian local chicken, French Red Label and their cross from first filial generation under semi-intensive system. This study was carried to assess the effect of genetic group on the laying performance and egg quality traits. The analysis of the data on 250 eggs revealed that the genetic group had significant effect (P < 0.05) on all the traits studied. Total weight of eggs produced per chicken over 14 days showed superiority for Label chickens (372 g) compared to the local ones (290 g). Significant higher egg weights (P < 0.05) were observed In Red Label. The shape indices ranged from 76.3±0.53 for hybrid chicken to 73.8±0.56 for local chicken. A high percentage of yolk (38.7%) characterises the eggs of local poultry compared to the Label one (31.1%). It has been shown that the genetic origin of the chicken does not significantly (P > 0.5) affect nutritional values and taste of the egg. Red Label and their crossbreeds are so accepted by consumers as well as local chicken. Moreover, the positive heterosis values obtained with hybrid subjects for some traits revealed that all these observations could be decisive in choosing improvement strategies of local poultry laying performances.