• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.1482-1498
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• 2000

This paper reviews the meat-type chicken breeding with local breeds in China. The quality chickens are defined as purebred final products of local breeds, and semi-quality chickens as crossbreds of local breeds with specialized broiler (sire or dam) lines from western breeding organizations. The present status of the chicken production and the market in China, in comparison with the western countries, is reviewed, indicating that there is large market demand for (semi-) quality chickens in the present and future China. Breeding for (semi-) quality chickens emphasizes the sensory quality of chicken meat. The present status of breeding for (semi-) quality chickens with the local breeds is illustrated, including breeding goals and the existing breeding programs. The potential role of local breeds in breeding programs in China is discussed in relation to both providing higher quality (than commercial hybrid broilers) of chicken meat for the local market and meeting the objectives of genetic resource conservation. Besides, further research topics on breeding for (semi-) quality chickens are suggested.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1372-1381
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• 2017

Objective: Our study provides information on phenotypes of local chickens and guinea fowl and their body measures as well as on major genes in local chickens in northern Ghana. Methods: Qualitative and morphometric traits were recorded on 788 local chickens and 394 guinea fowl in urban households in Tamale, Ghana. Results: The results showed considerable variation of color traits and numerous major genes in local chickens, while color variations and related genotypes in guinea fowl were limited. In local chickens, white was preferred for plumage, whereas dark colors were preferred for beak and shanks. More than half of the chickens carried at least one major gene, but the contributions of single gene carriers were low. All calculated allele frequencies were significantly lower than their expected Mendelian allele frequencies. We observed higher mean body weight and larger linear body measures in male as compared to female chickens. In female chickens, we detected a small effect of major genes on body weight and chest circumference. In addition, we found some association between feather type and plumage color. In guinea fowl, seven distinct plumage colors were observed, of which pearl grey pied and pearl grey were the most prevalent. Male pearl grey pied guinea fowl were inferior to pearl grey and white guinea fowl in terms of body weight, body length and chest circumference; their shank length was lower than that of pearl grey fowl. Conclusion: Considerable variation in qualitative traits of local chickens may be indicative of genetic diversity within local chicken populations, but major genes were rare. In contrast, phenotypic and genetic diversity in local guinea fowl is limited. Broader genetic diversity studies and evaluation of trait preferences of local poultry producers are required for the design of appropriate breeding programs.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.141-150
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• 1991

A local isolate of chicken anemia agent (CAA), isolate 89-69. was tested for pathogenicity for chickens. When chickens from a specific pathogen free (SPF) flock were inoculated intramuscularly with the isolate at one day old, all the chickens showed severe anemia at 14 to 18 days post inoculation(DPI) and returned to normal at 25DPI, Some of the inoculated chickens (27∼33％) died between 13 to 17 DPI's with lesions of severe aplasia of bone marrow and thymic atrophy. In chickens kept in contact with inoculated chickens, some of the chickens had anemia at 25 and 28 DPI's. Virus could be reisolated from inoculated as well as in contact chickens till 21 DPI. Antibodies to CAA could be detected in all inoculated and in contact chickens when tested at 42 DPI by the indirect fluorescent antibody method. When chickens from a different SPF flock were inoculated at one day old, degrees of anemia, both in frequency of incidence and severity, were low These chickens were proved partly to have antibodies to CAA when tested for hatchmates. In a survey for antibodies to CAA in field chicken flocks, one out of 7 flocks(14％) aged 3 to 10weeks was antibody positive whereas 19 out of 20 flocks(95％) over 20 weeks of age were positive. Altogether 29 out of 39 flocks (74％) were antibody positive.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.155-161
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• 2011

In this study, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence polymorphism was used to assess genetic diversity of nine Vietnamese local chicken breeds. In addition, two Chinese breeds kept in Vietnam were included in the analysis for comparison. A 455-bp fragment of the mtDNA D-loop region was sequenced in 222 chickens of these 11 breeds. As reference, a skeleton was constructed based on chicken mtDNA sequences taken from the Genbank. Haplotypes of the nine Vietnamese local and two Chinese breeds were aligned together with these sequences. The Vietnamese and Chinese breeds showed a high degree of variability. In total, 37 haplotypes were identified in the chicken breeds studied forming eight clades. Thereby, the majority of individuals of the two Chinese breeds grouped together in one clade which is assumed to have its roots in the Indian subcontinent. Although the Vietnamese chicken breeds were distributed across all eight clades, most of them clustered in three main clades. These results suggest that the Vietnamese domestic chickens have originated from multiple maternal lineages, presumably from Yunnan and adjacent areas in China, South and Southwest China and/or surrounding regions (i.e. Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, and India).

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.778-788
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of the study was to understand and document socio-economic characteristics, production parameters, challenges and management practices used by Fijian households which keep indigenous chickens. Methods: A survey involving 200 households was carried out in coastal and inland communities of Fiji's wet and semi-dry ecoregions. Data on the influence of ecoregion and location of households relative to the sea on management practices, challenges and productivity of indigenous chickens were analyzed using logistic regression and general linear model of SAS software. Results: Irrespective of location relative to the sea and ecoregion, households indicated that they kept indigenous chickens for food and income generation. The Welsummer was the most (p>0.05) preferred breed. Households in the semi-dry inland communities had the largest (p<0.05) flocks compared to those in semi-dry coastal communities and the wet region. Chickens in the semi-dry region performed better (p<0.05) than those in the wet region in terms of number of clutches per year and mature live weight. Predators and feed shortages were the biggest challenges faced by households in all areas. The mongoose was ranked as the most (p>0.05) common predator followed by domestic dogs. Most households in the wet ecoregion's coastal communities housed their chickens at night, whereas communities in semi-dry ecoregion housed their chickens most of the time (p<0.05). In all regions, no households sold their chickens to commercial markets (p>0.05). Households in semi-dry ecoregion were more likely (p>0.05) to sell their chickens at the local market place. Conclusion: The productivity of local chickens in Fiji is low because of feed shortage, predators such as the mongoose and lack of market linkages.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.311-323
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• 2000

Immunosuppressive effects of reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) infection in chickens were investigated. Primary antibody responses to Newcastle disease virus (strain B1) and sheep red blood cells were significantly low in chickens inoculated with the local isolate 89-74 of REV compared to those of uninfected chickens. In chickens infected with REV strain T or 89-74, blastogenesis of spleen cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) to concanavalin A (Con A) was severely suppressed. When specific pathogen free (SPF) chickens were inoculated with the isolate, the suppressive effect was observed up to 7 weeks of age while, in the contact infected chickens, the suppression was absent. Similar suppressive effects were observed in chickens inoculated with REV strain T at 2, 3 and 4 weeks of age. When spleen cells or PBL from uninfected chickens were co-cultured with spleen cells or PBL from chickens infected with REV at 1 day-old or 2 week-old, the blastogenesis of the normal cells was suppressed. The suppressive effect of PBL from REV-infected chickens on normal lymphocytes was abrogated by the treatment with trypsin. However the suppressive activity of the REV-infected PBL was not influenced at removing machrophage from the cell suspension by incubation in plastic petri dishes. In addition to the immunosuppression, chickens infected with the REV isolate showed abnormal feather development (nakanuke), anemia, paralysis and retarded growth. Three out of 11 chickens inoculated with the isolate at day-old died between 6 and 9 weeks of age by bacterial infections.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.974-980
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• 2014

In semi-arid areas of Southern Africa, dehydration can compromise the performance and welfare of local chickens, particularly during the growing period when confinement is curtailed and birds are left to scavenge for feed and water. The effect of water restriction on the growth performance was compared in Naked Neck (NNK) and Ovambo (OVB) chickens that are predominant in Southern Africa. A total of 54 eight-wk-old pullets each of NNK and OVB chickens with an initial average weight of $641{\pm}10g/bird$ were randomly assigned to three water intake treatments, each having six birds for 8 wk. The water restriction treatments were ad libitum, 70% of ad libitum and 40% of ad libitum intake. Nine experimental pens with a floor space of $3.3m^2$ per strain were used. The pens were housed in an open-sided house with cement floor deep littered with a 20 cm layer of untreated wood shavings. Feed was provided ad libitum. Average daily water intake (ADWI), BW at 16 weeks of age (FBW), ADG, ADFI, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and water to feed ratios (WFR) were determined. Ovambo chickens had superior (p<0.05) FBW, ADG and ADWI than NNK chickens. Body weight of birds at 16 weeks of age, ADG, ADFI, ADWI, and WFR declined progressively (p<0.05) with increasing severity of water restriction while FCR values increased (p<0.05) as the severity of water restriction increased. Naked Neck chickens had better FCR at the 40% of ad libitum water intake level than Ovambo chickens. The dressing percentage per bird was higher in water restricted birds than those on ad libitum water consumption, irrespective of strain. Heart weight was significantly lower in birds on 40% of ad libitum water intake than those on ad libitum and 70% of ad libitum water intake, respectively. In conclusion, NNK chickens performed better than OVB chickens under conditions of water restriction and would be ideal to raise for meat and egg production in locations where water shortages are a major challenge.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.1040-1043
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• 2000

The genomic mapping of Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus), local Village Chicken, and broiler was carried out by random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD) technique. Two different sets of arbitrary primers were used (Operon OPA01-20 and Genemed GM01-50). All the genomes of the three species of chickens were amplified with OPA01-20 primers. The genomes of the Red Jungle Fowl and local Village Chicken were further amplified with GM01-50 primers. Analysis of the results based on band sharing (BS) and the molecular size of individually amplified DNA fragments showed that Red Jungle Fowl and local Village Chicken shared the species similarity of 66% with Operon primers 01-20, 64% between local Village Chicken and broiler, and 63% when DNA bands between Red Jungle Fowl and broiler were compared. With GM01-50, the BS between Red Jungle Fowl and local village chicken increased to 72%. The results showed that the local village chicken is more closely related to Red Jungle Fowl than to broiler in the genetic distance. On the other hand, broiler is 1% closer in genetic distance to local village chicken than to Red Jungle Fowl. The results also indicated that primers like OPA-7, 8 and 9 can be used as species specific DNA markers for these three species of chickens.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.1771-1786
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• 2022

Objective: Inosine monophosphate (IMP) is a key factor that imparts of meat flavor. Differences in the IMP content in the muscles were evaluated to improve chicken meat quality. Methods: For this study, the IMP content was detected by high performance liquid chromatography. The gene expression profiles of Jingyuan chickens with different feeding patterns and different sexes were analyzed by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). Results: Breast muscle IMP content in free-range chickens was extremely significantly higher than that of caged chickens (p<0.01). Breast muscle IMP content in hens was also higher than that of cocks, but the difference was not significant. Correlation analysis showed that the breast muscle IMP content in caged hens and cocks was negatively correlated with the shear force, and the breast muscle IMP content in free-range hens was significantly negatively correlated with the shear force (p<0.05). The two key genes associated with IMP synthesis in chickens with different feeding patterns were glutamate-ammonia ligase (GLUL) and phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A). Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the GLUL and PDE10A genes are involved in glutamine biosynthesis and purine salvage pathways respectively. In addition, GLUL expression was positively correlated with the IMP content in caged and free-range chickens, and PDE10A expression was significantly positively correlated with the IMP content in caged and free-range chickens (p<0.05). Conclusion: These findings will facilitate the comprehension of the deposition of IMP in the muscles and thereby aid the process of selection and breeding of good quality local chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.597-600
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• 1993

An experiment was conducted using 160 Arbor Acres broiler strain of chickens to evaluate the effects of partial replacement of soyabean meal with feather meal on the diets of broiler chickens raised from day old to 8 weeks of age. Feathers, obtained from a local poultry processing plant, were boiled in water for 30 minutes, sun-dried and ground using a 2 mm sieve for inclusion into the experimental diets at 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5% levels at the expense of soyabean meal. The feather meal was assayed and found to contain 86.5% crude protein and to be low in lysine, methionine and histidine amino acids. The inclusion of such processed feather meal up to 3% in the diet did not (p>0.05) affect growth or feed conversion ratio. However, the highest level of inclusion of feather meal in the diet, 4.5%, significantly reduced both growth rate and feed conversion ratio of the birds. The results of this experiment showed that up to 3% of water-boiled feather meal, which represents 12% of dietary protein, the equivalent of 6% level of use of soyabean meal in the diet, can be successfully included as a protein source in the diets of broiler chickens.