Feed Efficiency Evaluation in Indigenous Chicken

Indigenous chicken are a valuable asset and form an integral part of the rural households in Kenya in terms of food security, economic and social roles.

Various genotypes have been identified within the farmer flock and ranked based on preference.

The normal feathered is the most dominant genotype reared by farmers, followed by the naked neck chicken which carries the tropical relevant major gene due to its productive adaptability in the tropics.

Majority of genetic improvement programs have emphasized selection to improve growth-related traits and reproductive traits which influence revenues. However, besides increasing revenues, it is important to consider avenues to reduce costs of production in order to improve production efficiency.

Feed costs account for about 60-70% of the total production costs; making feed efficiency a trait of economic importance due to its direct influence on production costs. Feed efficiency measures how much saleable product is produced for each unit of feed consumed.

The main aim of activity 2 tasks 2 of InCIP is to carry out an analysis of feed efficiency on indigenous chicken, in order to identify the most efficient genotype.

The study is being carried out by Sophie Miyumo an MSc student at Egerton University and currently the already existing population of indigenous chicken is being used to produce the experimental flock on which the required data will be collected.

The results of the study will provide information required for breeding programs aimed at improving feed efficiency in indigenous chicken.