Poultry is the second largest industry of Pakistan and a significant proportion of poultry products (meat and eggs) originates from the rural poultry production system which is an important source of livelihood for about 80% of the rural households in Pakistan. The quest for greater production through the use of exotic breeds has created difficulties for backyard production systems and is dangerous on economic, social and scientific grounds. This practice is also resulting in rapid erosion of indigenous genetic resources.
The commercial sector itself may require access to indigenous genotypes as its genetic base is quite narrow and for catering the future needs industry may require improvement in many other characteristics (for instance, adaptability and disease resistance) in addition to just egg and meat yield enhancement. Unfortunately, in many countries the indigenous breeds have not been studied for their potential uses and benefits and have been indiscriminately cross bred with exotic breeds. Therefore, it is crucial to study and characterize the indigenous breeds and generate necessary information to be used in future to reap maximum benefits. The generated knowledge would provide useful information essential for conservation of indigenous genetic resources.
The knowledge about the morphological attributes of native chickens has not been adequately documented on technical and scientific grounds. Keeping this in view the present study was planned and data on qualitative and quantitative traits regarding the morphology were collected on Aseel and Naked-neck chickens using a specially designed performa.All recorded data were entered in MS Excel 2010 spreadsheets. The qualitative parameters were expressed as percentages and quantitative parameters were expressed as mean ± standard error.
A great variation in plumage colors and patterns was observed in both Aseel and Naked-neck chickens. The Aseel chickens possessed a pea comb whereas Naked-neck chickens possessed single comb. Also it was interesting to note that about 10% of Aseel hens possessed spurs however spurs were absent in Naked-neck females. On the basis of quantitative traits,it was found that the Naked neck chickens were smaller in size than the Aseel chickens regarding body weight (Aseel: 1938.7±36.9 g in females and 2317±98.4 g in males; Naked neck: 1160.4±19.3 g in females and 1415±22.2 in males), shank length (Aseel: 8.1±0.1 cm in females and 10.3±0.1 cm in males; Naked neck: 7.5±0.05 cm in females and 8.6±0.1 cm in males), shank circumference (Aseel: 44.2±0.5 mm in females and 52.4±1.1 mm in males; Naked neck: 36.5±0.7 mm in females and 41.4±0.5 mm in males), and keel length (Aseel: 15.1±0.1 cm in females and 16.0±0.2 cm in males; Naked-neck: 14.1±0.2 cm in females and 14.7±0.1 cm in males).
The information about indigenous Aseel and Naked-neck chickens documented in the present study can be used as reference in future for conservation and breed improvement programs.