Effect of Egg Weight on Chick Hatch-Weight and Productivity of Indigenous Naked Neck Chickens Raised under Intensive Management System

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effect of egg weight on chick hutch-weight and productivity of indigenous Naked neck chickens. A total of 300 Naked neck chicks hatched from three egg weight categories (Large: > 55 g, medium: 45 - 55 g and small: < 45 g) were assigned into three treatments in a complete randomized design. The chickens were fed on isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets. Hatch-weight, live weight, weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and mortality: were influenced (p<0.05) by the egg weight at both the initial and final growth Stages with the chicks from large sized-eggs having a better value except from the mortality in which the chicks from the medium sized-eggs having lower mortalities (3.43 % and 0.49 fb). All carcass characteristics measured were influenced (p<0.05) by the weight of hatched eggs. The chickens from large sized-eggs had higher values except in the thighs and drum slicks in which the medium had a higher value (193.48 g and 142.24 g, respectively). This result suggests that the use of large sized-eggs appears to be more desirable for indigenous Naked neck chicken production.