Morphological and morphometric characterization of Bulgarian local chicken breed – Southwest Bulgarian dzinka

Abstract

Abstract. The poultry genetic resources of the Republic of Bulgaria cover mostly the domestic chicken and domestic pigeon species. A number of introduced breeds of chickens are bred in the country, but also some local primitive and decorative breeds. Southwest Bulgarian dzinka is one of the three bantam chicken breeds that originated in Bulgaria. The aim of the study is to make a complete exterior characteristic of the Southwest Bulgarian dzinka breed. A phenotypic evaluation of a total of 29 roosters and 61 hens was performed. The mean body weight of roosters was 620.7±18.9 g and 492.7±8.42 g of hens. The birds are characterized by the presence of a small rose comb, beard and well feathered legs. The most common color of the plumage is spangled. The legs and beak are light in color, except for the black color of the plumage. The eyes are orange-red. The calculated Index for massiveness, Index of compactness and Index of long-leggedness for roosters were 5.35±0.13, 218.57±4.15 and 46.36±1.83, respectively, and 4.62±0.09, 214.62±3.60, 41.03±1.25 for hens.

Keywords

• bulgarian local breed
• genetic diversity
• poultry
• true bantam