ASSESSMENT OF HUSBANDRY PRACTICES, EGG PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE AND EGG QUALITY TRAITS OF CHICKENS IN THE BAKA DAWULA DISTRICT, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

This study assessed the husbandry practices, egg production performances, egg quality traits, and constraints and opportunities for chicken production in Baka Dawula district. Six kebeles were selected based on production practices and availability of different chicken breeds. A total of 168 respondent households were interviewed and 108 eggs (36 from each breed) were evaluated based on their internal and external qualities. The majority of respondent households (86.9%) practiced scavenging type of feeding with maize, wheat and sunflower supplementation. All the respondent households provided free water access to their chickens. The majority (66%) of respondents kept their chickens in separate houses. The health care practiced was mainly traditional using plants extracts. The main purpose for chicken keeping was income generation followed by stock replacement. The average ages at first-egg laying for local and exotic (Sasso and Bovans brown) breeds were 7 and 5 months, respectively. The total number of eggs produced per hen per year was 206.79, 192.35 and 55.75 for Sasso, Bovans brown, and local breeds respectively. Most external and internal egg quality traits varied significantly (P<0.05) between agro ecologies and chicken breeds. Generally, the egg production performance of the exotic chickens was higher than the local breed.

Keywords

• chicken
• egg
• production
• quality
• husbandry practices