Osei-Amponsah Richard, Kayang Boniface B, Naazie Augustine
Department of Animal Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2012 Jan;44(1):29-34. doi: 10.1007/s11250-011-0010-3. Epub 2011 Nov 10.
Characterisation of animal genetic resources has been recognised globally as an important step towards their sustainable use. Body weight data of local chickens (213 forest and 160 savannah chickens) and 183 French free-ranging SASSO T44 chickens kept under improved management were collected from hatch to 40 weeks of age and analysed to determine the effects of age, genotype and sex on their growth performance. At all ages, SASSO T44 chickens had significantly (P<0.05) higher weights (2.6-3.2 kg at 28 weeks) than the local chickens (1.2-1.7 kg at 28 weeks). The rate of growth at the earlier ages in the local genotypes (5.57-7.80 g/day) was lower than the range of 13.81-15.42 in SASSO T44 chickens. Except at hatch, savannah chickens were significantly heavier (P<0.05) than the forest chickens at all ages. Male chickens had significantly (P<0.05) superior growth rates than females across all genotypes except from the 20th to the 28th week. Growth trends in both sexes depicted linear increase in body weights; however, the rate of increase in body weights was higher in males as compared to females, thus showing clear sexual dimorphism. There were no significant (P>0.05) differences in the growth rates of SASSO T44 chickens and local genotypes at the later ages (20-28 weeks). Local chickens from the savannah zone had better growth rate than forest chickens. The significant effect of ecozone on the growth potential of local chickens is an indication that their productive potential could be improved through interventions in the environment such as provision of feed and some veterinary care.
动物遗传资源的特性描述在全球范围内已被视为迈向其可持续利用的重要一步。收集了本地鸡（213只林鸡和160只草原鸡）以及183只在改良管理条件下饲养的法国散养SASSO T44鸡从孵化到40周龄的体重数据，并进行分析以确定年龄、基因型和性别对其生长性能的影响。在所有年龄段，SASSO T44鸡的体重（28周龄时为2.6 - 3.2千克）均显著高于本地鸡（28周龄时为1.2 - 1.7千克）（P<0.05）。本地基因型鸡在早期的生长速度（5.57 - 7.80克/天）低于SASSO T44鸡的13.81 - 15.42克/天的范围。除孵化时外，草原鸡在所有年龄段均显著重于林鸡（P<0.05）。除第20周龄至第28周龄外，所有基因型的雄性鸡生长速度均显著高于雌性鸡（P<0.05）。两性的生长趋势均呈现体重线性增加；然而，雄性鸡体重增加的速度高于雌性鸡，从而显示出明显的性别二态性。在后期（20 - 28周龄），SASSO T44鸡和本地基因型鸡的生长速度没有显著差异（P>0.05）。来自草原地区的本地鸡比林鸡具有更好的生长速度。生态区域对本地鸡生长潜力的显著影响表明，通过诸如提供饲料和一些兽医护理等环境干预措施，可以提高它们的生产潜力。
