Growth rate and egg production of Creole and Rhode Island red x Creole fowls.

In Guyana 3 experiments were conducted using 1,440 chicks and 640 pullets and the same number of hens in a randomised block design to determine the growth rate, egg production, and egg fertility and hatchability of 1/2 Creole x 1/2 Rhode Island Red (CR) and 3/4 Rhode Island Red x 1/4 Creole (CRR) fowls compared with the parental strains of Creole (C) and Rhode Island Red (R) fowls. The growth rate of CR and CRR was higher than C, but lower (P < 0.05) than R. Total egg production per hen housed during the pullet year was 59.5, 106.8, 130.7 and 171.8 for C, CR, CRR and R respectively and they were all significantly (P < 0.05) different. There were no significant (P > 0.05) differences between the 4 strains for fertility and hatchability percentages of the eggs which averaged 87.8 and 88.9 respectively. The level of production was comparatively high and mortality low enough for the crossbreds to be recommended for small holder poultry development, although the feed cost of production would be higher for CRR than for CR.