Comparative Evaluation of Growth Efficiency, Morphometric Development, and Carcass Yield among Three Naked Neck Chicken Varieties at Different Parental Ages

Abstract

Poultry production is a very important activity in sustaining food security and providing some income, as well as fostering sustainable livestock production in developing nations. The current research paper identifies a detailed comparative analysis of growth efficiency, morphometric development, and carcass yield of three varieties of indigenous Naked Neck chicken raised on parents of different ages. Growth efficiency, skeletal development, and carcass traits were measured independently and then formulated to give an integrated interpretation to establish varietal response to parental age. In general, parental age has had a significant effect on the performance of progeny. Offspring of the aged parents showed an enhancement in growth efficiency and better morphometric development, which indicated better skeletal growth and morphometric conformation. Conversely, offspring of younger parents exhibited relatively high dressing percentage, indicating that there is a disparity in body composition and balance in edible portions distribution. There were also varietal differences that were observed in all categories of traits. Black Naked Neck chicken continued to perform better than the light brown and dark brown types in growth efficiency, morphometrics, and carcass yield, which means that there was a positive genetic potential for producing meat. The results have highlighted the need to assess a combination of various performance characteristics as opposed to separately when making breeding and management strategies with indigenous poultry.