On-Farm Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Chicken, in Dire and Yabello Districts, Borena Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

This study was conducted in two districts of Borena zone (Ethiopia), with the objectives to characterize phenotypically the indigenous chicken types in the study sites. The study involved both qualitative and quantitative types of research. A total of 480 chickens (144 male and 336 female) aged more than 6 months for the quantitative study were considered in this study. Descriptive statistics, frequency procedures, general linear model, univariate and multivariate analysis were used with SAS 9.1.3 to analyze the data. SPSS package was used to analyze qualitative data. Qualitative traits such as plumage color, comb type, shank color, eye, earlobe color, and skin color were used for the study. Quantitative traits included: body weight and linear morphometric measurements such as shank length, body length, wattle length, wingspan, chest circumference, comb width, and comb length. The result of this study revealed that white, red, and brown plumage color was dominated in the study area. The local chickens possessed variants in shank color, skin color, comb type, and eye color. White shanks, white skin, single combs, and red earlobe color were predominately seen across both the study districts. The mean body weights of indigenous male and female chickens were 1.623± 0.229 kg and 1.313 ± 0.81 kg, respectively. Large comb, wattle, and long legs were observed in the study areas. Generally, morphological and morphometric variations were observed between and within the indigenous chicken populations, which suggests that there is an opportunity for genetic improvement through selection.