Comparative study of growth performance, egg production, egg characteristics and haemato-biochemical parameters of Desi, Fayoumi and Rhode Island Red chicken

A total of 2001 un-sexed day-old chicks of each Desi, Fayoumi and Rhode Island Red (RIR) breeds were obtained from hatchery of Poultry Research Institute, Rawalpindi. The birds were maintained on deep litter system for a period of 72 weeks. In floor pens, each breed was reared separately in a single pen until seven weeks of age when 2001 birds were randomly distributed between pens, with 21 to 24 birds of the same breed per pen (2.00 to 2.50 ft²/bird). The results revealed that the average day-old weight was highest in RIR, intermediate in Desi and lowest in Fayoumi. The RIR breed consumed more feed and gained maximum (p<0.05) weight than those of Desi and Fayoumi breeds at all ages of growing phase. The feed conversion was poor (p<0.05) in Desi and better in RIR breed. Desi and Fayoumi chicks had lowest (p<0.05) mortality than RIR breed. The breast and thigh meat composition was found non-significant (p>0.05) amongst three breeds. The age of sexual maturity was lowest in Fayoumi followed by RIR and Desi. The highest egg production was obtained by RIR with 41% followed by Fayoumi (36%) and the Desi breed (29%). The egg weight and egg mass were highest (p<0.05) in RIR, but non-significant (p>0.05) differences were found between Fayoumi and Desi breeds. The internal egg quality parameters including yolk weight, albumen weight, yolk plus albumin weight and albumin height were significantly higher in RIR breed than those of Fayoumi and Desi breeds. However, shell and yolk thickness did not differ significantly amongst three breeds. There was non-significant (p>0.05) difference in blood glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, calcium, protein, uric acid and alkaline phosphatase values amongst three breeds. There was non-significant (p>0.05) difference in haematological values among all breeds. The total erythrocyte count, haemoglobin and packed cell volume increased with the advancement of age. However, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin values decreased gradually with the advancement of age. It may be concluded that overall RIR chickens performed better than Fayoumi and Desi chickens. However, early age of sexual maturity was noticed in Fayoumi chickens, and low mortality was observed in Desi chickens.