Abstract:
This study was conducted to characterize indigenous chicken ecotypes phenotypically and their
husbandry practices in Sekela, Burie and Jabitehnan districts of, West Gojjam zone, Amhara
region, Ethiopia. A total of 352 households were participated in the interviews, and for the
phenotypic characterization 535 (417 female and 118 male from all districts) chickens were
taken to describe qualitative and quantitative traits following standard chicken descriptors.
Qualitative traits for phenotypic characterization and qualitative data of the survey were
analyzed using descriptive statistics of SPSS 27. Quantitative data for the phenotypic
characterization were analyzed using SAS 9.4. Livestock production in general and chicken
production in particular, is an integral part of the socioeconomic well-being of people living in
low income countries such as Ethiopia. Normal feather morphology, normal feather distribution
and absence of shank feather were the main characteristic of local chicken populations in the
study areas. Red, greyish and reddish brown were the most frequently observed plumage colour
types in almost all study areas, with the overall values of 38.3%, 29.1%, and 15.3%,
respectively. The overall mean body weight for mature cocks and hen were 2.11kg and 1.46kg
respectively. The average flock size of indigenous chickens were 7.32±2.57(chicks 4.07±2.99,
pullets 1.92±1.50, cockerel 1.47±1.02, cock 1.35±0.56, hen 2.75±1.04). Purpose of rearing
indigenous chickens were for Source of income (index=0.36), home consumption (Egg & Meat)
(index=0.35), and cultural and religious ceremonies (index=0.29) The major constraints of
poultry production perceived by the community in their order of importance in ranking index
were disease (0.28), predation (0.27), feed shortage (0.26) and lack of veterinary service (0.22).
Poultry breeding policy should be designed based on selection and trait preference of farmers.