Abstract
The rational of conservation and sustainable use of indigenous chicken (IC) resources requires their morphobiometrical characterisation. This study morphobiometrically characterised the IC ecotypes in Rwanda. The morphological features and zoometric measurement data were randomly collected on 1670 mature IC of both sexes from five ecotypes of Rwanda. The nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U test were used in evaluating the effect of ecotypes on the qualitative morphological variables. Zoometric measurements were analysed with the PROC GLM of SAS. The findings showed that the feather morphology and distribution were mainly normal (98.3 and 84.40%, respectively) while feather colour was dominated with multicoloured (38.10%). The majority of the birds had red earlobe (49.20%), yellow shanks (53.80%) and single comb-type (71.70%). These parameters were different (p < 0.05) between the ecotypes. Bodyweight and linear body measurements were highly different (P < 0.001) between ecotypes. Differences associated with sex (P < 0.001) were observed in body weight and linear body measurements. The interaction between ecotype and sex significantly (P < 0.001) influenced body weight, body length, shank length, comb length, comb height, wattle length, chest circumference, neck length and wingspan. The IC ecotypes in Rwanda were found to be diverse morphobiometrically both in quantitative and qualitative traits. These variations provide a foundation for classification of the chicken into breeds.
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This material is based upon work supported by the United States Agency for International Development, as part of the Feed the Future initiative, under the CGIAR Fund, award number BFS-G-11-00002, and the predecessor fund the Food Security and Crisis Mitigation II grant, award number EEM-G-00-04-00013.
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All applicable international, national, and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. The study was approved by the ethical clearance committee of the College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda with the reference number: 031/19/DRI September 2, 2019.
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Habimana, R., Ngeno, K., Mahoro, J. et al. Morphobiometrical characteristics of indigenous chicken ecotype populations in Rwanda. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 24 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-020-02475-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-020-02475-4