On-Farm Phenotypic Characterization of Indigenous Chicken Ecotypes in the Western Tigray Region of Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted to characterize morphometric traits of indigenous chickens and determine the relationships among the traits in three agro-climatic regions of western zone of Tigray regional state of Ethiopia. Twenty- one morphometric traits from 770 local chickens (412 hens, 358 cocks) were measured and analyzed using the PROC GLM of SAS 2008. Tukey mean comparison was used to analyze significantly different traits. Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationships among the traits. Significant variations were found in most traits among ecotypes, with males showing higher values in many traits. <i>Kolla</i> chickens generally exhibited higher values, except for neck length, skull length, and wattle, earlobe, comb, and beak indices. Interactions between sex and ecotypes significantly affected the morphometric traits. The strength and direction of significant correlations among the quantitative traits varied across the chicken ecotypes and sexes. The variation in morphometric measurements among the chicken ecotypes is an indicator of genetic diversity in the study area, calling for a community-centered holistic genetic enhancement program.