Variability of carcass traits of local poultry populations of Gallus gallus species of Benin

Abstract

The local poultry population of Benin is composed of various ecotypes including chickens Holli, Sahoue, Fulani, North and South. To better characterize them, our study aims to assess their carcass traits according to genetic type, breeding system and slaughter age. Thus, 260 chickens of which 52 chickens of each ecotype were divided in two lots and reared respectively under traditional and improved breeding system. For each breeding system, 26 cockerels of each ecotype were slaughtered at 20, 24 and 28 weeks old for carcass traits study. The results show that the live weight, the carcass weight, the weight of the cuts of thigh-drumsticks and wings of Holli chickens were the highest (p<0.001). The lowest live weight and carcass weight were noted in South ecotype (p<0.001). The carcass yields of the five genetic types of chicken were similar (p>0.05). The breast weight of Holli and Fulani were similar (p>0.05) but heavier (p<0.001) than the one of Sahoue, North and South ecotypes. The live weight and the carcass weight of chickens reared under improved breeding system were higher than those of traditional system (p<0.01). The carcass drip loss was more important in chickens bred under traditional system (p<0.001). The live weight and the carcass cuts value were significantly affected by slaughter age (p<0.001). The best carcass yields were recorded at 24 weeks (p<0.001) for both rearing systems. Therefore, the ideal slaughter age of indigenous chickens of Benin is 24 weeks. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2013.