Plumage colour in Padovana chicken breed: growth performance and carcass quality

Abstract

Padovana female chickens of two plumage varieties, chamois (PC) and silver (PS) and their cross (PC male × PS female) were reared from 1 d until 200 d of age, when they were slaughtered. PC has light brown feathers with white edge (chamois), PS has white feathers with black edge (silver); PCxPS has silver plumage (cross-S) or completely white plumage (cross-W) at a ratio, at hatching, of 1:2 as cross-S:cross-W. The chickens were kept in a breeder house from May until December. In a population of Padovana chickens, it seems to be a relationship between the colour plumage and body weight until the sexual maturity: from 2 weeks until 6 weeks of age the PC females exhibited a higher daily growth (p