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Abstract
Jiang, R.S., Xia, W.T., Chen, X.Y., Geng, Z.Y. and Hu, Z.Y. 2010. Density of contour feathers and heat tolerance in chickens. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 38: 253–255.
To evaluate correlation between density of contour feathers and heat tolerance, 184 males and 98 females (49 d) of Anak 40 (♂) × Lingnan (♀) were maintained at 25 to 28C. After 2 weeks house temperature was increased to 38C and maintained for the next 96 h. RH ranged between 40 and 50%. Approximately 80% of the chickens died with mortality occurring between 1.5 to 81.5 h, indicating the broad variation of heat tolerance among individuals. Chickens that died within 24 h had higher (P<0.05) feather density than the survivors. Correlations between density of contour feathers and survival duration were −0.61 (P<0.01) and −0.34 (P<0.05) in males and females, respectively. Results indicated that the density of contour feather can be regarded as a phenotypic marker for heat tolerance in chickens.