Production Performance, Egg Quality and Biochemical Parameters of Three Way Crossbred Chickens with Reciprocal F₁ Crossbred Chickens in Sub-Tropical Environment

Figures & data

Table 1. Ingredients and nutrients composition of diets fed to experimental birds during different phases of growth.

	Wk 18-30	Wk 31-45	Wk 46-72
Ingredients, %
Corn	49.65	52.00	54.00
Rice	9.00	10.00	10.90
Rice polish	6.00	6.34	6.00
Soybean meal	15.00	13.00	12.00
Canola meal	5.00	4.00	4.00
Corn gluten meal, 60%	5.00	5.00	4.00
Fish meal	5.00	4.00	3.00
Lime stone	2.50	3.00	3.00
DCP	2.00	2.00	2.50
NaCl	0.25	0.30	0.25
Premix^°	0.30	0.30	0.30
DL- Methionine	0.05	0.06	0.05
Total	100.00	100.00	100.00
Calculated composition
ME, kcal/kg	2800	2800	2800
CP, %	17.5	16.5	16
CF, %	4.55	4.90	5.00
EE, %	3.44	3.50	3.35
Ca, %	4.10	4.20	4.30
Available phosphate, %	0.52	0.55	0.54
Lysine, %	0.75	0.85	0.90
Methionine, %	0.35	0.40	0.42

°Supplied per Kg of diet: vit. A, 12,000 U; vit. D₃, 2200 U; vit. E, 10 mg; vit. K₃, 2mg; vit. B₁, 1 mg; vit. B₂, 5 mg; vit. B₆, 1.5 mg; vit. B₁₂, 0.01 mg; nicotinic acid, 30 mg; folic acid, 1 mg; pantothenic acid, 10 mg; biotin, 0.05 mg; choline chloride, 500 mg; copper, 10 mg; iron, 30 mg; manganese, 60 mg; zinc, 50 mg; iodine, 1 mg; selenium, 0.1 mg; cobalt, 0.1 mg. ME, metabolizable energy; CP, crude protein, CF, crude fibre; EE, ether extracts.

Table 2. Comparative performance of crossbred chickens during production phase (18-72 weeks).

		Breeds		P value
	RIFI	FIRI	RLH
Age at first egg, d	146±2.51	149±1.51	150±1.50	0.800
Egg production, %	54±1.51^c	60±1.50^b	72.20±1.54^a	0.004
Average no. of eggs/hen	178±2.01	198±1.98	210±1.90	-
Feed intake, g/hen/day	112±2.50^b	115±2.35^a	110.96±2.33^b	0.005
Feed efficiency, g feed:g egg mass	4.41±0.20^a	4.03±0.15^b	2.56±0.20^c	0.100
Mortality	5.0±0.18	4.1±0.17	4.0±0.13	0.500
Egg weight, g	47±0.60^b	47.5±0.56^b	57.00±0.55^a	0.090
Egg mass, g/d/bird^°	25.38±0.41^c	28.50±0.35^b	43.32±0.48^a	0.130
Yolk weight, g	15.82±0.510	16.00±0.277	16.20±0.510	0.150
Albumen weight, g	23.65±0.170	24.20±0.190	25.80±1.10	0.100
Yolk + albumen weight, g	39±0.550	40±0.540	42.60±0.510	0.090
Albumen height, cm	0.70±0.05	0.80±0.04	0.84±0.03	0.081
Shell thickness, mm	0.27±0.129	0.28±0.130	0.34±0.126	0.810
Yolk thickness, cm	1.45±0.075	1.50±0.171	1.52±0.165	0.600

°Egg mass, (egg production × egg weight)/100.

^a-cMeans with different letters differ significantly (P>0.05). RIFI, Rhode Island Red male x Fayoumi female; FIRI, Fayoumi male x Rhode Island Red female; RLH, White Leghorn male x FIRI female.

Table 3. Mean values of plasma glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol, uric acid, calcium, protein and alkaline phosphatase in crossbred chickens at 32 weeks of age.

	Breeds		Reference^°		P value
RIFI	FIRI	RLH
Glucose, g/dL	215.00±13.00	240.00±11.00	257.00±08.00	197-299	0.610
Triglycerides, mg/dL	560.50±70.10	590.50±65.00	595.5±78.50	-	0.650
Cholesterol, mg/dL	138.00±10.00	130.7±09.00	134.33±20.20	129-297	0.850
Calcium, mg/dL	10.57±0.67	10.89±0.80	10.75±0.45	8.1-12	0.560
Protein, mg/dL	05.20±0.30	5.10±0.24	5.17± 0.22	3-4.9	0.510
Uric acid, mg/dL	4.20±0.43	4.70±0.41	5.20±0.34	1.9-12.5	0.650
Alkaline phosphatase, U/L	1100±80.30	1090±79.90	108±70.19	10-106	0.880

°Reference values of Clinical Diagnostic Division (1990). RIFI, Rhode Island Red male x Fayoumi female; FIRI, Fayoumi male x Rhode Island Red female; RLH, White Leghorn male x FIRI female.