Hungarian goose production and gene conservation practices have been a tradition in Hungary for several centuries. The old Hungarian geese can only be effectively maintained if the national programs can identify economic uses of the breed. This study aimed to examine the potential use of the Hungarian landrace goose (HL) either as a purebred or crossbred with the Hungarian Upgraded breed (HU). Crossbred offspring were produced by HL ganders and HU layers, as egg production of HL layers is very low. Reproduction traits (egg production, fertility and hatchability) of parent stocks, body weight gain, feed consumption and slaughter values (slaughter loss, breast and thigh weight and proportions) and of offspring were measured. The results showed that fertility in the crossbred geese was insignificant compared to the fertility of HL purebreds, while hatchability of crossbreds was higher than that of purebred HL or HU. HL offspring had significantly lower bodyweight and weight gain, and a higher feed conversion rate than HU. The proportion of valuable meat parts (breast and thigh) was the highest in HU while weight in slaughter loss was also the highest in HU. In terms of body weight, feed conversion rate and slaughter properties, crossbred offspring showed intermediate inheritance. HL is recommended for crossbreeding with HU breeds and their offspring should be reared under free-range keeping conditions.
Guinea fowl is considered a Hungarian poultry species, which adapted a long time ago, with excellent meat quality, very good ability to acclimatise to different conditions, resistance, wild and seeking habits with low costs of keeping, which make guinea fowl one of the best poultry species for natural production. In 2002, the Association of Hungarian Small Animal Breeders for Gene Conservation (MGE) and Institute for Small Animal Research, previously named HaGK-Research Centre for Farm Animal Gene Conservation (KÁTKI) exported the first guinea-fowl population to Vietnam for adaptation study with regards to the indigenous animal genetic conservation. At first, the guinea fowl was experimentally reared in the Poultry Research Centre (POREC), located in the subtropical region of North Vietnam. Following the success of this adaptation experiment, the present study aimed to contribute to the expansion of the old Hungarian guinea fowl to tropical regions in South Vietnam (Dong Nai and the Mekong Delta). During the 13th week rearing period the mortality rate of guinea fowls was lower than 3% in both regions. The average body weight and the feed conversion of guinea fowls recorded in Dong Nai and the Mekong Delta, during the 13rd week were 1269±64g (n=487) vs 1610±64g (n=489; P<0.05) respectively and 3.43 vs 2.92kg feed/kg body weight gain (P<0.001) respectively. In Dong Nai, the egg production reached 71% (1205 eggs/242 hens/week) and hatchability ranged between 31% (61/200) and 72% (495/690). Despite differences of performance between groups, results show successful adaptation of guinea fowls to underprivileged regions of South Vietnam. This study could be the first step for further integrating the Hungarian guinea
The aim of this study was to investigate the adaptation and possible ex situ conservation in a subtropical region of the Partridge coloured Hungarian (PH), a native Hungarian chicken breed, by monitoring and comparing the performance of two PH flocks reared in parallel in Hungary (HU) and Vietnam (VN). The high survival rate (95.0–96.5%), overall productivity and reproductive ability of the VN flock confirmed the adaptation potential of PH chickens to subtropical climates. A relatively good bodyweight (1412 ± 13.8 g) and slaughter yield (75.6 ± 0.02% eviscerated carcass and 28.2 ± 0.12% deboned thigh meat) in male VN birds at 12 weeks of age was obtained. Moreover, it was found that benefits such as the number of eggs (112 eggs/layer in 7 months) and egg mass (6.1 kg/layer) alongside considerably higher fertility (85.9 ± 2.9%) and hatchability (82.0 ± 3.2%) of VN layers could outweigh their reduced egg size. As a result, the study confirms that the adaptation and maintenance of populations in subtropical regions is a promising agro-ecological way to protect native Hungarian chicken breeds and improve their involvement in production.
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