Asmara IY, Garnida D, Tanwiriah W, Partasasmita R. 2019. Qualitative morphological diversity of female Pelung Chickens in West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 126-133. Pelung chickens are indigenous chickens in Indonesia derived from Cianjur District, West Java Province. The chickens which are raised as singing chickens have a distinctive body shape compared to other local chickens. Regular contests are conducted as a media to show singing ability and performance including morphological characteristics of Pelung chickens. Pelung keepers believe that the chickens inherited their singing capability from their parents. Pelung keepers perceived qualitative traits for example plumage color as an indicator of a good female breed. The objective of this study was to determine the qualitative traits of female Pelung Chickens in West Java. This study recorded comb type, color of eye, beak, skin, plumage and shank including traditional name related to the morphological traits. A survey was conducted to gather data involving 160 chickens in four districts in West Java Province, including Cianjur, Sukabumi, Bandung, and Garut Districts. The results showed that adult female Pelung chickens have similar qualitative characteristics except for plumage color. The majority of pelung chickens in Bandung, Garut, and Sukabumi have black plumage, while in Cianjur District have yellow-brown color. The chicken contest seems to be the main factor dictating keepers’ preferences in terms of plumage color in Bandung, Garut and Sukabumi Districts. This study indicates a decreasing variation in plumage color of female Pelung chickens. These findings are important in terms of breeding strategy of Pelung chickens.

Abstract. Asmara IY, Garnida D, Setiawan I, Partasasmita R. 2019. Short Communication: Phenotypic diversity of male pelung chickens in West Java Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 2243-2248. Pelung chickens are indigenous chickens from Cianjur District, West Java Province, Indonesia. The male chickens have long and beautiful crowing and have a distinct body figure compared to other indigenous chickens. Chicken contests are conducted regularly as media to show singing ability and body performance of Pelung chickens. Pelung chickens raised in different areas may have different phenotypic characteristics due to keeper preferences. Also, the phenotypic characteristics of the winners of chicken contests may influence keepers to select their chickens. The objective of this study was to determine the phenotypic characteristics of male Pelung Chickens in different areas in West Java, Indonesia. Comb type, as well as the color of eye, beak, skin, plumage, and shank, were recorded in the study. Data were collected through a survey involving 160 male birds in four different districts in West Java Province including Cianjur, Sukabumi, Bandung and Garut Districts. Key informant interview was carried out to support quantitative data. The results showed a limited variation of phenotypic characteristics among male Pelung chickens. Comb type, as well as skin and plumage colors, are criteria to select male Pelung chickens. Phenotypic characteristics of contest winners are also a reference for Pelung keepers in breeding selection.

Abstract. Asmara IY, Garnida D, Partasasmita R. 2020. Crowing characteristics of Pelung chickens at different age and body weight. Biodiversitas 21: 4339-4344. Crowing characteristics such as duration, frequency, and intensity are important factors to consider in determining a good Pelung. Age and body weight are among other factors being assumed to affect crowing characteristics. The study was conducted to determine the crowing characteristics of different age and body weight. A survey was carried out in Bandung, Cianjur, and Sukabumi Districts, West Java Province, Indonesia in which a total of 98 birds was selected using a purposive technique. The observed parameters were the duration, frequency, and intensity of crowing. The duration was the length of crowing measured by seconds. Frequency is several crowing in a particular time measured by times. Intensity is the magnitude of crowing measured by decibel. The crowing was recorded from 7 AM-2 PM. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and Mann-Whitney U Test to compare data differences between research areas. The study found that the crowing duration of Pelung roosters tends to increase in older birds, but the decrease in heavier birds. Crowing frequency increase along with age and body weight. Crowing intensity is similar in different age groups, while the intensity tends to decrease in the heavier group. The results provide evidence that age and body weight of chickens are an important aspect in Pelung contest and age should be considered as a new category in Pelung contest.

Asmara IY, Widjastuti T, Setiawan I, Abun, Partasasmita P. 2018. The growth performances and the gut health parameters of Sentul chickens supplemented with various dosage of turmeric powder. Nusantara Bioscience 10: 121-125. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of turmeric powder (0, 1, 2, 3 g/kg) on production performance and the number of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in the intestine of Sentul chickens. The results showed that addition of 3 g/kg of turmeric powder to diet significantly reduced feed intake (FI) and improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) of Sentul Chickens aged 9-16 weeks. The birds fed with control diet had the highest number of S. aureus and E. coli, while the birds fed with the diets added with 2 and 3 g/kg turmeric powder had the lowest number of bacteria. The study reveals that increasing levels of turmeric powder in diets had positive effects on bird’s performance and the number of intestinal bacteria. It can be concluded that a level of 3 g/kg turmeric powder in diets gave the best result due to significantly improved FCR.

Sentul chicken is a specific local chicken from the Ciamis region in West Java and a dual-purpose type that can be utilized for eggs and meat production. The use of antibiotics continuously for maintenance to prevent and treat disease in Sentul chicken can lead residues in meat and eggs. To wean farmers for the antibiotic, it is necessary to find a natural antibiotic derived from herbal plants that Mangosteen Peel Extract (MPE). Mangosteen Peel Extract (MPE) is containing xanthone compounds like antioxidants and antimicrobials. This research was held to find out the effect of mangosteen peel extract on feed consumption, hen day production, feed conversion, and egg quality. This research used 40 female chickens aged seven months, which was kept in cages until three months, and each cage contains 2 chickens. The method used was a completely randomized design with four treatments namely P0 (ration without MPE), P1 (ration with 67 ml/kg MPE addition), P2 (addition of 100 ml/kg MPE) and P3 (addition of 133 ml/kg MPE) with five replications. Furthermore, treatment differences were tested using Duncan Multiple Range Test. The measured variables were feed consumption, egg weight, hen day production, feed conversion, thick of shell, egg yolk color, and egg cholesterol. The results showed the addition of MPE 133 ml/kg ration had a significant effect on egg production, egg weight, feed conversion, the thickness of eggshell, the color of egg yolk, and egg cholesterol but not significant to feed consumption, yolk index score and Haugh unit. It can be concluded that MPE can be used as a feed additive until 133 ml/kg ration to gave the best on production and egg quality of Sentul chicken.

Asmara IY, Garnida D, Sulisytati M, Tejaningsih S, Partasasmita R. 2018. Ethnoveterinary medicine and health managementof Pelung Chicken in West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 1502-1508. Pelung chicken is a race group of chickens. The spread ofPelung chicken is in the district of Cianjur, and now become widespread to several districts in West Java. The spread of Pelung chickendoes occur because as a poultry, it is attractive to people who like to keep the chicken. The chickens are mainly raised as singingchickens. Some studies showed that health-management practices and disease control measures present challenges in maintaining theexistence of the chickens. A survey was carried out to determine health management and the use of ethnoveterinary in raising Pelungchickens. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data involving 131 Pelung keepers in four districts in West Java Provinceincluding Cianjur, Sukabumi, Bandung and Garut Districts. The data was analyzed using descriptive analysis. The result showed thatrespiratory diseases such as Snot (Infectious Coryza) and Tetelo (Newcastle Disease) were main diseases for Pelung chickens.Vaccination combined with ethnoveterinary medicines was a common practice for Pelung keepers to prevent and cure chicken diseases.More than five major medicinal plants were found to be used to cure various chicken diseases in which leaves of papaya and turmericwere the most mentioned by respondents. Documentation and investigations regarding plant properties and their applications for Pelungchickens disease cure should be carried in the future. A combination of vaccination, ethnoveterinary medicine and good hygiene arerequired to control deadly diseases such as Newcastle Disease. Government intervention would be required to improve keepers' skillsand awareness in chicken health management.

Animal genetic resources such as indigenous chickens are part of biodiversity. Sentul chickens are one of indigenous chickens in Indonesia which are regarded as local to Ciamis District in West Java. It is reported that the population of pure Sentul Chickens are in decline. This study was aimed to find out the current population of pure Sentul chickens in three areas in West Java and to develop a conservation strategy to safeguard Sentul chickens in the future. The study used qualitative method to gather data including literature review and key informant interviews. The informants consisted of a leader of farmer group and managers of breeding centers.The interviews were carried out in Ciamis, Majelengka and Bogor Districts. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. The results indicated that population of Sentul chickens in Ciamis are in decline, while population in areas outside Ciamis such as Bogor tend to increase. There is a need to develop an in-situ conservation program in which Ciamis District should be assigned to be the center area to provide pure Sentul chickens in West Java. To support the conservation program, stakeholders such as local government, research institutions, universities and farmer groups play important roles.

Abstract. Asmara IY, Garnida D, Partasasmita R. 2020. Short Communication: Duration and volume of crowing of Pelung chickens of West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 748-752. Pelung are long crowing chickens originally from West Java Province, Indonesia. The chickens are raised as singing birds due to their beautiful crowing capability. Nowadays, the chickens are distributed not only in West Java, Indonesia but also in other provinces in Indonesia because of the existence of Pelung contests. The contests evaluate singing ability of Pelung chickens and are important promotion media for the birds. In contests, crowing characteristics such as duration and intensity are important factors to determine the quality of chickens. Some factors such as age, body weight, and body morphometrics are assumed to influence crowing characteristics. The study was aimed to determine crowing duration and volume in Pelung roosters, as well as correlations of age, body weight and body morphometrics with crowing characteristics. A survey was performed to collect data involving 73 birds in two areas in West Java Province. The research locations are Cianjur and Sukabumi Districts. The results showed that roosters in all areas have similar crowing durations, while their crowing intensities are varied. The study also found that age and body weight, as well as some body-morphometries, have strong correlations with crowing characteristics. The research provides empirical evidence of factors determining vocal performance of Pelung chickens. However, more samples from different areas are required to support these findings. In addition, research on management systems, health status and participation of chickens in rehearsal is needed in the future.