Comparative performance evaluation of Dahlem Red, native and their crosses under intensive management in Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

The present study compared the production performance of DR, Native, DN and DND crosses under intensive system of management. DN and DND crosses showed better growth and production performance compare to local Native parent birds. DND (75% DR inheritance) chicken performed better than DN cross (50% DR inheritance). The better performance of crosses indicated effective utilization and propagation under rural poultry farming system as low input technology birds. It is more beneficial to rear the crosses than local Native birds in Himachal Pradesh. Based on better performance of DND than DN, the former was recommended for development and propagation of Himsamridhi; location specific poultry variety. There is need for wider propagation of these birds in the state by development agencies. Future efforts are required for adaptability assessment of Himsamridhi birds in different agroclimatic region of the state under prevalent village poultry farming system. This will ascertain the suitability of developed cross at farmer’s level.

Biological evaluation of developed supplement feed (DSF) for egg quality parameters in LIT (Himsamridhi) birds

“…Similarly, lower estimate (5.74mm) was reported by Choudhuri et al (2014) [9] in endangered Nicobari fowl and its crosses under intensive and backyard system of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India). [14] reported HDEP of 83.23 in HS birds up-to 40 weeks reared in deep litter system. Dinesh et al (2021) [14] reported HDEP of 66.91 in Himsamridhi birds up-to 52 weeks reared in deep litter system whereas, Kalita et al (2009) [19] recorded lower egg production for indigenous chicken up to 72 weeks of age as 65.30±1.45.…”

“…[14] reported HDEP of 83.23 in HS birds up-to 40 weeks reared in deep litter system. Dinesh et al (2021) [14] reported HDEP of 66.91 in Himsamridhi birds up-to 52 weeks reared in deep litter system whereas, Kalita et al (2009) [19] recorded lower egg production for indigenous chicken up to 72 weeks of age as 65.30±1.45. Many of the earlier research reports have also highlighted the benefit of incorporating phyto-biotics in poultry feeding.…”

“…Many of the earlier research reports have also highlighted the benefit of incorporating phyto-biotics in poultry feeding. Feeding peppermint to laying birds has been reported to improve their ability to convert digested material into eggs (Adel-Wareth and Lohakare, 2014) [14] . Similarly, inclusion of dried Rosemary Leaf Meal (RLM) at a level of 5.2% (p<0.05) significantly improved the hens' day egg production compared to control (Kedir et al 2023) [21] .…”

“…To supply the local need for eggs and poultry meat, backyard poultry farming has acquired acceptance among the state's farming community. Consequently, from 2012 to 2019, the state's overall chicken population has increased by 21.46%, reaching 1.341 million birds (Dinesh et al 2021) [14] . Native chicken plays an important role in providing livelihood and food security to rural families (Roy et al 2018) [40] .…”