Chicken productive performance in Ethiopia: Review

To upgrade the country’s poultry production and to satisfy the rising demand for poultry products, several studies have been conducted in different parts of Ethiopia on the productive performance of indigenous, crosses, and exotic chicken breeds. However, there were inconsistencies between these studies. Therefore; this review was conducted to assess the productive characteristics of indigenous, exotic, and their crosses. The contribution of exotic and crossbreed chickens to the total poultry population in Ethiopia is lower than the contribution in other African countries. The day-od weight for indigenous, cross, and exotic breeds ranges from 22.2-37, 27.0-40.1, and 28.7 to 42.0 g, respectively. The indigenous, crosses and exotic male and female chicken age at sexual maturity body weight reported in different parts of Ethiopia range from 1044.7-2010.0 and 642-1116.5, 1050-1780 and 1054-1600 and 1300-3020 and 1000-1940 g, respectively. The indigenous chickens are performing lower in egg number (34-65 eggs/year/hen) and egg weight (38-42.2 g) than the crossbreed and exotic chickens. The annual egg production potential of exotic and crossbreed chickens under backyard conditions and intensive systems ranges between 117.3 and 276 eggs. The crossbreed and exotic chickens are better for their egg number, egg weight, and weight at day-old and mature age than indigenous chickens. From this review, it is concluded that there is variation in chicken productive performance in different parts of the country.