BREEDS OF POULTRY

CLASSIFICATION OF POULTRY

• The Red jungle fowl is the most commonly found wild species in the world today and is considered the main ancestor of the domestic chicken.

• The chicken belongs to the genus Gallus of the family Phasianidae.

• Domestic chickens are simply classified as Gallus domesticus.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION OF FOWL

Kingdom: Animalia

• Phylum: Chordata

• Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Aves(Birds)

Order: Galliformes

Family : Phasianidea

• Genus: Gallus

• Species: Gallus

Gallus gallus(Red jungle fowl)

Gallus domesticus(Domestic chickens)

BASIS OF CLASSIFICATION

1. Meat production (broilers)

2. Egg production (Layers)

3. Dual Purpose .

BREEDS

• There are over 100 recognized chicken breeds in the world. Choosing the best breed can be challenging, and this lecture will make aware of the various breeds and varieties, and will provide necessary information so that poultry farmers can select the right type for given situation.

AUSTRALORP: It have black plumage with an intense

beetle-green sheen. The cocks usually weigh 4 kg, and the hens 3 kg. They lay brown eggs, and are good egg producers with fair meat production. Good dual purpose fowls.

Australorps hold the world record for egg production with one hen having laid 364 eggs in 365 days under official Australian trap-nest testing (Orr, 2005).

ORPINGTON

• It can be black, blue, buff or white. The cock bird weighs about 4.5 kg, the hen 3.5 kg.

• Its eggs are brown. It is relatively big and heavy, and docile. It is hardy and can tolerate cold weather better than many other breeds.

• Hens can show broodiness and make good mothers. They are late-maturing and don’t lay a lot of eggs for the amount of food they eat, but they are the largest of the roosters to fatten.

PLYMOUTH ROCK

• It come in barred or white, buff or partridge varieties.

• The cock bird weighs about 4.3 kg, the hen 3.4 kg.

• It lays brown eggs, and is generally kept for meat and egg production.

• It is docile. • The hens can be broody and

make good mothers.

RHODE ISLAND RED (RIR)

• Cock birds weigh about 4 kg, hens 3 kg. The hens lay brown eggs.

• This is a good dual-purpose medium-heavy fowl useful for meat production as well as for egg production.

• They are relatively hardy, and are the best egg layers of the dual purpose breeds, so they are a good choice for the small flock owner.

LEGHORN

• It is usually white, black, brown or buff. The cock bird weighs about 2.7 kg, the hen 2.1 kg, and the eggs are white.

• They are kept mainly for egg production, and they are small spritely noisy birds with great style. They rarely go broody.

• Another point in their favor is that they are good foragers and if they have a big range they can find much of what they need to eat themselves.

MINORCA

• It is black, white or buff. The cock bird weighs about 4 kg, the hen 3.4 kg. Its eggs are chalk-white and its egg production fair.

• They are principally exhibition birds.

WYANDOTTE

• It is a popular heavy breed. The cocks are usually about 3.9 kg and the hens 3 kg.

• The eggs are brown. • They are a good medium fowl

for egg and meat production, and they are hardy.

SUSSEX

• It comes in various varieties including Light, Speckled and Red.

• The cock usually weighs about 9 lb and the hen 7 lb.

• The eggs are brown.

• The Sussex is a good general purpose breed for meat and eggs, and the birds are alert, attractive and good foragers.

ANCONAS

• They are small fowl that lay a fair number of rather small eggs, but they are good foragers and very hardy.

• The cocks weigh about 2.7 kg and the hens 2 kg.

• They have beautiful glossy black plumage with a green sheen and white-tipped feathers.