Reproductive Performance of the Ardennaise Chicken Breed under Traditional and Modern Breeding Management Systems
- Larivière, Jean-Marc
- Michaux, Charles
- Farnir, Frédéric
- Detilleux, Johann
- Verleyen, Vincent
- Leroy, Pascal
DOIAbstract
peer reviewedEnhancing the use of traditional chicken breeds is necessary to insure long-term conservation of global genetic diversity in poultry. A logical start in this process is to evaluate performance. The objective of this study was to estimate reproductive traits in the Ardennaise chicken breed under traditional and modern management systems. Reproductive performance indicated lighting programs [Natural (NAT) or Artificial (ART) day length] were highly significant for egg weight, hatchability (p<0.001), early and mid-term embryonic mortality (p<0.01). Feeding treatments [ad libitum (AL) or mild Feed-restriction (FR)] varied greatly with egg weight, hatchability, fertility (p27 weeks), utmost maximum production peak (56.67%), larges...
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