Poultry Breeds and Incubation
Introduction
In the last unit we learnt about the qualities of a good poultry house, how to
estimate the size of a poultry house and the different housing systems used by
farmers. In this unit we shall look at the common chicken breeds found in Kenya. We
shall also discuss both natural and artificial incubation practices. As usual, let us start
with our unit objectives.
Unit Objectives
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
Identify the common chicken breeds found in Kenya;
Apply the appropriate incubation practices in the hatching of chicks.
Section 3.1: Common Poultry Breeds
The term poultry refers to domesticated birds kept for meat, eggs and feather
production. There are different species of poultry which are kept by farmers. These
are:
chicken
ducks
geese
turkey
quails
ornamental chicken
Chicken keeping dominates the poultry business as one of the species that is reared
by a majority of farmers. In this section we shall discuss common chicken breeds
found in Kenya.
Chicken Breeds
There are three breeds of chicken found in Kenya. These are:
Indigenous chicken
Exotic layer and broiler chicken
Let us examine each breed in further detail starting with indigenous chicken.
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1. INDIGENOUS CHICKEN (Kienyeji chicken)
Indigenous chicken are mostly kept under the free-range management system in small flocks of less than 30 birds. These are birds on which no selection of breeds or improvement by crossbreeding has been done. Many households in rural areas keep this chicken for domestic consumption. They are more robust and adapt to local conditions than hybrids. Indigenous chicken lay between 8 and 15 eggs per clutch depending on availability of feed. They are broody and hatch about 80% of the eggs they sit on. However only 20-30% attain maturity. This poor survival rate is caused by exposure to risks such as diseases, predators and poor nutrition, which reduce their productivity. If these risks are controlled, their survival rate can increase by 80%. Figure 3.1 shows a picture of indigenous chicken.
Figure 3.1: Indigenous or Kienyeji chicken
Advantages of Indigenous Chicken/Improved Indigenous Chicken (Kuroiler/Kenbro) include:
They are easy to establish for low income families;
They are more prolific and unproblematic to rear on small plots of land;
They are more genetically diverse, we adapted, and more resistant to local pest and diseases;
They are vital for future food security, leading towards self-employment and self-reliance;
Meat and eggs are tastier and preferred by most consumers compared to the exotic breeds;
They are more tolerant to harsh conditions including diseases compared to the exotic breeds;
They can be fed on cheap locally available feeds;
Local markets are readily available for both eggs and meat;
Survival rate of chicks high.
2. EXOTIC LAYER AND BROILER CHICKEN
Exotic breeds are either good as layers or broilers or dual purpose. Layers are breeds used for egg production. Broilers are reared for meat.
They can be categorized into:
Light breeds
Heavy breeds.
Let us discuss each in turn starting with light breeds.
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Light Breeds
Light breeds mature early and get into production earlier than the heavy breeds and have a lower incidence of brooding. They are smaller in body hence cheaper to maintain but the carcass is smaller and inferior. They tend to be more nervous than the heavy breeds and are easily upset by sudden and quick movements. You should therefore avoid sudden appearances as this frightens them. Light laying breeds include the White Leghorn, Brown Leghorn and Black Leghorn and the Black Minorca.
Table 3.2: Types of light breeds The white leghorn This is a good layer, which starts laying at 5-6 weeks. The leghorns do not normally sit. Its egg shell is white and has an attractive appearance on the market. It has been used extensively to produce hybrids for egg production. It is white in colour with a single and large comb. Black leghorns This is a hardy and prolific breeder but very nervous. Brown leghorn This is a hardy and prolific layer for egg production. It is a carrier of the recessive genes for golden colour carried on the sex which is used in breeding.
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Heavy Breeds
Heavy Breeds are quieter, eat more, and in most cases go ‘broody’ (i.e. try to incubate their own eggs). Examples of heavy breeds are Rhode Island Red, Light Sussex, Plymouth rock, New Hampshire red. Many of them are dual purpose, meaning that they are both good layers as well as table birds or broilers, see figure 3.3 below.
Figuree 3.3: Types of light breeds Cambridge breeds or auto-sexing breeds Are pure breeds produced by crossing a non-barred breed with a barred breed for a number of generations? 1. Rhode Island Red This is a dual purpose bird, that is, it is a good layer as well as a table bird (broiler). It’s body is broad and deep, with a brilliant deep red coloured plumage. The comb is single or rose comb. This bird has great stamina and a high production capacity. It produces eggs with a brown or tainted coloured egg shell. The bird’s flesh is yellow. 2. Light Sussex This is also a dual purpose bird with white skin. The colour of its plumage is white with black only in the neck hackle, on the wings and on the tail feather. The comb is single and of medium size. It produces eggs with a tainted coloured shell. Because of its hardiness this breed is used for the production of many useful commercial hybrid crossers.
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As a way of reflecting on what you have just learnt, complete the following activity.
3. Plymouth Rock – Dual purpose This is an early maturity bird with fairly heavy body. It has a single comb of medium size. The egg shell is brown in colour while the flesh, skin and feet are yellow. The bird is a prolific layer and makes a good mother. 4. The Barred rock – Dual purpose This is a tail bird with a deep long square body. The barring (black parallel stripes of plumage) is uniform throughout the body with a grayish under colour. 5. New Hampshire red This is a hardy bird and an excellent layer which produces tinted eggs. It has a single comb of medium size. The flesh, feet and legs are yellow in colour.
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Activity 3.2
1. The following birds are all poultry breeds except:
a) Quail
b) Parrot
c) Turkey
d) Chicken
e) Ducks
2. Which of the following characteristics are true of light poultry breeds? Tick the correct ones.
a) Nervous and get upset by sudden movements
b) They eat more,
c) Mature early and get into production earlier
d) They go ‘broody’ or try to incubate their own eggs
e) Are smaller in body hence cheaper to maintain
f) They have an inferior carcass
g) They are quieter
Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
You now know the various chicken breeds available in Kenya and their characteristics. Next we shall discuss incubation practices.
Section 3.2: Incubation
Incubation is the process of keeping eggs under favourable temperatures in order to promote embryonic growth and the hatching of young chicks. Before we look at the process of incubation, let us look at the composition of a chicken egg.
Composition of a Chicken Egg
A chicken egg is made up of various parts as shown in figure 3.5 below:
The shell
The shell membrane
Albumen
Chalazae
Yolk.
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