Genetic Evaluation Of Net Feed Efficiency In Indigenous Chicken In Kenya

ABSTRACT

Indigenous chicken are a valuable asset and form an integral part of many households in Kenya in terms of food security, economic and social roles. Given their value to the agricultural sector, various interventions are being developed and implemented to realize their potential in the sector. Such interventions involve genetic improvement of production traits which directly translate to increased revenues. However, this is likely to be accompanied with increased inputs, especially feed resources, to complement the high performance. Feed costs account for a major portion of production costs. Therefore, considering feed efficiency in genetic improvement provides an avenue to reduce costs. The objective of this study was to assess the genetics of net feed efficiency (NFE) in indigenous chicken by identifying non-genetic and genetic sources of variation, estimating genetic and phenotypic parameters and determining the relationship between feed efficiency and production traits. Residual feed intake (RFI), residual gain (RG), and residual intake and gain (RIG) were used as measures of NFE, estimated from weekly body weight and feed intake records between 11 to 20 weeks of age. Non-genetic sources of variation were determined using a general linear model. Genetic and phenotypic parameters were estimated using random regression sire model while the relationship between efficiency and production traits (growth, feed intake and maintenance requirement) were determined by multivariate sire models. Sex, hatch group and interaction between sex and cluster significantly influenced (P