Characterization of local chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in Shelleng and Song Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study was conducted in Song and Shelleng local government areas of Adamawa State, between January 2004 and December 2006, to determine some characteristics of local chickens. A total of 451 chickens of both sexes were examined. About 49% of the birds observed were males while 51% were females. The comb type was mostly single (96.45%). Eye colours were either dark brown (37.92%), light brown (28.82%), dark red (28.60%), light green (2.00%), pink (1.33%) or dark ash (1.33%). For plumage colour, 17.07% of the chickens were classified as black and mottled, 14.41% as dark red/golden, 13.97% as dark brown, 12.64% as brown and mottled while 9.76, 6.85, 6.86 and 6.21 were classified as ash, white, white and mottled, and black, respectively. Most chickens (38.8%) had pink shanks, while 23.28%, 16.63% and 12.42% had dark ash, ash ,and light yellow shanks, respectively. The remaining birds (8.87%) had either milky, red, light pink or ash and yellow shanks. Average live weight, body girth, body length and shank length were 1.3 kg, 27.59 cm, 18.23 cm and 8.72 cm ,respectively. About 40.47% of the eggs observed were light brown. The average clutch size, egg weight, egg length, egg width, shell weight and shell thickness were 7.86, 39.03g, 4.52cm, 3.16cm, 3.80g and 0.53mm respectively. Generally, the local chickens in the study area were mostly black and mottled with dark brown eyes and pink shanks, and mostly lay light brown eggs. There were also distinctive differences in almost all the measurable parameters. These distinctions provide the basis for which they could be classified into breeds.