Wondmeneh Esatu | Addis Ababa University (original) (raw)

Papers by Wondmeneh Esatu

Research paper thumbnail of Commercial Laying Hen Production and Egg Value Chain Mapping in Northern Eth

Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems

Background: In Ethiopia, commercial farms have increased in farm size, and the majority of the la... more Background: In Ethiopia, commercial farms have increased in farm size, and the majority of the large-scale poultry farms are concentrated around Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia. Objective: To assess poultry production, map value chains and identify major production challenges in Northern Ethiopia. Methodology: A multistage sampling technique along with a proportionate sample size determination method was used to fix the sample size. Accordingly, 147, 109 and 64 poultry producers were selected from semi-intensive, small-scale, and medium-scale farms, respectively. Nine focus group discussions comprising relevant stakeholders were conducted. Result: The earlier age at first egg-laying in weeks was reported as 16.7 ± 0.93 in the medium-scale production system. A high laying percentage of 85.47 ± 5.01 was recorded in the medium-scale and the highest mortality 23.5 ± 8.8 was in semi-intensive. The price of eggs varied by about +38% in November 2019/2020 and negatively changed pr...

Research paper thumbnail of Multivariate analysis of morphometric traits to differentiate the indigenous chicken reared under different Agro-ecologies of Ethiopia

Veterinary Integrative Sciences

This is to differentiate indigenous chickens at different agro-ecologies based on morphometric tr... more This is to differentiate indigenous chickens at different agro-ecologies based on morphometric traits using multivariate analysis. Morphometric data were collected from a total of 520 (130 male and 390 female) adult indigenous chickens. Traits scored were body weight, body length, breast circumference, wingspan, shank length, shank circumference, comb length, wattle length, earlobe length and beak length. Ten quantitative traits for both sexes were subjected to the stepwise discriminant analysis, of which four (wingspan, live body weight, shank circumference, and body length) in females and two of them (shank length, and wingspan) in males were identified as the best discriminating variables. CAN1 and CAN2 were extracted with 61.5% and 38.6% of the total variation in females, respectively and CAN1 (89.3%) and CAN2 (10.7%) of the total variation in parameters of male chicken populations. The higher classification rates were obtained in highland agroecology for female (64.7%) and midl...

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional composition and sensory characteristics of breast meat from different chickens

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of fertility, hatchability, and growth performance of indigenous, sasso and their F1 cross chicken genotypes in Southern Ethiopia

Veterinary Integrative Sciences

Three chicken genotypes were involved in the study with the objectives of evaluating fertility, h... more Three chicken genotypes were involved in the study with the objectives of evaluating fertility, hatchability, and growth performance of three chicken genotypes. For the experiment, 1550 (600 of indigenous, 450 of Sasso, 500 of crossed) eggs were labelled and incubated. The data were analyzed using SAS. Relatively higher proportion of fertility was observed for the eggs collected from Sasso (89.6%) followed by crossed eggs (72.8%). Correspondingly, hatchability was higher for Sasso. Body weight was increased from 27.9 to 321.7 g for indigenous, 36.8 to 431.2 g for Sasso, and 32.4 to 353.4 g for crossbred from week0 to week7. Agroecology by genotype had a significant (p<0.05) influence on the growth performance of the chickens during week11 and week15. The interaction between agroecology and sex was significantly influenced growth rate of the chickens in all weeks of their age, except the chickens at their 11th weeks of age. Genotype by sex interaction had highly significant effect...

Research paper thumbnail of Sensory Characteristics, Nutritional Composition, and Quality of Eggs from Different Chickens

Open Journal of Animal Sciences

Research paper thumbnail of Practical application of advanced molecular techniques in the improvement of animal agriculture: The cases of camel, cattle, sheep, goat, donkeys and chicken in Ethiopia

Research paper thumbnail of Serum Biochemical and Meat Fatty Acid Profiles of Different Chicken Genotypes

Open Journal of Animal Sciences

Serum biochemical and meat fatty acid profile of different chickens were studied. A total of 144 ... more Serum biochemical and meat fatty acid profile of different chickens were studied. A total of 144 mixed sex matured chickens of Cosmopolitan (C), Improved Horro (H), Cosmopolitan♂*Improved Horro♀(CH), Improved Horro♂*Cosmopolitan♀ (HC), Indigenous (L) and Koekkoek (KK) were used to determine serum biochemical, of which 36 chickens were also used for fatty acid profile study. Completely randomized design in 6 × 2 factorial arrangements was set up. Serum biochemical and fatty acid profiles were determined by Roche/Hitachi cobas c 501 and gas liquid chromatography (GC) procedures, respectively. There were significant differences (P ≤ 0.001) in Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and High-density lipoprotein (HDL) among genotypes and between sexes. HDL was inversely related with TC, TG and LDL. Male had significantly higher (P ≤ 0.001) TC, TG, LDL but lower HDL than female. SFA, (Myristic, Pentadecanoic and Palmitic acids) had significantly (P < 0.05) varied among genotypes. However, Margaric (P ≤ 0.01) and stearic (P ≤ 0.001) acids were significantly different between sexes. Myristoleic and Palmitoleic acids significantly vary (P ≤ 0.05) among genotypes and between sexes. Oleic (P ≤ 0.01) and Eicosenoic (P ≤ 0.001) significantly influenced by sex. Moreover, Linoleic had significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by genotypes. Nevertheless, α-linolenic acid significantly (P ≤ 0.01) varied between sexes. The serum biochemical differed across genotypes and between sexes. The difference in the number of carbons, double bond and position of the double bond could affect fatty acid profile among genotypes and between sexes. Chicken products with higher level TC, TG, LDL and SFA might affect human health problems. It could also be interesting topic for future studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Poultry production, marketing, and consumption in Cambodia: A review of literature

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond diffusion to sustained adoption of innovation: A case of smallholder poultry development in sub-Saharan Africa

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Preliminary information on chicken strains to be tested in Ethiopia

The African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) is an International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) ... more The African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) is an International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) led Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) funded five-year (2015-2019) project that seeks to increase access of poor smallholder farmers in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Nigeria to more productive and agro-ecologically adaptable chicken strains. ACGG follows an agricultural research for development (R4D) strategy focusing on women empowerment, functioning community innovation platforms, strong public-private partnerships, and capacity development to tackle poverty and improve food security. ACGG Ethiopia will test five introduced (Koekoek, Fayoumi, Sasso, Kuroiler, Embrapa 051) and at least two local chicken strains (improved Horro and a few others) for eighteen months under semi-scavenging and on-station management conditions for egg and meat productivity, adaptation and preference by farmers and actors in the poultry value chain. The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) is a principal national partner while all activities of the project are overseen by the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries. A total of 2500 smallholder chicken-keeping households from the Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, SNNP, and the Addis Ababa regions, residing in 21 districts and 63 kebeles (villages) will take part in the on-farm chicken performance test.

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative growth performance and carcass characteristics of guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) and three chicken genotypes

Ethiopian Journal of Science and Technology, 2022

A study was conducted to compare the growth performance and carcass characteristics of guinea fow... more A study was conducted to compare the growth performance and carcass characteristics of guinea fowl (GF) with Horro (HR) and Tilili (TL) local chickens, and Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) exotic chicken. Seventy-five-day-old chicks from each genotype were used in 3 replications in a completely randomized design. Commercial starter and grower feed was fed ad libitum during the 20 weeks of the study. Daily dry matter intake in g/bird was greater for PK (70) than GF (63), HR (59), TL (61). The final body weight (FBW) g/bird was higher for PK (2022), intermediate for HR (1567) and TL (1539), and low for GF (1286). The average daily weight gain (ADG) was 9 g/bird for GF, 11 g/bird for HR and TL and 14 g/bird for PK. The eviscerated weight g/bird was highest for PK (1679), followed by HR (1323) and TL (1249) and lowest for GF (913). The breast weight (g/bird) was higher for PK (436) than GF (281), HR (311), and TL (284). The thigh weight was higher for PK (303) and HR (252), followed by TL (20...

Research paper thumbnail of Statistical Modeling of Live Body Weight and Linear Body Measurements of Local Chicken at Different Agro-Ecologies of Ethiopia

International Journal of Poultry Science, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of On-farm performance testing of tropically adaptable chicken strains under small holder management in three countries of sub-Saharan Africa

Research paper thumbnail of Highlights of the results of the ACGG baseline survey in Ethiopia

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding the Entry Points for Improving the Smallholder Chicken Production in sub-Saharan Africa

A baseline survey involving 3,714 poultry keeping households (PHH) in 220 villages across five ag... more A baseline survey involving 3,714 poultry keeping households (PHH) in 220 villages across five agro-ecological zones was conducted in three countries: Ethiopia (ET), Nigeria (NG) and Tanzania (TZ). The objective was to characterize the smallholder chicken production system and the socio- economic status of PHH. Data were analysed for the gender and age of the household heads, gender of respondents, sources of income, asset ownership, and agro-ecological location of PHH. The results show that 23% (20% ET, 26% NG and 21% TZ) of the PHH had a female as head. Crops, livestock and poultry were the main sources of income for ET and TZ while, in Nigeria, crops, trading and services were the main sources. The contribution of livestock to household income in Ethiopia (38.5%) was higher than in Tanzania (15.6%). More than 70% of PHH had adequate food in the last 12 months (85% ET, 70% NG and 89% TZ). Chicken meat consumption per PHH was 2.9 birds in 3 months (1.8 ET, 4 NG and 3 TZ), while egg consumption was 17 eggs in 3 months (22 ET, 14 NG, 14.6 TZ). The average flock size was 22 (9 ET, 30 NG, 27 TZ) and egg production was 10 eggs per clutch. The PHH desire were to have birds with good physical appearance, large body size and fast growing in cocks and high egg production and hatchability in hens. Information from the survey informed the design and implementation of the longitudinal study

Research paper thumbnail of A Guide to Healthy Poultry Production

Research paper thumbnail of Testing and delivering tropically-adapted chickens for productivity growth in sub-Saharan Africa

Research paper thumbnail of Growth performance of DZ-white and Improved Horro chicken breeds under different agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia

Journal of Livestock Science, 2020

The growth performances of DZ-white and Improved Horro chickens in three different agro-ecologica... more The growth performances of DZ-white and Improved Horro chickens in three different agro-ecological zones were evaluated in the present study. 861 day-old unsexed chicks were randomly assigned to a 2×3 factorial arrangement in CRD involving two breeds (DZ-white and Improved Horro), three locations (Debre Berhan-L1, MelkaWerer-L2and Mekelle-L3 characterized as highland, lowland and midland respectively). FI, ADG, FCR. BW, BW gain and mortality were measured. Data were analyzed by GLM procedure of SAS .The result revealed that effect of breed on Initial BW,BW, BW gain, ADGFI was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher and FCR was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) better for DZ-white breed during the starter and grower phase. Among the locations significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher BW was recorded on L1 and L3 at both phases. During the starter phase significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher BW gain and ADG was recorded in the birds kept in L1 and L3. Birds consumed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) more feed on L1 during the starter phase. However, significantly (P ≤ 0.05) more feed were recorded on L1 and L3 during the grower phase and better FCR was recorded in L3 at both phases. Mortality was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher on L2at both phases. There was a significant (P ≤ 0.05) breed by location interaction for FI both at starter and grower phase and BW at grower phase. DZ-white exhibited the highest at L1 and L3, followed by DZ-white at L2 and Improved Horro at L3 and the lowest one was recorded for Improved Horro at L1 and L2.DZ-white was significantly (P≤0.05) superior in feed intake at L1 followed by Improved Horro at L1 and significantly (P≤0.05) lower feed intake was recorded in both breeds at L3 during the starter phase. However, DZ-white was significantly superior in feed intake at L1, followed by DZ-white at L3 and significantly (P≤0.05) lower feed intake was recorded in the Improved Horro across the location and DZ-white at L2 during the grower phase. In conclusion, the results of this study have demonstrated that DZ-white breeds had significantly enhanced speed of weight gain as well as growth and good feed conversion ratio. However, this study has also shown that Improved Horro chickens breeds have the genetic ability to grow fast if properly managed. Both chicken breeds are well adapted in highland and midland agro-ecology zone and their production performance was better than the chicken kept in lowland agro-ecology zone.

Research paper thumbnail of Dual-purpose production of genetically different chicken crossbreeds in Ethiopia. 2. Egg and meat production of the final-crossbreed females and males

Poultry Science, 2019

Females and males of 7 commercial (ComCb) and 3 experimental (ExpCb) crossbreeds were produced by... more Females and males of 7 commercial (ComCb) and 3 experimental (ExpCb) crossbreeds were produced by 6 imported parent stocks (PS) and 1 local PS. The ComCb were Dominant Red Barred (DR), Dominant Sussex (DS), Lohmann Brown (LB), Lohmann-Dual, NOVOgen Brown (NB), NOVOgen Color (NC), and local Koekoek (KK). The ExpCb were (dams × sires) DR × KK (R × K), DS × DR (S × R), and KK × DS (K × S). The females were reared to 60 wk of age, and recorded data included BW, BWG, feed intake, egg number, and egg weight, allowing the calculation of egg mass and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The males were reared to 16 wk of age and recoded data included feed intake, BW, FCR, and carcass characteristics. A total of 621 females and 516 males were tested in sex-separated trials, each with 3 replicated floor pens per crossbreed. The overall value of each crossbreed was determined by overall egg production, 60-wk BW and FCR of females, and by 16-wk BW, carcass yield, and FCR of males. The highest laying rat...

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative study on some egg quality traits of exotic chickens in different production systems in East Shewa, Ethiopia

African Journal of Agricultural Research, Feb 26, 2015

A total of 227 eggs were collected during summer 2013 from Isa Brown (IB), Bovan Brown (BB) and P... more A total of 227 eggs were collected during summer 2013 from Isa Brown (IB), Bovan Brown (BB) and Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) chickens for comparative study of internal and external egg quality traits under intensive and village production systems in East Shewa, Ethiopia. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS and significant differences in egg quality traits were compared using post hoc multiple comparisons. Average egg weight, Haugh Unit, shell thickness, yolk colour, albumen weight, yolk percent and yolk to albumin ratio of IB showed a significant difference (p<0.05) under intensive and village production systems. BB showed a statistical significant difference (p<0.05) for egg weight, yolk height, albumen height, yolk colour, Haugh Unit, shell thickness, yolk percent and albumen percent under intensive and village production systems. Further, average yolk height, yolk weight, yolk color, yolk percent and yolk to albumen ratio of PK revealed a significant difference under village and intensive production systems. The study revealed that even though the differences were observed in egg quality traits under intensive and extensive system, eggs produced from village were also found to be good quality.

Research paper thumbnail of Commercial Laying Hen Production and Egg Value Chain Mapping in Northern Eth

Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems

Background: In Ethiopia, commercial farms have increased in farm size, and the majority of the la... more Background: In Ethiopia, commercial farms have increased in farm size, and the majority of the large-scale poultry farms are concentrated around Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia. Objective: To assess poultry production, map value chains and identify major production challenges in Northern Ethiopia. Methodology: A multistage sampling technique along with a proportionate sample size determination method was used to fix the sample size. Accordingly, 147, 109 and 64 poultry producers were selected from semi-intensive, small-scale, and medium-scale farms, respectively. Nine focus group discussions comprising relevant stakeholders were conducted. Result: The earlier age at first egg-laying in weeks was reported as 16.7 ± 0.93 in the medium-scale production system. A high laying percentage of 85.47 ± 5.01 was recorded in the medium-scale and the highest mortality 23.5 ± 8.8 was in semi-intensive. The price of eggs varied by about +38% in November 2019/2020 and negatively changed pr...

Research paper thumbnail of Multivariate analysis of morphometric traits to differentiate the indigenous chicken reared under different Agro-ecologies of Ethiopia

Veterinary Integrative Sciences

This is to differentiate indigenous chickens at different agro-ecologies based on morphometric tr... more This is to differentiate indigenous chickens at different agro-ecologies based on morphometric traits using multivariate analysis. Morphometric data were collected from a total of 520 (130 male and 390 female) adult indigenous chickens. Traits scored were body weight, body length, breast circumference, wingspan, shank length, shank circumference, comb length, wattle length, earlobe length and beak length. Ten quantitative traits for both sexes were subjected to the stepwise discriminant analysis, of which four (wingspan, live body weight, shank circumference, and body length) in females and two of them (shank length, and wingspan) in males were identified as the best discriminating variables. CAN1 and CAN2 were extracted with 61.5% and 38.6% of the total variation in females, respectively and CAN1 (89.3%) and CAN2 (10.7%) of the total variation in parameters of male chicken populations. The higher classification rates were obtained in highland agroecology for female (64.7%) and midl...

Research paper thumbnail of Nutritional composition and sensory characteristics of breast meat from different chickens

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluation of fertility, hatchability, and growth performance of indigenous, sasso and their F1 cross chicken genotypes in Southern Ethiopia

Veterinary Integrative Sciences

Three chicken genotypes were involved in the study with the objectives of evaluating fertility, h... more Three chicken genotypes were involved in the study with the objectives of evaluating fertility, hatchability, and growth performance of three chicken genotypes. For the experiment, 1550 (600 of indigenous, 450 of Sasso, 500 of crossed) eggs were labelled and incubated. The data were analyzed using SAS. Relatively higher proportion of fertility was observed for the eggs collected from Sasso (89.6%) followed by crossed eggs (72.8%). Correspondingly, hatchability was higher for Sasso. Body weight was increased from 27.9 to 321.7 g for indigenous, 36.8 to 431.2 g for Sasso, and 32.4 to 353.4 g for crossbred from week0 to week7. Agroecology by genotype had a significant (p<0.05) influence on the growth performance of the chickens during week11 and week15. The interaction between agroecology and sex was significantly influenced growth rate of the chickens in all weeks of their age, except the chickens at their 11th weeks of age. Genotype by sex interaction had highly significant effect...

Research paper thumbnail of Sensory Characteristics, Nutritional Composition, and Quality of Eggs from Different Chickens

Open Journal of Animal Sciences

Research paper thumbnail of Practical application of advanced molecular techniques in the improvement of animal agriculture: The cases of camel, cattle, sheep, goat, donkeys and chicken in Ethiopia

Research paper thumbnail of Serum Biochemical and Meat Fatty Acid Profiles of Different Chicken Genotypes

Open Journal of Animal Sciences

Serum biochemical and meat fatty acid profile of different chickens were studied. A total of 144 ... more Serum biochemical and meat fatty acid profile of different chickens were studied. A total of 144 mixed sex matured chickens of Cosmopolitan (C), Improved Horro (H), Cosmopolitan♂*Improved Horro♀(CH), Improved Horro♂*Cosmopolitan♀ (HC), Indigenous (L) and Koekkoek (KK) were used to determine serum biochemical, of which 36 chickens were also used for fatty acid profile study. Completely randomized design in 6 × 2 factorial arrangements was set up. Serum biochemical and fatty acid profiles were determined by Roche/Hitachi cobas c 501 and gas liquid chromatography (GC) procedures, respectively. There were significant differences (P ≤ 0.001) in Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and High-density lipoprotein (HDL) among genotypes and between sexes. HDL was inversely related with TC, TG and LDL. Male had significantly higher (P ≤ 0.001) TC, TG, LDL but lower HDL than female. SFA, (Myristic, Pentadecanoic and Palmitic acids) had significantly (P < 0.05) varied among genotypes. However, Margaric (P ≤ 0.01) and stearic (P ≤ 0.001) acids were significantly different between sexes. Myristoleic and Palmitoleic acids significantly vary (P ≤ 0.05) among genotypes and between sexes. Oleic (P ≤ 0.01) and Eicosenoic (P ≤ 0.001) significantly influenced by sex. Moreover, Linoleic had significantly (P ≤ 0.01) affected by genotypes. Nevertheless, α-linolenic acid significantly (P ≤ 0.01) varied between sexes. The serum biochemical differed across genotypes and between sexes. The difference in the number of carbons, double bond and position of the double bond could affect fatty acid profile among genotypes and between sexes. Chicken products with higher level TC, TG, LDL and SFA might affect human health problems. It could also be interesting topic for future studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Poultry production, marketing, and consumption in Cambodia: A review of literature

Research paper thumbnail of Beyond diffusion to sustained adoption of innovation: A case of smallholder poultry development in sub-Saharan Africa

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Preliminary information on chicken strains to be tested in Ethiopia

The African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) is an International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) ... more The African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) is an International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) led Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) funded five-year (2015-2019) project that seeks to increase access of poor smallholder farmers in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Nigeria to more productive and agro-ecologically adaptable chicken strains. ACGG follows an agricultural research for development (R4D) strategy focusing on women empowerment, functioning community innovation platforms, strong public-private partnerships, and capacity development to tackle poverty and improve food security. ACGG Ethiopia will test five introduced (Koekoek, Fayoumi, Sasso, Kuroiler, Embrapa 051) and at least two local chicken strains (improved Horro and a few others) for eighteen months under semi-scavenging and on-station management conditions for egg and meat productivity, adaptation and preference by farmers and actors in the poultry value chain. The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) is a principal national partner while all activities of the project are overseen by the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries. A total of 2500 smallholder chicken-keeping households from the Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, SNNP, and the Addis Ababa regions, residing in 21 districts and 63 kebeles (villages) will take part in the on-farm chicken performance test.

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative growth performance and carcass characteristics of guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) and three chicken genotypes

Ethiopian Journal of Science and Technology, 2022

A study was conducted to compare the growth performance and carcass characteristics of guinea fow... more A study was conducted to compare the growth performance and carcass characteristics of guinea fowl (GF) with Horro (HR) and Tilili (TL) local chickens, and Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) exotic chicken. Seventy-five-day-old chicks from each genotype were used in 3 replications in a completely randomized design. Commercial starter and grower feed was fed ad libitum during the 20 weeks of the study. Daily dry matter intake in g/bird was greater for PK (70) than GF (63), HR (59), TL (61). The final body weight (FBW) g/bird was higher for PK (2022), intermediate for HR (1567) and TL (1539), and low for GF (1286). The average daily weight gain (ADG) was 9 g/bird for GF, 11 g/bird for HR and TL and 14 g/bird for PK. The eviscerated weight g/bird was highest for PK (1679), followed by HR (1323) and TL (1249) and lowest for GF (913). The breast weight (g/bird) was higher for PK (436) than GF (281), HR (311), and TL (284). The thigh weight was higher for PK (303) and HR (252), followed by TL (20...

Research paper thumbnail of Statistical Modeling of Live Body Weight and Linear Body Measurements of Local Chicken at Different Agro-Ecologies of Ethiopia

International Journal of Poultry Science, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of On-farm performance testing of tropically adaptable chicken strains under small holder management in three countries of sub-Saharan Africa

Research paper thumbnail of Highlights of the results of the ACGG baseline survey in Ethiopia

Research paper thumbnail of Understanding the Entry Points for Improving the Smallholder Chicken Production in sub-Saharan Africa

A baseline survey involving 3,714 poultry keeping households (PHH) in 220 villages across five ag... more A baseline survey involving 3,714 poultry keeping households (PHH) in 220 villages across five agro-ecological zones was conducted in three countries: Ethiopia (ET), Nigeria (NG) and Tanzania (TZ). The objective was to characterize the smallholder chicken production system and the socio- economic status of PHH. Data were analysed for the gender and age of the household heads, gender of respondents, sources of income, asset ownership, and agro-ecological location of PHH. The results show that 23% (20% ET, 26% NG and 21% TZ) of the PHH had a female as head. Crops, livestock and poultry were the main sources of income for ET and TZ while, in Nigeria, crops, trading and services were the main sources. The contribution of livestock to household income in Ethiopia (38.5%) was higher than in Tanzania (15.6%). More than 70% of PHH had adequate food in the last 12 months (85% ET, 70% NG and 89% TZ). Chicken meat consumption per PHH was 2.9 birds in 3 months (1.8 ET, 4 NG and 3 TZ), while egg consumption was 17 eggs in 3 months (22 ET, 14 NG, 14.6 TZ). The average flock size was 22 (9 ET, 30 NG, 27 TZ) and egg production was 10 eggs per clutch. The PHH desire were to have birds with good physical appearance, large body size and fast growing in cocks and high egg production and hatchability in hens. Information from the survey informed the design and implementation of the longitudinal study

Research paper thumbnail of A Guide to Healthy Poultry Production

Research paper thumbnail of Testing and delivering tropically-adapted chickens for productivity growth in sub-Saharan Africa

Research paper thumbnail of Growth performance of DZ-white and Improved Horro chicken breeds under different agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia

Journal of Livestock Science, 2020

The growth performances of DZ-white and Improved Horro chickens in three different agro-ecologica... more The growth performances of DZ-white and Improved Horro chickens in three different agro-ecological zones were evaluated in the present study. 861 day-old unsexed chicks were randomly assigned to a 2×3 factorial arrangement in CRD involving two breeds (DZ-white and Improved Horro), three locations (Debre Berhan-L1, MelkaWerer-L2and Mekelle-L3 characterized as highland, lowland and midland respectively). FI, ADG, FCR. BW, BW gain and mortality were measured. Data were analyzed by GLM procedure of SAS .The result revealed that effect of breed on Initial BW,BW, BW gain, ADGFI was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher and FCR was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) better for DZ-white breed during the starter and grower phase. Among the locations significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher BW was recorded on L1 and L3 at both phases. During the starter phase significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher BW gain and ADG was recorded in the birds kept in L1 and L3. Birds consumed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) more feed on L1 during the starter phase. However, significantly (P ≤ 0.05) more feed were recorded on L1 and L3 during the grower phase and better FCR was recorded in L3 at both phases. Mortality was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher on L2at both phases. There was a significant (P ≤ 0.05) breed by location interaction for FI both at starter and grower phase and BW at grower phase. DZ-white exhibited the highest at L1 and L3, followed by DZ-white at L2 and Improved Horro at L3 and the lowest one was recorded for Improved Horro at L1 and L2.DZ-white was significantly (P≤0.05) superior in feed intake at L1 followed by Improved Horro at L1 and significantly (P≤0.05) lower feed intake was recorded in both breeds at L3 during the starter phase. However, DZ-white was significantly superior in feed intake at L1, followed by DZ-white at L3 and significantly (P≤0.05) lower feed intake was recorded in the Improved Horro across the location and DZ-white at L2 during the grower phase. In conclusion, the results of this study have demonstrated that DZ-white breeds had significantly enhanced speed of weight gain as well as growth and good feed conversion ratio. However, this study has also shown that Improved Horro chickens breeds have the genetic ability to grow fast if properly managed. Both chicken breeds are well adapted in highland and midland agro-ecology zone and their production performance was better than the chicken kept in lowland agro-ecology zone.

Research paper thumbnail of Dual-purpose production of genetically different chicken crossbreeds in Ethiopia. 2. Egg and meat production of the final-crossbreed females and males

Poultry Science, 2019

Females and males of 7 commercial (ComCb) and 3 experimental (ExpCb) crossbreeds were produced by... more Females and males of 7 commercial (ComCb) and 3 experimental (ExpCb) crossbreeds were produced by 6 imported parent stocks (PS) and 1 local PS. The ComCb were Dominant Red Barred (DR), Dominant Sussex (DS), Lohmann Brown (LB), Lohmann-Dual, NOVOgen Brown (NB), NOVOgen Color (NC), and local Koekoek (KK). The ExpCb were (dams × sires) DR × KK (R × K), DS × DR (S × R), and KK × DS (K × S). The females were reared to 60 wk of age, and recorded data included BW, BWG, feed intake, egg number, and egg weight, allowing the calculation of egg mass and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The males were reared to 16 wk of age and recoded data included feed intake, BW, FCR, and carcass characteristics. A total of 621 females and 516 males were tested in sex-separated trials, each with 3 replicated floor pens per crossbreed. The overall value of each crossbreed was determined by overall egg production, 60-wk BW and FCR of females, and by 16-wk BW, carcass yield, and FCR of males. The highest laying rat...

Research paper thumbnail of Comparative study on some egg quality traits of exotic chickens in different production systems in East Shewa, Ethiopia

African Journal of Agricultural Research, Feb 26, 2015

A total of 227 eggs were collected during summer 2013 from Isa Brown (IB), Bovan Brown (BB) and P... more A total of 227 eggs were collected during summer 2013 from Isa Brown (IB), Bovan Brown (BB) and Potchefstroom Koekoek (PK) chickens for comparative study of internal and external egg quality traits under intensive and village production systems in East Shewa, Ethiopia. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS and significant differences in egg quality traits were compared using post hoc multiple comparisons. Average egg weight, Haugh Unit, shell thickness, yolk colour, albumen weight, yolk percent and yolk to albumin ratio of IB showed a significant difference (p<0.05) under intensive and village production systems. BB showed a statistical significant difference (p<0.05) for egg weight, yolk height, albumen height, yolk colour, Haugh Unit, shell thickness, yolk percent and albumen percent under intensive and village production systems. Further, average yolk height, yolk weight, yolk color, yolk percent and yolk to albumen ratio of PK revealed a significant difference under village and intensive production systems. The study revealed that even though the differences were observed in egg quality traits under intensive and extensive system, eggs produced from village were also found to be good quality.