HERITABILITY ESTIMATES OF GROWTH TRAITS OF DIALED CROSSES BETWEEN NOILER AND HEAVY ECOTYPE CHICKENS REARED IN NSUKKA, ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The dearth of literature on Noiler breed combination crosses with indigenous heavy ecotypes in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria necessitated the evaluation of the heritability estimates of growth traits of dialed crosses between Noiler and heavy ecotype chickens for possible genetic improvement of production traits. A total of 84 mature chickens comprising of 42 Noiler chickens (36 females and 6 males) and 42 Heavy-Ecotypes chickens (36 females and 6 males) were randomly assigned into four (4) different breeding groups in a completely randomized design:  Noiler-x-Noiler (NN), Heavy-Ecotype-x-Heavy Ecotype (HH), Noiler-x-Heavy-Ecotype (NH) and Heavy-Ecotype-x-Noiler (HN) with a mating ratio of 1:6. The cocks were trained for semen collections while artificial insemination was used for breeding. Data on body weights and biometer traits of the offspring of the four genotypes from birth to 16 weeks of age were collected and subjected to analysis of variance using the SPSS Package version 26. Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test was used in the separation of significance means. The results showed Noiler (NN) had the highest body weight at 16 weeks (2523.95 53.03g), NH showed the lowest body weight across all ages. The heritability estimates of body weight at different ages of the genotype showed that Noiler chicken had the highest heritability estimate at 12 weeks (0.64 0.19) while heavy-ecotype chickens had higher heritability estimates for body linear measurements compared to Noiler and their crosses. These findings support the potential of NN and HH for selective breeding in poultry improvement programs and environmental optimization for crossbred populations.