Abstract

Author:
Dipesh Giri

Doi: 10.26480/mahj.01.2021.40.42

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Indigenous poultry (Gallus domesticus) is one oldest domesticated bird contributing 55% of total poultry production in Nepal. The indigenous breeds of poultry of Nepal are Sakini, Ghanti Khuile (Naked Neck), and Puwakh Ulte. Sakini is the most adapted indigenous breed of Poultry of Nepal, covering more than 50%. At present, various kinds of literature including journals, research reports, annual reports, proceedings, and master thesis regarding the egg production performance of indigenous breeds were reviewed mainly aiming the comparative evaluation of indigenous breeds of chicken of Nepal with respect to the egg production performance. Egg weight (EW), Egg production per year, Clutch per year, Hatchability, and Age at first laying were the parameters compared. The egg production per year of Sakini and Ghanti Khuile was higher than that of Puwakh Ulte. Also, the hatchability of Sakini was significantly higher than that of Naked Neck. This was due to high feathers in Sakini as compared to Naked Neck. Sakini matures earlier than others and start laying earlier. However, there was not much difference in the egg weight of the indigenous breeds. The clutch per year and of Sakini and Ghanti Khuile was also not significantly different. Sakini starts laying eggs earlier than Ghanti Khuile and Puwakh Ulte. There is a need for increased researches in the indigenous breeds besides Sakini and diseases are major constraints reducing the returns to farmers. Government and concerned agencies should step up and help the farmers to maximize the returns.