Morphometric and Growth Performance Variations of Naked Neck, Frizzled Feathered and Normal Feathered Crosses with Exotic Giri-Raja Chickens

A total number of 424 day-old chicks were generated from Naked neck(Naked), Frizzled feather (Frizzle) and Normal feathered(Normal) indigenous chickens and an exotic breed Giri-raja(Giri) to evaluate their morphometric and growth performance. Body weight, body length, breast girth and keel length were recorded for 12 weeks. At day old, chicks from Giri x Naked cross had the highest body weight of 36.29±0.72g. Progenies from Giri x Normal cross had significantly better morphometric values and heavier body weight (1.629.00± 86.36g) than those bred from Giri x Naked (1.423.5±55.7g) while Frizzle x Giri had the least body weight of (1039.18±47.65g) at week 12. Giri x Normal chicks were heavier than their reciprocal cross (Normal X Giri). Sex had significant effect (p 0.05) on morphometric traits at 12 weeks in favour of males. In conclusion, the progenies of Giri X Normal had the best morphometric and growth performance among the crossbreds.