Studies On Productive And Egg Quality Traits Of Uttara Chicken Breed

A study was conducted to assess the productive and reproductive performance along with egg quality traits of 275 chicks of comb and crown ecotype which were obtained in six hatches at Instructional Poultry Farm of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. The eggs from each group were collected, marked and weighed with the help of digital weighing balance up to 0.1 g accuracy at the beginning of 24, 28, 32, 36, 40 and 44th weeks of age. Various external and internal egg quality traits were measured at the 32nd week of age. The average egg production in crown ecotypes of Uttara fowl was found to be higher (p < 0.05) than the comb ecotypes of Uttara fowl with the cumulative mean of (177.35 +/- 6.34 eggs) and (153.54 +/- 5.64 eggs) at the 72nd week of age. At 28th week of age egg weight was found significantly (p < 0.05) higher in crown ecotype than comb ecotype Uttara. Egg shell and yolk weight were found to be significantly (p < 0.05) higher in crown type than comb ecotype. Thus Uttara has a better egg production potential and is emerging as a good option for rural backyard poultry