An investigation on reproductive performance of Ac chicken from 28 – 39 weeks of age

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the reproductive performance of Vietnamese local chickens, named Ac chickens, from 28 – 39 weeks of age. This study was implemented in Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam. The study was a descriptive study using a total of 150 native layers, which were split into 4 periods to record the data (1st – 4th observation). The results showed that egg production rate and egg weights slightly decreased from the first to the final observation and showed the highest performance at the1st and 2nd observation (28-33 weeks of age), while feed intake per 10 eggs, eggshell thickness, yolk index, albumen index, shape index, Haugh unit, and yolk color increased. For feed intake per hen, it is not truly different when compared to other periods. From 28-39 weeks of age, theegg production rate was 54.55, feed intake was 60.84 g/hen, 1.118 kg feed produced 10 eggs, the average egg weight was 41.63 g, yolk color was 10.61, and the Haught unit was 86.16.It can be concluded that Ac layers from 28-39 weeks of age reached peak production at 28-33 weeks of age; however, egg quality was the best at 34-39 weeks of age.