Comparative study of egg quality traits in two Belgian local breeds and two commercial lines of chickens

in Archiv Für Geglügelkunde = European Poultry Science = Revue de Science Avicole Européenne (2010), 74(3), 164-171

Performances zootechniques de la poule Ardennaise, une race ancienne pour le futur ?

in Annales de Médecine Vétérinaire (2009), 153(1), 66-75

Nowadays, Belgian poultry breeding is characterized by a strong biodiversity that is nevertheless greatly endangered. The present work aims at evaluating the zootechnical potential of an ancient poultry ... [more ▼]

Nowadays, Belgian poultry breeding is characterized by a strong biodiversity that is nevertheless greatly endangered. The present work aims at evaluating the zootechnical potential of an ancient poultry breed originating from the Franco-Belgian Ardennes region, the Ardennaise. This breed shows an important phenotypic variation, with 10 different varieties being recognized. This study evaluates the Ardennaise production performances and is divided into three parts: (1) the analysis of the growth and the consumption indices over a twelve weeks period, (2) the comparison of the growth over seventeen weeks in four varieties, (3) the study of eggs number and eggs weight over 70 weeks laying. The results indicate that the Ardennaise breed constitutes a good dual purpose breed that could be interestingly submitted to selection. Its use in industrial crosses for egg composition amelioration is also proposed. Lastly, this works shows the importance of extending the here developed evaluation protocol to other Belgian endangered poultry breeds to motivate the necessary conservation programs. [less ▲]

Evaluation of the Production Performances of an Endangered Local Poultry Breed, the Famennoise

in International Journal of Poultry Sciences (2009), 8(4), 389-396

The Famennoise is a Belgian poultry breed which is greatly endangered. Like most of the local breeds in this situation, the Famennoise remains largely unknown and is representative of the continuous loss ... [more ▼]

The Famennoise is a Belgian poultry breed which is greatly endangered. Like most of the local breeds in this situation, the Famennoise remains largely unknown and is representative of the continuous loss of genetic diversity that is threatening the future of animal production. From preliminary results, egg production traits in this breed showed valuable economic assets. The present study is, thus, aimed at assessing its production performances with the prospect that it might be conserved for future valorization. Egg production as well as growth traits were estimated. Both aspects showed exploitable performances. In absence of past selection for these traits, eggs presented a mean weight of 55.433.03 g, so being in the middle class of marketable eggs, a yolk to albumen ratio of 50.75.02%, an eggshell resistance (maximal force of breakage of 36.033.3 N) equal to commercial strains and superior to already valorized local breeds. In broilers, a mean weight 980.6716.62 g was reached at 8 weeks, 1815.9036.55 g at week 12 and 2191.9048.31 g at week 15. The Famennoise is, therefore, suggested for use as a dual-purpose breed with a good potential of selection for both productions. It could further serve in crosses for improvement of commercial strains. In conclusion, it appears to be highly urgent to screen endangered local poultry breeds for economically exploitable traits which would motivate conservation programs of biodiversity, before this extraordinary scientific and economic potential get irremediably lost. [less ▲]