A Study on the Growth and Development Characteristics of Lindian Chickens
by
,
Jie Liu
1,2,3,†,
Yitong Jin
1,2,3,†,
Shijie Zhou
1,2,3,
Xinyu Wang
1,2,3,
Yumao Li
1,2,3,
Peng Luan
1,2,3,
Hui Li
1,2,3,
Li Leng
1,2,3,* and
Yuxiang Wang
1,2,3,* 1
Key Laboratory of Chicken Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Harbin 150030, China
2
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Education Department of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150030, China
3
College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Animals 2024, 14(2), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020354
Submission received: 11 December 2023
/
Revised: 18 January 2024
/
Accepted: 20 January 2024
/
Published: 22 January 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Poultry Production: Physiology and Nutrition)
Simple Summary
Lindian chickens are a local chicken variety in northern China. To explore the growth and development characteristics of Lindian chickens, various statistical methods were used to analyze their body size and carcass traits. The results showed that multiple trait measurements of Lindian chickens rapidly increased before 10 weeks of age, while after 19 weeks of age they mainly developed reproductive organs and muscles. In addition, we also found that body size traits were closely related to carcass traits, providing a foundation for the breeding and management of Lindian chickens.
Abstract
As an excellent chicken breed found in a high-altitude zone of northern China, Lindian chickens are characterized by good egg and meat production, strong adaptability, cold tolerance, rough feeding resistance, excellent egg quality, and delicious meat quality. To facilitate the exploitation of the unique qualities of the Lindian chicken, the varying patterns and correlations of various body size and carcass traits of 3–22-week-old Lindian chickens were analyzed in this study. The optimal growth model of these traits was determined by growth curve fitting analysis. The results showed that most traits of Lindian chickens increased steadily with increasing age, and most of them increased rapidly before 10 weeks of age. In addition, the inflection point age of each trait was predicted to be between 4 and 10 weeks. Furthermore, this study revealed that body size traits were closely related to carcass traits in Lindian chickens. In summary, Lindian chickens are in a rapid growth stage before the age of 10 weeks, and better slaughter performance can be achieved through good feeding management during this stage. The reproductive traits and muscles are the main developmental focus after the age of 19 weeks, so it is important to adequately meet their energy requirements for subsequent good breeding performance.
