Abstract

Zambian indigenous chickens play a crucial role in rural livelihoods, yet their genetic potential remains largely unexplored. This study assessed growth performance and combining abilities of five indigenous strains: Naked Neck (Na), Frizzle Feathered (F), Short Legged (S), White Spotted (W), and Normal Feathered (N) using a full diallel design to obtain 25 genetic groups. The body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured in purebreds, crossbreds and reciprocals, with general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal effects (RE) quantifying additive, non-additive and maternal effects. BW differed significantly (P < 0.05) among genetic groups from hatch to 20 weeks. At 20 weeks, the pure strains White Spotted and Naked Neck showed superior growth performance with BW of 2229.7 g and 2140.7 g, respectively. Reciprocal crosses, F×Na had highest BW (≈2329.3 g), followed by crosses involving White Spotted and Naked Neck strains. FI did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) among genetic groups. Purebred strains recorded ADG values of 10.8-17.9 g/day and FCR ranging from 2.2 to 2.7, whereas crossbreds showed higher ADG (>17.9 g/day) with FCR ranging from 1.7 to 2.7. Reciprocal crosses exhibited highest ADG (19.3 g/day) and lowest FCR (1.5). WW exhibited highest GCA (128.8), followed by NaNa (72.7), while SS was lowest (−175.8). The SN cross had highest SCA (236.1), followed by NaF (184.8) and SW (128.1). RE were highest in FNa (195.1), WS (192.8) and SF (178.1). Crossbreds and reciprocal crosses outperformed purebreds, indicating strong heterosis and high genetic combination potential for improving productivity, feed efficiency, and conservation of Zambia’s indigenous chicken genetic resources.

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