Flock production and reproduction traits are key performance indicators of productivity and profitability in the poultry industry. This study was aimed at evaluating the egg production and reproduction performance of indigenous chickens reared in highland, midland, and lowland agroecologies through on‐farm monitoring, which lasted for 8 months. The general linear model (GLM) procedure of Statistical Analysis Software (SAS ver. 9.4) was employed to explore the significant variation between performances of chickens across agroecologies. The results indicated that the overall mean age at sexual maturity for cockerels and pullets was 21.2 and 22.4 weeks, respectively, with lowland chickens reaching sexual maturity earlier than others. The overall mean age at first egg, clutch size, number of clutches per hen per year, clutch length, and inter‐clutch interval were 24.8 weeks, 12.4 eggs, 4.2 times, 19.1 days, and 13.6 days, respectively. Moreover, the overall average egg production per hen per year was 66.8 eggs, with highland chickens producing significantly ( p < 0.05) more eggs (75.4). The overall hatchability rate (86.3%) and survival rate at 8th and 20th weeks were 61.5% and 43.6%, respectively, indicating that approximately half of the hatched chicks had survived to the age of 20 weeks. The lowland chickens reached sexual maturity and started laying eggs earlier than the highland and midland chickens, exhibiting higher hatchability and survival rates and lower chick mortality rates. In conclusion, highland chickens tended to produce more eggs, whereas lowland chickens had better fertility efficiency. Moreover, the current optimal performances of the studied chickens can be further improved through community‐based selective breeding and carefully designed crossbreeding with adapted commercial breeds.
Chebo et al. (Thu,) studied this question.