Poultry breeding practices and economic trait performance in Ethiopia: a comprehensive review of challenges and opportunities

The diversity of Ethiopia’s indigenous chicken ecotypes and longstanding traditional breeding practices position the poultry sector as a vital component of the nation’s agricultural system. This review synthesizes data from previous studies to clarify poultry breeding practices, economic evaluations, and the challenges, opportunities, and characteristics of chicken breeding in Ethiopia. A detailed examination of Ethiopia’s poultry breeding industry has produced several important findings. Although Ethiopia utilizes indigenous, exotic, and hybrid chicken types for both meat and egg production, indigenous chickens constitute the predominant proportion of the national poultry population. In metropolitan areas, exotic and hybrid chickens contribute significantly to meat and egg production. Thus, increasing the production of indigenous chickens through improved husbandry and selective breeding is critical. Both genetic and environmental or management factors influence layer flocks. However, careful selection, strategic crossbreeding, and appropriate management can enhance flock performance. Breeding techniques, including selection and crossbreeding, can improve growth performance in indigenous chicken breeds. Feed type and management strategies affect economic characteristics, such as body weight and daily weight gain. Reproductive parameters—fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality, and chick quality—are important for both small and commercial breeder flocks. Chicken genetic background significantly affects feed intake and feed efficiency. Understanding the genetic, environmental, and managerial factors that influence chicken survival is critical for improving poultry production and ensuring flock health.