Evaluation of age at sexual maturity and body weight in direct and reciprocal crosses using CARI Nirbheek and CARI Shyama
Author(s): Jai Prakash and Raj Narayan
Abstract: A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of direct and reciprocal crossing on age at sexual maturity (ASM) and body weight in CARI Nirbheek (CN) and CARI Shyama (CS) chickens. A total of 259 female birds from four genetic groups the direct crosses (AP×CR and KN×CR) and their reciprocal crosses (CR×AP and CR×KN) were managed under standard conditions from the 20th to the 52nd week of age. Data on body weight at 20, 40, and 52 weeks, body weight gain, and ASM were collected and analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The results revealed significant differences (p<0.05) in body weight among the crosses at all ages. The reciprocal cross CR×AP (CARI Nirbheek × CARI Shyama) consistently demonstrated superior body weight (1485.15g, 2249.67g, and 2296.15g at 20, 40, and 52 weeks, respectively) and the highest body weight gain (764.52g from 20-40 weeks), significantly outperforming its direct cross (AP×CR) and all other groups. In contrast, no significant differences were found in the age at sexual maturity among the crosses. The study concludes that the reciprocal cross CR×AP is the most advantageous combination, yielding a significantly heavier dual-purpose bird without delaying sexual maturity, making it a superior genetic resource for enhancing meat production in smallholder poultry systems.
