Evaluation of Egg Quality Traits of Local Chickens in the Humid Tropical Environment of Umudike, Southeast Nigeria

Four hundred and thirty six (436) eggs laid by seven genotypes of local chickens within 56 days were used to evaluate egg quality traits. The genotypes evaluated were the homozygous naked neck (Na/Na) and frizzle (F/F), heterozygous naked neck (Na/na) and frizzle (F/na), reciprocal crosses between naked neck and frizzle (Na/F, F/Na) and homozygous normal feathered (na/na) chicken. Results showed that genotypes differed significantly (p 0.05) in albumen weight, albumen height and Haugh unit. However, higher values were recorded for Na/F genotype. It was concluded that both naked neck and frizzle homozygotes and their reciprocal crosses were superior in egg quality traits than either the normal genotype or genotypes heterozygous for normal feathering.