Hatchability of Deshi, Fayoumi, RIR and Sonali Chicken in Forced Draft Incubator and under Broody Hens in Bangladesh

An experiment was conducted to determine the hatchability potentials of Indigenous, Fayoumi, Rhode Island Red and Sonali (Rhode Island Red X Fayoumi) chicken and compared among the genotypes by using forced draft incubator and broody hens. A total of 384 (96 from Deshi, 96 Fayoumi, 96 RIR and 96 Sonali) hatchable eggs were obtained from a commercial hatchery for the study allowed to hatch in forced draft incubator and under broody hens. The traits considered were egg weight (g), chick weight (g/b), chick weight as percent of egg weight, dead in germ (%), dead in shell (%) and hatchability (%).Egg weight was the highest in RIR followed by Sonali, Fayoumi and Deshi. Chick weight was the highest in RIR, similar and intermediate in Fayoumi and Sonali and the lowest in Deshi. Chick weight was higher from eggs hatched under the broody hens than in those hatched in incubator. Genotype did not interact with method of hatching to influence chick weight. Chick weight % of egg weight was higher in RIR, but similar and lower in Fayoumi, Deshi, and Sonali. Dead in germ, dead in shell and hatchability were not altered by the interaction of genotype and hatching system. From the results of the study we conclude that hatching results for RIR rank the best and Deshi chicken seemed to be the worst in these traits