PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF GENETICALLY DIFFERENT HEN CROSSBREEDS IN PERUVIAN ANDES

Three hundred laying hens of two commercial and one experimental crossbreed were evaluated in Peruvian Andes. The Commercial crossbreeds were Babcock Brown and Improved Creole ISAMISA (CM), and local experimental crossbreed (CE). The experimental crossbreed was obtained from Naked Neck Creole Hens, legs feather Creole Hens and Babcock Brown (BB) commercial layer. The females were reared to 52 wk. of age, and recorded data included body weight, feed intake, egg number, and egg weight, allowing the calculation of egg mass and feed conversion ratio. The economic value of each crossbreed was determined by overall egg production and body weight at 52-wk old. The highest laying rate was exhibited by Babcock (76.9%) and CE (58.9%), followed by CM (53.1%). The crossbreeds differed in feed intake and in females’ feed conversion, with BB leading (2.55) followed by CE (3.49) and CM (4.32). In egg production, BB were the best, as expected from specialized tableegg crossbreeds. In summary, BB was the best egg-producing crossbreed, but poor in meat production. Better choice for dual-purpose production would be CE, ranked second in egg production. CM was the best meat-producing crossbreed and were second in egg-mass production. Hence, CE might be the best dual-purpose hybrid with better feed efficiency than CM and the consumers prefer large eggs and birds.