Growth performance of Korean crossbred domestic chickens for 12 weeks after post hatching

This study was conducted to investigate the growth performance between six different Korean crossbred native chickens. A total of 312 one-day-old male chickens from the same paternal line with six different maternal lines were allocated into six groups (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A) to give four replicate cages (13 birds per cage). Corn soybean meal based diets were provided as a starter (0 5 weeks: 20% crude protein [CP] and 3,050 kcal/kg metabolizable energy [ME]), grower (5 8 weeks: 18% CP, 3 and 100 kcal/kg ME) and finisher (8 12 weeks: 17% CP and 3,150 kcal/kg ME) diet. Chickens were able to access their respective feed and water ad libitum. In week 2, 2A had a lower body weight (p < 0.05) than that of the other groups. In contrast, in weeks 4 and 8, 2A had a higher body weight (p < 0.05). Similarly, in week 6, 2A had a higher body weight (p = 0.76) than that of the others. However, no difference (p > 0.05) was observed in the body weight after week 10. Meanwhile, 2A had a lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) than that of the other groups (p < 0.05) and a higher average daily feed intake (ADFI; p < 0.05) compared to the other groups in week 6. In conclusion, crossbred 2A had a lower growth performance in week 2; however, in weeks 4 and 6, 2A had a higher growth performance than that of the other groups. Based on this conclusion, we can use those results as a basis for further study.