Scaveging behaviour and feed selection by 
local and exotic chickens

 Nguyen Thi Kim Khang
ntkkhang@chi.edu.vn

Abstract

 A randomized completely design with two treatments with and  six replications per treatment was employed to observe the scavenging behaviour during 20 days of local (Cambodian) and improved (exotic) breeds of chicken of one month-old. Scavenging activity was permitted every day from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. Chicken behaviour was recorded by measuring the average distance of birds from feeders during 15 min in the morning and the afternoon respectively after and before change of habitat.

 There was no  significant effect of genotype (P>0.05) on bird behaviour during the entire studied period, this result indicates that exotic chicken learn and adapt fast when they are permitted to scavenge.There was a significant genotype effect (P< 0.01) on feed selection. Exotic chicken preferred a protein source (soybean 62.8, broken rice 35.3 and  duckweed 1.8 % of the ration in dry basis respectively) and the local breed preferentially selected the energy source (soybean 38.6, broken rice 58.6, duckweed 2.8 %). As a consequence, there was a significant difference (P<0.01) in crude protein level in the diet (32.6 and 23.8% for exotic and local breed).

 According to the results from the present experiment, there are no breed differences in scavenging behaviour but the contrary is true when birds from exotic or local genotypes are allowed to select its feed. More studied oriented to fully describe feeding behaviour of local and exotic chickens are suggested.

 Key words: scavenging behaviour, feed selection, local chickens, exotic chicken, protein

Scavenging activities of chicken

Selection feeds of chicken after confined

Crop contents of local and exotic chicken

Chicken's pen at night