DISTRIBUTION OF GENETIC MARKERS IN LOCAL CHICKENS SOLD IN LOCAL MARKETS OF ZANGON KATAF AND KAURU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA
Kanai, E.T1; Wamagi, I.T1& Yibis, G.G2
1Department of Agricultural Technology, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria, Samaru Kataf Campus.
2Plateau State College of Agricultural Technology Garkawa, Plateau State.
Email:zimaiyet@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This survey was conducted to investigate the frequency of thermoregulatory gene carries amongst local chickens sold in major markets of Zangon Kataf and Kauru Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, North Western Nigeria. One thousand five hundred birds (996 males and 504 females) obtained from Samaru Kataf, Zonkwa, Fadan Kamatan and Kamuru Ikulu all in Zangon Kataf Local Government and Bakin Kogi, Damakasuwa, Mariri and Kauru Markets in Kauru Local Government. Among the investigated markers were Naked neck (Na/na), Frizzle (F/f),polydactyly(Po/po)and ptylopody (Fsh/fsh). Obtained frequencies of investigated genes were generally lower than the expected Mendelian Value of 0.75 for dominant alleles and higher for the recessive (0.004, 0.006 and 0.0000 for Na. F, Po and Fsh respectively). Naked neck shows superiority in body weight than normal feathered birds. Ptylopods were superior in all metric traits except for shank length, however, these superiorities were statistically insignificant (P>0.05). The present research showed that ptylopody birds can be used to improve on body weight and body size parameters in local chickens and naked neck can also be used to improve body weight. Deliberate effort should be made to further reduce the abundance to zero level (as the case is with polydactyl birds) in the market place as this will preserve the already endangered carriers.
Key Words: Frequency, gene carriers, local chickens, markets.
