Brief information about the Indian Chicken Breeds:
1) ASEEL BREED:
The literal meaning of Aseel is real or pure.
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| Aseel |
Aseel is well known for its pugnacity, high stamina, majestic gait and dogged fighting qualities,
The name Aseel appears to have been given to this indigenous breed because of its inherent qualities of fighting. The remarkable endurance of an Aseel even during the most critical stages of fight is proverbial as it prefers death to dishonor. The Aseel is, therefore, known to every game lover all over the world for these specific characteristics.
Aseel cock usually measure 28 inches from back to toe. The standard weight varies from 3 to 4 kg for cocks and 2 to 3 kg for hens.
The wattles are rudimentary and almost imperceptible. The beak is short and well curved. The face is long and not covered with feathers. The eyes are compact, well set and present bold looks. The neck is long, uniformly thick but not fleshy.
The general feathering is close, scanty and almost absent on the breast. The plumage has practically no fluff and the feathers are tough. The tail is small, and the legs are strong straight, clean and set well apart. The birds as a rule present upright material gait suggestive of strength and alertness. Aseel is larger in built with noble looking and dignified appearance.
Performance Profile of Aseel:
Body weight at 20 weeks 1220 g
Age at sexual maturity 196 days
Annual egg production 92
Egg weight at 40-week 50 g
Fertility 66 %
Hatchability FES 63 %
2) KADAKNATH BREED:
This breed is otherwise known as "Kalamasi" which means "fowl with black flesh" and is native of Madhya Pradesh.
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| KADAKNATH BREED |
The colour of the day-old chicks is bluish to black with irregular dark stripes over the hack.
The adult plumage varies from silver to gold spangled to blue black without any spangling. The skin, beak, shank, toes and soles of feet of males and females are dark gray colour. Even the comb, wattles and tongue also show a purplish hue. The shining blue tinge of the earlobes add to its unique features.
The peculiarity of this breed is that most of the internal organs show the characteristic black pigmentation which is more pronounced in trachea, thoracic and abdominal air sacs, gonads, elastic arteries, at the base of the heart and mesentery. Varying degree of blackish colouration is also found in the skeletal muscles, tendons, nerves, meninges, brain and bone marrow.
The black colour of muscles and tissues is due to the deposition of melanin pigment, a genetic condition called "Fibromelanosis".
Performance Profile of KadaKnath:
Body weight at 20 weeks (g) 920
Age at sexual maturity (days) 180
Annual egg production (number) 105
Egg weight at 40 week (g) 49
Fertility (%) 55
Hatchability FES (%) 52
3) NAKED NECK BREED:
Naked neck is relatively larger inbuilt with long cylindrical neck.
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| NAKED NECK BREED |
As the name indicates, neck of the birds is fully naked or only a tuft of feathers is seen on the front of the neck above crop. The resulting bare skin becomes reddish particularly in males as they approach sexual maturity. General body feathering is also reduced.
Various types of combs viz. pen, rose, walnut and single combs are seen. The beak is short and well curved. The face is long and not covered with feathers. The eyes are compact and well set. The skin is thin and pinkish in colour. The beak and shanks have no correlation with plumage colour.
Main plumage colours are brown, black, white and mixture of brown and black.Due to the reduced feathering, the birds are capable to tolerate the tropical stress. It lays the biggest size eggs among all the Indian native breeds of chicken.
Trivandrum region of Kerala is considered to be the homeland of Naked neck, but it is available throughout hot and humid coastal area including Andman and Nicobar Island and North-Eastern states of the country in small numbers. People of these regions have great affinity for Naked neck birds due to their better adaptability to the hot and humid climatic conditions as well as for better taste and flavor of meat.
4) FRIZZLE BREED:
Frizzle fowls have oval body with well-developed comb and wattles. The skin is thin and pinkish pale in colour.
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| FRIZZLE BREED |
The beak and shanks generally have no correlations with the plumage colour and are creamish pale in colour.
The birds have single comb and earlobes are well developed with white spots on them. The eyes are bright and well-developed. Plumage colours vary considerably among the birds but white, brown, black and mixed colour are most common.
Frizzle fowls are found all over the hot and humid coastal areas including Andaman Nicobar Islands.
Good numbers of these birds are also available on high altitudes hilly tracts of North-Eastern states. It is said that birds have better adaptability to the hot and humid climatic conditions.
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