Early Growth Assessment of F2 Indonesian Chicken Crosses: A Performance Study Caesa Rizq Firdaus(a), Yesita Vera Saraswati(b), Dyah Maharani(b) , Yuny Erwanto(c), Budi Guntoro(d), Michael Haryadi(e), and Heru Sasongko(a*))
(a)Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
*herusasongko[at]ugm.ac.id
(b)Department of Animal Breeding and Reproduction, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(c)Department of Animal Products Technology, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(d)Department of Livestock Socio-Economics, Faculty of Animal Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
(e)Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Abstract
Body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) are crucial factors for assessing production potential in local chickens. This study utilized a total of 116 F2 crossbred chickens resulting from the mating of Indonesian local chicken breeds, including Kampung Unggul Balitbangtan, Merawang Bangka, and Merawang Sembawa. The chickens were divided into six crossbred groups: BS1 (n = 19), BS2 (n = 19), BS3 (n = 20), BS4 (n = 19), BS5 (n = 20), and BS6 (n = 19), all managed under uniform conditions. Measurements of body weight and feed consumption during the pre-starter phase were taken at weeks 0, 1, 2, and 3 using a digital scale. Data from this study were subjected to ANOVA analysis, followed by a Duncan multiple range test. The results revealed significant differences in body weight and FCR among all BS chicken groups (P < 0.05). Notably, BS3 exhibited the highest performance in both body weight and FCR analyses, achieving 36.92 g at week 0, 240.45 g at week 3, and an overall FCR of 1.97.
Keywords: body weight, crossing, FCR, Indonesian local chicken
