Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVIII, Issue 2
Written by Liubov LІAKHOVICH, Olena BYRKA, Andrii ZAKHARYEV, Yuliia SOBAKAR, Iryna HONCHAROVA, Alla PETRENKO, Valentyna ZHYLINA, Dmytro HRINCHENKO
It is believed that hens of the Dominant Black and Dominant Blue crosses are highly productive layers, resistant to various conditions. We investigated morphological indicators of eggs, productivity and survivability of Dominant Black and Dominant Blue chickens in the first phase of egg laying. Hens of both crosses laid large two-yolk eggs at the start of egg laying. Meteosensitivity was observed in the majority of hens to sharp temperature changes that lead to decrease in egg production and/or the quality of the eggshell texture. The Dominant Black cross-breed chickens tolerated hyperthermia more easily than Dominant Blue. At the same time, they laid eggs of significantly less weight than at a comfortable temperature, and asymmetric eggs with destructive defects of the shell. The weight of Dominant Blue hens' eggs was almost independent of weather fluctuations, but their shells often had slight non-destructive defects. Eggs productivity was high in both crosses. The quantity of large eggs was higher in Dominant Black hens. Survivability of chickens Dominant Blue - 100%, Dominant Black - 97.5%.
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