Bottleneck in Creating Layer Breeds of Chickens in Nigeria

*Emmanuel-Ohagenyi Ifemma Justina and Simeon Ogochukwu Christopher Ugwu*

## **Abstract**

This study was carried out from a retrospective study of all undergraduate and postgraduate researches conducted on chickens in the Department of Animal Science of some Western and Eastern universities (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ibadan, and National Animal production institute, NAPRI, Zaria) in the northern part of Nigeria. The breeding strategies in some world-renowned breeding companies were also studied. The study further compared the various methods utilized for the creation of egg-type chicken by the researchers at the universities and institute with the methods adopted by successful breeding companies for the course of genetic improvement of a pure breed popularly known as the broiler or layer breed. The parameters used for evaluation included scope of breed of chicken (exotic or local), statistical model, heritability, and correlation, variance, mating systems, selection methods, uniformity of research environment, breeding methods (conventional and biotechnology), and emphasis of breeding goals. Finally, the study attempts to recommend a cheaper and a practicable plan to create a layer pureline. There is no gainsaying that that the bottleneck of creating layer breed of chicken in Nigeria has been exhaustively evaluated in this study. The challenges comprises technical, financial, and inertia, and ineptitude of leadership elicits poor funding cum environment lacking the resilient approach and technical know-how ranging from inappropriate models to methods. We recommend firm breeding policy and adequate international funding for the proper alignment with the world chicken breeding strategies to help position Nigerian poultry industry to deliver its SDGs predicted goal of providing food security for the global populace by 2050.

**Keywords:** bottleneck, genetic improvement, layer, breed, Nigeria

## **1. Introduction**

Man has practiced selective breeding since he first domesticated animals. He understood the idea that traits tend to be inherited not through formal education or from letters of books, but from his keen observation of resemblance of relatives. Man unconsciously performed selection, by choosing, for example, to retain particular productive or fertile animals longer than less productive individuals, if a choice became necessary [1].

Since the history of genetic improvement of poultry, ancient and modern breeders have availed themselves of two tools to bring about genetic improvement of these poultry breeds. Breeders simply change the gene frequency of the native breeds [2] by


Breeders have consistently adopted a systematic approach that combines inbreeding, cross-breeding, and selection for the improvement of economic traits such as growth and egg production. These breeding systems have global recognition, owing to its considerable merit in poultry industry for many years. Legates and Warwick further emphasized that highly inbred lines have positive potentials. This knowledge is applied in practice by breeders to takes advantage of the genetic potential of highly inbred ones in the popular genetic game called heterosis or crossing of highly inbred lines. The use of inbred lines has resulted in enormous genetic gain, which aided most poultry companies in China, United States, Brazil, Russia, and India to maximize meat production and egg production, hence becoming top poultry-producing countries [3].

Another approach that modern breeding company has adopted today is popularly known as "broad breeding goals or multiple environment selection." The new selection goal advocates shift from long-term selection of traits in only one environment to use a variety of environments, for selection purposes so that such breed of poultry would have improved performance in a wide range of growing environments across the globe sufficient to make profits [4]. Emmerson [5] reported that such selection strategies currently applied in Aviagen poultry (multienvironment and feed conversion rate) yielded nutritional response and profit in their birds.

The trend in livestock industry recommended by FAO involves whole genome sequence, DNA fragment analysis, microsatellite markers for investigating physiology of diseases, genetic relationships, and breed differentiation. This methodology provides information for preservation of gene pools and marker-assisted selection (MAS). Some breeders, like Dekalb breeders who applied DNA technique in poultry breeding in 1960s, blended B12 gene which has resistance against bacterial and viral diseases with the B21 genes that tended to give very good resistance against viral diseases. The outcome of the combination was that Dekalb developed a parent stock and commercial birds with optimum protection against a broad range of diseases. McAdam [4] reported that the Avigen UK breeding program was not left out in the technology. Avigen has adopted "broad breeding goals and genetic diversity as essential means to achieve a balanced progress in pedigree broiler lines and global market demand". ISA breeders also have sequenced many of their chickens as well.

In Nigeria, selective breeding has been practiced by subsistent farmers, who retain hens that hatch more chicks and sell hens that had hatched few chicks or fail to incubate their eggs. Natural selection is the major force, since no elite farm with a planned breeding event seems to be found presently in Nigeria. Under the present dispensation, local farmers do not have easy access to improved chickens. Commercial farms import parent stocks that hatch their day-old chicks (DOC). Farmers depend on imported day-old broiler or layer chicks sold by commercial farms, who are profit

making companies. Importation of purelines has several limitations which include the following:


Breeders efforts have consistently lead to improved growth performance of chicken. Changing broiler meat yield from 2 kg of meat in 13 weeks to 2 kg of meat in 6 weeks from 1960 to 2005 (% change of 60%) from 1960 to 2005. The change in layer egg production is from 230eggs/year to 300eggs/year (% change 30%) from 1960 to 2005 [9].

It is necessary to acknowledge that Nigeria has produced a breed, "Shika brown." It should also be stressed that the Shika breed has not entered the market till now and the breed has not got all the requirement to be classified a breed. Small population of "Shika brown" necessitated the intervention of West African Productivity Programme, (WAPP) Grants, a United Nation program dedicated to the multiplication of the "Shika breed" by Researcher and NGOs.

The ongoing researches in the Animal production departments of the Nigerian Universities and Colleges of Agriculture were again viewed alongside the activities of breeders in the US and some other developed countries. The following observations were made:

i. Chicken meat reserved for festive periods. Despite ongoing researches since the past three decades, Nigerians still cannot afford chicken meat except during festive periods a situation that prevailed in the US before 1950s. Prior to World War II, chicken was reserved for special occasions. At that time the arrival of visiting relatives meant roast chicken for dinner. Sunday dinner with the family was often graced with chicken and peas. Farm flocks were generally the domain of women and children to earn some cash-selling eggs. Flock sizes grew from a rooster and few hens to some flocks with 10,000 or more chickens, but it was not until the 1950s and 1960s when vertical integration of the broiler industry occurred and chicken factories with hundreds of thousands of birds appeared. Scarcity of chicken meat and protein malnutrition are direct effect of the failure of the Nigerian poultry industry to develop an indigenous pureline.


Within the last few decades, the civilized countries like USA and China have experience amazing success in their poultry industry, producing several poultry breeds of fast meat-growing chickens, high egg-laying breeds, and highly productive dual purpose birds. These achievements were not possible without resilient visions, dynamics of breeding skills consisting of the conventional breeding method and biotechnology, feed intelligence (feed efficiency), among other factors. Today, the story of the American and Chinese poultry industry is both interesting and attractive. A multimillion Dollar business and international business transacted round the globe, poultry industry in many developed economy has also graduated from a one man business to a very complex and integrated system providing solution to unemployment. Improved poultry system has increasingly made substantially economic impacts of many developed countries in areas of job creation, salary and wages, export trade, per capita consumption, revenues.

Considering tremendous achievements recorded in major poultry companies' worldwide, it becomes imperative to "analyze what factors have made creation of layer Purelines difficult for Animal science departments of Nigerian Universities and Animal production institute, despite "long research" on poultry improvement." A retrospective study on methodology and skills adopted for creation of breed by researchers working at some Nigerian universities and Animal production institute have been compared to those of some breeding companies approach to improvement. The main objective of this study is to expose the bottleneck in the development of a pureline layer breed in Nigerian.

The specific objectives are as follows:

	- To access the specific breeding methods of some breeding companies (Aviagen, Hubbard, Babcock, Dekalb, and Hendrix).
	- To compare approaches implemented by Universities and poultry breeding companies.
