Early Posthatch Growth Characteristics And Its Relation To Somatotropic Axis And Immune System In Chinese Taihe Chickens

Taihe chicken is a Chinese indigenous breed with small body size, black skin and bones as well as silky white feather. The characteristics about growth, endocrinology and immune system of Chinese Taihe chickens were examined, and compared with AA (Arbor Acres) broilers in the present paper, in order to study the relationship between growth and inmmuesystem development and the regulation in Chinese Taihe chickens.1. Comparison of average daily gain and feed/gain between Taihe chickens and AA broilers in early growth stage There was significantly different in growth rate between Taihe chickens and AA broilers, the bodyweight of Taihe chicken was only 1/4 of that of AA broiler at 50 days of age(485.1±45g vs 2334±260g). Average daily feed intake increased with age in both breeds, it got to the highest at 35 days of age in AA broilers, then decreased. At 40～50 days of age, feed conversion ratio in AA broilers decreased, while that in Taihe chickens did not change.Average daily feed intake of AA broilers was significantly higher than that of Taihe chickens. There were positive correlation between daily feed intake and daily gain in both breeds (p﹤0.01, Taihe r=0.969,AA r=0.950 ,n =10).