Phenotypic characterisation and molecular polymorphism of indigenous poultry populations of the species Gallus gallus of Savannah and Forest ecotypes of Benin

The study of the phenotypic characterisation and molecular polymorphism of local chicken populations was carried out in Benin on 326 chickens of the Forest ecological area and 316 of the Savannah ecological area, all were 7 months old at least. The collection of blood for the molecular typing wasachieved on 121 indigenous chickens of which 60 from the Savannah ecological area and 61 from the Forest ecological area. The genotyping was carried out for 22 microsatellite loci. Weight and body measures of the Savannah chickens were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than those of the Forest chickens. In the Savannah ecological area, the most frequent plumage colours were the black (22.15%), the white (19.62%), the coppery black (7.59%) and the golden partridge (7.59%). In the Forest area, thefawn (15.34%), the black (10.43%), the white (6.8%), the silver white (6.8%) and the golden partridge (6.75%) were the dominant feather colours. Thus, phenotypic characterisation showed significant differences between Savannah and Forest local chickens. The FST calculated between the Savannah and Forest populations revealed a low genetic differentiation and the dendogram showed that Savannah and Forest chickens were quite intermingled. In conclusion, local populations from Savannah andForest area may be considered as ecotypes, but not as two distinct breeds

Comparison of growth performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of Benin indigenous chickens and Label Rouge (T55×SA51)

A study on growth performance, carcass traits and meat quality was carried out on Savannah and Forest  ecotype chicken of Benin, using Label Rouge (T55 X SA51) as a control genotype. All the animals were fed ad  libitum with three diets (starter, grower and layer feed). They were individually weighed at hatching and during the growing stage, and the daily feed intake was recorded. A sample of 12 males of each genetic type was  slaughtered for carcass characteristics. Sensory analysis was done on each genetic type after boiling or  roasting. The Label Rouge chickens were heavier than the local chickens at hatch (P<0.001). At the end of 40  weeks, the weight of the Label Rouge was double that of the Savannah ecotype and 2.8 times that of the Forest ecotype. The feed efficiency of the Label Rouge was higher than that of the local chickens (P<0.001). The  genetic type influenced tenderness and juiciness, with the local Savannah chicken being the most tender and  juiciest (P<0.001). However, the cooking method and the carcass cut influenced tenderness only. The overall assessment of the meat of the Label Rouge chickens was similar to that of the local chickens, whereas the  assessment of the meat was significantly lower for local chickens of Forest ecotype compared to the Savannah ecotype (P<0.001). The local chickens would therefore be suitable for improving traditional poultry production, whereas controlled crossbreeding programmes using Label Rouge could be recommended to improve local chicken weight.Key words: Growth, carcass, sensory characters, indigenous chicken, Label Rouge

Evaluation de l’innocuité des souches précoces de Eimeria magna et de Eimeria media issues du Bénin en vue de leur utilisation comme souches vaccinales

Les coccidioses constituent un problème sanitaire majeur pour l’élevage cunicole. Une vaccination contre cette maladie à l’aide de souches précoces de Eimeria ayant une parfaite innocuité est nécessaire. Pour évaluer cette innocuité, trois lots de 12 lapereaux de 35 + 1 jours ont été inoculés avec des souches précoces de Eimeria magna et Eimeria media provenant des lapins élevés au Bénin. Un mélange à parts égales des deux souches a été constitué. Les animaux du lot 1 ont été inoculés per os avec ce mélange à la dose de 5 x 103 oocystes et ceux du lot 2 ont reçu le même mélange à la dose de 2,5 x 103. Le lot 3 a servi de témoin. Deux semaines après l’inoculation, aucun cas de mortalité et/ou de diarrhée n’a été enregistré ; les témoins ont excrété moins d’oocystes (3,2 x 104 oocystes/g) comparativement aux animaux expérimentaux (P < 0,01) du lot 1 (10,1 x 106 oocystes/g) et du lot 2 (8,8 x 106 oocystes/g), confirmant ainsi une bonne multiplication de ces souches. La chute du GMQ des lots inoculés par rapport à celui des témoins est significative (P < 0,001) mais reste modérée. Il en résulte que ces souches s’avèrent être de bonnes candidates à un vaccin.Keywords: Coccidiose, Eimeria magna, Eimeria media, vaccin, lapin, Béni

Relationships between technological and nutritional meat quality parameters in local poultry populations (Gallus gallus) of Benin

The current work aims at determining relationships between technological and nutritional meat quality parameters in Holli, Fulani, Sahoue, North and South indigenous chicken ecotypes of Benin. Color parameters (L*, a*, b*, hue and chroma), pH, texture, dry matter content, protein content, fat content, and ash content were collected on 52 cockerels of each ecotype slaughtered at 24 weeks old. In Holli chickens, dry matter content was highly and positively correlated with protein content (P<0.001; r = 0.57), moderately and positively associated to ash content, redness, yellowness and chroma (P<0.01), but weakly and negatively correlated with the luminance and hue (P<0.05). Fat content was highly and positively correlated with the texture, pH4, pH12, pH24, a* and chroma (P<0.001; 0.46 ≤ r ≤ 0.85), but highly and negatively correlated with the protein content and luminance (P<0.001; -0.64 ≤ r ≤ -0.47). Except dry matter content, protein content was negatively correlated with the others parameters. Correlations between dry matter and the other meat quality traits of North chickens were similar to those of Holli chickens except fat content, pH, L*, b* and hue. Except texture, the correlations between dry matter concentration and the other meat quality traits of South and Fulani chickens were similar to those of Sahoue chickens. South chickens and to a lesser extent Fulani and Sahoue chickens were characterized by higher dry matter, shear force, breast cooking loss, yellowness and pH24, while Holli chickens were characterized by greater protein content, organic matter content, moisture, thigh cooking loss, hue, pH1, pH4, pH8 and pH12. North chickens were characterized by higher ash content, fat content and luminance.Keywords: Correlation, indigenous chicken, meat quality, principal components analysi