Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i>
<i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> (BS) and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> (BP) are two Italian chicken breeds, mainly reared for meat production, primarily in antibiotic-free farming. However, technical information on their growth pattern is still missing. At hatching, 150 unsexed chicks of...
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/6/969 |
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| author | Dominga Soglia Stefano Sartore Sandra Maione Achille Schiavone Sihem Dabbou Joana Nery Luisa Zaniboni Stefano Marelli Paola Sacchi Roberto Rasero |
| author_facet | Dominga Soglia Stefano Sartore Sandra Maione Achille Schiavone Sihem Dabbou Joana Nery Luisa Zaniboni Stefano Marelli Paola Sacchi Roberto Rasero |
| author_sort | Dominga Soglia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> (BS) and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> (BP) are two Italian chicken breeds, mainly reared for meat production, primarily in antibiotic-free farming. However, technical information on their growth pattern is still missing. At hatching, 150 unsexed chicks of each breed were weighed, labeled, and reared in indoor pens up to 8 w of age. At 8 w of age, the chicks were separated by sex and randomly transferred to growing pens with access to an external paddock (15 birds/pen; 4 pens/sex for each breed). The body weight (BW) was recorded biweekly for each bird, from hatching to 32 w of age. In order to identify an improvement strategy, the objectives of our study were to analyze the growth pattern of these birds using the Gompertz mathematical model and compare results with other chicken breeds. Polymorphism of the <i>PAX7</i> gene was also analyzed to test its association with growth traits. Both BS and BP are close to unselected native breeds and, among the Italian local poultry, they are confirmed to be slow-growing birds with an intermediate size between heavy and light chicken breeds. Regarding the <i>PAX7</i> gene, two alleles were found, F and G, and showed an association with the actual BW in the BP females from 14 w of age onwards. The G allele always exhibited a more favorable effect than the F allele. In small size poultry population, a delicate balance between preservation of biodiversity and performance improvement should be considered. Consequently, the most proper way could be an approach based on a mating scheme to keep inbreeding under control, increase growth rate, and improve commercial maturity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:24:20Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:24:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f4c2f8b936af4cc28c0335e111b5c29d2023-11-20T02:44:18ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-06-0110696910.3390/ani10060969Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i>Dominga Soglia0Stefano Sartore1Sandra Maione2Achille Schiavone3Sihem Dabbou4Joana Nery5Luisa Zaniboni6Stefano Marelli7Paola Sacchi8Roberto Rasero9Department of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyCenter Agriculture Food Environment (C3A), University of Trento, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, via dell’Università 6, 26900 Lodi, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, via dell’Università 6, 26900 Lodi, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Science, University of Turin, Largo P. Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy<i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> (BS) and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> (BP) are two Italian chicken breeds, mainly reared for meat production, primarily in antibiotic-free farming. However, technical information on their growth pattern is still missing. At hatching, 150 unsexed chicks of each breed were weighed, labeled, and reared in indoor pens up to 8 w of age. At 8 w of age, the chicks were separated by sex and randomly transferred to growing pens with access to an external paddock (15 birds/pen; 4 pens/sex for each breed). The body weight (BW) was recorded biweekly for each bird, from hatching to 32 w of age. In order to identify an improvement strategy, the objectives of our study were to analyze the growth pattern of these birds using the Gompertz mathematical model and compare results with other chicken breeds. Polymorphism of the <i>PAX7</i> gene was also analyzed to test its association with growth traits. Both BS and BP are close to unselected native breeds and, among the Italian local poultry, they are confirmed to be slow-growing birds with an intermediate size between heavy and light chicken breeds. Regarding the <i>PAX7</i> gene, two alleles were found, F and G, and showed an association with the actual BW in the BP females from 14 w of age onwards. The G allele always exhibited a more favorable effect than the F allele. In small size poultry population, a delicate balance between preservation of biodiversity and performance improvement should be considered. Consequently, the most proper way could be an approach based on a mating scheme to keep inbreeding under control, increase growth rate, and improve commercial maturity.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/6/969poultryGompertz modelgrowthlocal breeds<i>PAX7</i>conservation value |
| spellingShingle | Dominga Soglia Stefano Sartore Sandra Maione Achille Schiavone Sihem Dabbou Joana Nery Luisa Zaniboni Stefano Marelli Paola Sacchi Roberto Rasero Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> Animals poultry Gompertz model growth local breeds <i>PAX7</i> conservation value |
| title | Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> |
| title_full | Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> |
| title_fullStr | Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> |
| title_short | Growth Performance Analysis of Two Italian Slow-Growing Chicken Breeds: <i>Bianca di Saluzzo</i> and <i>Bionda Piemontese</i> |
| title_sort | growth performance analysis of two italian slow growing chicken breeds i bianca di saluzzo i and i bionda piemontese i |
| topic | poultry Gompertz model growth local breeds <i>PAX7</i> conservation value |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/6/969 |
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