Production Performance of Reciprocal Cross between IPB D2 and IPB D3 Chickens from 1 to 12 Weeks of Age Reared in the Tropics

Abstract

 At present, several local chicken breeds in Indonesia exhibit suboptimal production performance despite
their goood adaptability to tropical conditions. A reciprocal cross between IPB D2 chickens and IPB D3
chickens was carried out, resulting in IPB D2D3 and IPB D3D2 chickens. This study aimed to observe the
effects of crossbreeding on the production performance of these crossbred chickens in tropical regions.
A total number of 27 IPB D2D3 and 48 IPB D3D2 crossbred chickens was used. All data were presented
by descriptive statistics (mean, SD, CV) and analyzed by inferential statistics (two-sample t-test and
Mann-Whitney U test) to determine differences between two types of crossbreds. The two-sample t-test
was applied for body weight and body weight gain of chickens aged 5 to 12 weeks. Meanwhile, the
nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test was used for feed intake and body weight gain in chickens aged
1 to 4 weeks. The results showed that at 12 weeks, the body weight of IPB D2D3 reached 1104.22 g for
males and 975.55 g for females, while the body weight of IPB D3D2 reached 1090.39 g for males and
959.64 g for females. Better feed intake and feed conversion were achieved by IPB D2D3 males and IPB
D3D2 females.