author(s)
Hemant Kumar, Gita Singh, Basant Kumar and Seema Kumari

abstract
Local chicken varieties like Aseel and Kadaknath are picking up significance throughout the years because of their unique characteristics. Present investigation was carried out on a total of 1082 chicks on growth performances (hatch weight to weight at first egg) belonging to seven genetic groups’ viz. Aseel, Kadaknath, desi, Black Australorp (BA), the crosses of desi with other recognized breeds as Rhode Island Red (RIR), BA and Aseel. The body weight of each and every chick was taken with the help of an electronic balance having least margin of error (accuracy) of 2 gms. Body weight was taken at the age of ‘0’ day, 2-week, 4-week, 6-week, 12-week and weight at first egg. Genetic groups had significant influence on weight at all the ages under study. Significantly higher hatch weight was noticed in exotic birds BA. Among indigenous birds, significantly higher hatch weight was observed in Aseel in comparison to desi and their crosses with exotics (BA and RIR). At 12^th week of age, significantly higher and lower body weight was observed in BA (559.16±6.659 g) and desi (397.41±9.615 g) birds, respectively. The weight in all the three crossbreds did not differ significantly among themselves. In general, weight at different ages from ‘0’ day to weight at first egg was higher in BA followed by Aseel. On the contrary, lowest weight at different ages mentioned above was lower either in desi or in Kadaknath. The present study suggested rearing of purebred as backyard farming, BA birds are superior from dual purpose poultry birds, whereas Kadaknath and Aseel birds get higher price due to their specific good properties.