Shouguang chicken, also known as Cilun chicken. The chicken is characterized by its large, plump body and large eggs, and is an excellent local breed that uses both meat and eggs. Shouguang chicken meat is tender and delicious, rich in nutrition, in short supply in the market, and 2 to 3 times higher than the price of ordinary chicken, is the star of the poultry consumption market.
1. Variety formation and origin environment
According to historical records, the formation of Shouguang chicken is closely related to the local social and cultural background and economic activities. The "Zhou Li Summer Palace" of the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, and the "Qi Min Zhi Shu" written by Jia Sixun of the Northern Wei Dynasty all have detailed records of Shouguang Chicken. According to the Shouguang County Chronicle, Shouguang County had a hobby of cockfighting in ancient times, and the unique ecological environment of the region and the selection and breeding of working people formed the characteristics of Shouguang chicken with large body size, large eggs and fighting size. After the founding of New China, the relevant departments adopted measures to preserve breeding and breeding, which played a very important role in maintaining the characteristics of Shouguang chicken breeds. Shouguang chicken originates from Daotian Town, Shouguang City, Shandong Province and its surrounding areas. With Shouguang City as the central production area, the chicken breeds raised in Cijia Village and Lunjia Village are the purest. At present, the main production areas of Shouguang chicken are in Shouguang City and the neighboring Weifang, Qingzhou, Linqu, Zhucheng and other places.
Shouguang City is located at 36° 32' north latitude and 118' 26' east longitude, at the junction of the alluvial plain in the southern part of the Yellow River Delta, the central Shandong Peninsula and the southern shore of Laizhou Bay in the Bohai Sea. The highest altitude in the territory is 49.5 meters, the lowest altitude is 1 meter; the annual average temperature is 12.4t, the maximum temperature is 41.0t, the minimum temperature is -22.3t, and the frost-free period is 195 days. The annual precipitation is 630 mm and the relative humidity is 66%. The average annual sunshine hours are up to 2548 hours. It has a warm temperate monsoon continental climate.
2. Physical characteristics
Shouguang chicken has a large body, thick and strong bones, developed chest muscles, a wide and straight back, high and thick legs, and large and strong toes. The whole body feathers are black, and the neck, back, forebreast, saddle, waist, shoulders, wing feathers, and sickle feathers are dark black with a green luster. The feathers are paler in color and greyish-black in other parts. The tail feathers are divided into lengths. The beak is slightly curved and black or the tip of the beak is off-white. Single crown, crown, fleshy hair, ear lobes are red. The iridescent color is mostly dark brown. The skin is white, and the tibia and toes are black.
The rooster has an approximately square body, a large crown and an upright crown. The hen resembles a meta treasure and has a crown of different sizes. Chicks have black hairs and a few have yellowish spots on the legs, face, and beak horns.
Measurement of the size of the chicken
3. Meat production performance
Chicks in the early feeding process, its weight gain and feather growth rate is fast, especially the large Shouguang chicken, it is a typical slow feather, the back feathers are generally sparse and accompanied by bald tail phenomenon, after 6 to 7 weeks the growth rate began to accelerate. According to experimental measurements, the half-net breech rate of the rooster is 82.5% and the full net breech rate is 77.1%; the semi-net breech rate of the hen is 85.4%, and the full net breech rate is 80.7%.
Partial slaughter performance of Shouguang chicken
4. Egg laying performance
Shouguang chickens have different body shapes and different birth dates: large chickens have a production date of 240 days; medium-sized chickens have a production date of 145 days. The average annual egg production of large chickens is about 117.5, and the average annual egg production of medium chickens is 122.5. Large eggs weigh 65 to 75 grams, and medium-sized chickens weigh about 60 grams. The egg shape index of large and medium chickens is 1.32 and 1.31, respectively. The shell thickness of the large egg is 0.36 mm, and the medium chicken is 0.358 mm. The eggshell is brown in color.
5. Reproductive performance
According to the records of the Cilun breeding farm in Shouguang City, the average age of Shouguang chickens is 190 days, the average number of eggs laid per year is 140 to 144, and the average egg weight of 300 days old is 65 grams. The ratio of male and female chickens is generally 1: (8 to 12), the fertilization rate of eggs is 90.7%, the hatching rate of fertilized eggs is 81%, and the nesting rate of hens is 0.89%.