hybrids, as dual-purpose chickens have different nutritional requirements.” In a special barn on the grounds of the research centre Campus Frankenforst in Königswinter, 350 Ixworth hens and roosters are housed in separate pens. Special research laying nests are used in these houses, so that the relevant param- eters can be measured individually, such as the number of eggs, the size and weight of the eggs and the egg shell qual- ity. Growth characteristics are measured too, such as weight and intermediate slaughter weights. The other part of the study, RegioHuhn, is funded by the Ger- man Ministry of Food and Agriculture. At the same research centre there is also a modern barn with a viewing area and information boards about the research into dual-purpose chickens. The second part of the research is carried out in this barn, looking into what would be the best crosses to serve as regional dual-purpose hens for organic poultry farms in Germany. This project, RegioHuhn, is being conducted by PhD student Verena Meuser (MSc Animal Sciences), also from the University of Bonn. The breeds used in this study come
predominantly from Germany, with some from Belgium and Austria. Regional ‘pure breeds’ are then crossed with parental lines of commercial hybrids, from laying hens (White Rock, Lohmann Breeders), as well as slow growing broilers (Ranger Gold, Aviagen). The pure breeds crossed in RegioHuhn are Altsteirer, Augsburger, Ramelsloher, East Frisian Gulls, Malines and Bielefelder Kennhuhn. “The roosters of these pure breeds are crossed with parental hens of conventional commercial genotypes from Lohmann and Aviagen,” says Verena Meuser. The offspring crosses for each purebred breed, one with Rang- er and one with White Rock, are in an ongoing performance test in different barns. “The ultimate aim of the research is to see which crosses give the best laying and growth results,” she explains. The results will be available early in 2023. Tiemann: “We hope that among all the crosses tested, there will be a couple that perform well in terms of laying persistence, as well as growth qualities and slaughter weight.” Animal-specific per- formance data and animal behaviour are also a major focus. These observations are made daily, as far as possible, with the purpose of gaining the maximum information per individual,
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 7, 2022
The RegioHuhn project aims to develop crosses of local breeds and high-per- forming hybrids.
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