Selecting the best broiler breed is one of the steps you must take to be successful as a broiler farmer. But before I say anything, I want you to know that I am excited to be writing this post finally. It has always been on my mind to answer the many question that people ask when it comes to choosing the best breed of broilers to raise. All of us want to get the highest weight of broilers in the shortest time, but the problem is how.
A lot of people get things wrong from the start. What if I told you that many people get it wrong even from the question they ask? I tell you, I have seen a lot, and that is why I am happy that finally I am answering that big question that is long overdue.
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Let’s take a deep breath together. Hmmmm!
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You see, we have a couple of hatcheries in Nigeria, and all of them have the breed(s) that they produce. It does not necessarily mean that they were the ones who created the breed. What this means is that they have a breeding stock (or parent stock) for the unique breed(s) that they sell. This is why I feel somehow when the novice farmer joins the expert to say I want Agrited, thinking Agrited is a breed. No! Those who just say Agrited, Amo, Chi, etc. already know the breeds that these hatcheries have, but you have to find out too, instead of just saying AMO. But this is not where I am going. Let’s proceed.
Table of Contents
Popular Broiler Breeds in Nigeria
The common broiler breeds in Nigeria include:
- Cobb 500
- Ross 308
- Marshall
- Arbor Acre
- Hubbard
- Anak
These are the commonly found breeds of broiler chicken in Nigeria. Although, there are some genetically modified/improved strains, especially for Cobb and Ross.
Popular Hatcheries in Nigeria and Their Broiler Breed
| HATCHERY | COMPANY ADDRESS | BROILER BREED |
|---|---|---|
| Agrited | Lagos State | Ross |
| Zartech | Oyo State | Cobb, AA |
| CHI | Ajanla, Ibadan | Arbor Acre+ |
| Farm Support | Oyo State | Arbor Acre |
| Niger Chicks | Pure Line Genetics (PLG) | |
| AMO | Oyo State | Arbor Acre + |
| Sayed | Ross 308 | |
| Unique Chicks | Marshall | |
| Tuns | Osun State | Arbor Acre+ |
| Fidan | Ibadan, Oyo State | Hubbard |
| RTO | Marshall, Hubbard | |
| Nastech | Arbor Acre+ | |
| Obasanjo (OBJ) | Igboora, Oyo State | Marshall |
| Max | Arbor Acre+ | |
| Bnot Harel | Hubbard, Arbor Acre+ | |
| Olam | Cobb 500 | |
| NPG | Cobb 500 |
Selecting the Best Broiler Breed
If you go online to search for information about any of the breeds mentioned above, you will most likely be impressed by the descriptions you get. You might see something like “ABC breed was created to produce excellent meat within the shortest period of time. It has been bred to achieve high resistance to diseases, and it’s the farmers’ choice.” Yes, you will usually see something around that line when searching for best broiler breed. But don’t just fall for that.
If you are looking for the breed that will attain the highest value of weight indeed, then it has to be relational. That is, in comparison with other good breeds. Each of these breeds of broiler chickens were breed with the purpose of giving the said result, but which one does it best? That is the big puzzle I am here to solve for you now. So, I will simply start from the top.
Cobb 500: #1 Best Broiler Breed (Recommended)
Recently, I was chatting with a client of mine in Cameroon, who shared her 10-year broiler farming experience as a banker. Cobb 500 is her choice for indisputable reasons. She gets around 3 KG in 6 weeks, with almost no mortality. Well, you can say that she is just a banker and how can she get that, but I want to tell you something about the poultry business of this age. We have moved. Things have changed, and people are getting some eyes-popping results. By the way, she uses an imported concentrate and I must tell you that her feed is solid. We talked about her feed, and you will agree with me that Nutrition is key.
But let’s leave this banker women and look at the metrics-based scientific evidence. Like I told you before, I am here for you. We are going to get to the root of this thing together. NOW.
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Several comparative studies have been carried out, one of which is on the best two breeds based on performance. And guess what, the two are Cobb 500 and Ross 308. And who do you think won? Cobb 500 of course.
Cobb 500 Vs Marshall
The Cobb 500 and the Marshall breed were also tested comparatively as best broiler breed for performance. As you may already know, the Cobb came out superior in total weight and average daily weight gain.
How About Disease Resistance of Cobb 500 Broiler Strain?
An experiment was carried out with the title “Effect of genetic strains (Ross 308, Cobb 500 and Hubbard F15) on immune response against Newcastle disease vaccine in broiler chickens” Result of of the experiment show that Cobb 500 had the highest immune response to diseases like Newcastle, followed by Ross 308, and then the Hubbard F15. This means that Cobb 500 is the most resistant, followed by Ross 308 and then Hubbard F15.
NOTE: For each of the experiments, all breed samples were subjected to the same rearing conditions; feed quality and quantity, water, medications, lighting, etc. Also, the only reason I have not added details of weight parameter is because each experiment was conducted with a unique feed formula. So, I don’t want to confuse you with their numbers. You can simply use the information I have provided here to determine the best broiler breed
Ross 308 And Arbor Acre Plus: #2 Best Broiler Breed in Nigeria
Based on experimental results, and my experience, I place these two breeds in the second category of best broiler breed. Whether you get the Arbor Acre plus or the Ross 308, know that you are still going with a fast-growing breed with excellent feed-meat conversion.
Marshal and Hubbard: #3 Best Broiler Breed in Nigeria
For some reasons, the Marshal and Hubbard also find their way into the third category. Don’t forget, all the available broiler breeds were bred to attain high weight in the shortest time possible. On that note, these breeds grow fast too, but not compared to the first two categories.
We are going to stop with these three categories and 5 breeds of broilers now. After all, we only give prizes for the first, second and third positions in most competitions.
READ ALSO: 25 Broiler Chicken Tips for BEGINNERS ONLY
References
Abdullah, Y., Abdullah, Nafez A., Al-Beitawi, M.S., Rjoup., Qudsieh, I. and Majdi, Ishmais, A.A.(2010). Growth performance, carcass and meat quality characteristics of different commercial crosses of broiler strains of chicken. Journal of Poultry Science, 47: 13-21.
Evaluation of two commercial broiler strains differing in efficiency of feed utilization.
