GENETIC CHARACTERIZATIONS OF DIFFERENT PLUMAGE COLOUR OF NOILER CHICKEN.

Abstract

This study investigated the genetic characteristics of Noiler chickens of five different plumage varieties: brown, barred, black, black-white, and brown-white. A total of 195-day-old Noiler chicks were procured from a reputable hatchery and distributed into triplicate groups, with 13 birds per plumage variety. The chickens were raised at the Teaching and Research Farm of Adekunle Ajasin University, following standard management practices and fed a commercial diet ad libitum. At the 10th week of the study, 2 ml of blood samples was randomly collected from 10 birds per plumage variety for laboratory analysis. Protein separation was performed using the Bio-Rad Mini Protean II Cell electrophoresis system. The analysis revealed distinct protein bands, including myosin, bovine serum albumin, carbonic anhydrase, β-galactosidase, ovalbumin, and α-lactoglobulin. The detected bands were analyzed usi ng the Paleontological Statistics (PAST) software, and the resulting dendrogram illustrated the genetic similarities among the different plumage varieties. Notably, the brown and brown-white Noiler chickens exhibited the closest genetic relationship.