By Nwagu, Bartholomew Ifeanyi
An experiment for the estimation of heterosis of biometrical characteristics of crosses between Arbor Acre broilers and local chickens of Nigeria was performed in the Poultry Unit of University of Nigeria Farm, Nsukka, The local parents were randomly selected from a population
of local chickens housed in battery cages of the Poultry
Unit of the University of Nigeria, while the broiler parents stock (exotic) was purchased from ~ikachukwu Farm in Ogwashi-Uku in Bendel State. Both parents were qated reciprocally by artificial insemination to generate the F, crossbred progeny. The F1 chicks were brooded in metabolism cages and were later reared in colony cages, Weekly weights were obtained and used to estimate the heterosis in body weight. Linear body measurements on the chickens
for shank length, breast, back and neck lengths were made at the end of the experiment.