Huiyang Beard Chicken

Huiyang Beard Chicken

　　【Breed Type and Origin】

　　It is a small-sized meat breed. Also known as Sanhuang Beard Chicken (named for its yellow feathers, yellow beak, yellow feet, and beard), Longgang Chicken, Longmen Chicken, and Huiyang Chicken. It originated along the middle and lower reaches of the Dongjiang River and its western tributaries in nine cities and counties in Guangdong Province. It is now distributed in Fujian, southern Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Beijing, and other areas.

　　1 Main Characteristics The breed is robust, with a large head and thick neck, deep chest, broad back, and well-developed pectoral muscles, typically with a chest angle of over 60 degrees. The rear body is full, giving the chicken a gourd-shaped physique. The defining feature of the Huiyang Beard Chicken is its well-developed, open beard feathers under the jaw, with no or only slight traces of wattles. Male chickens have dark reddish-brown feathers on the back, which can be either main-tail feathered or non-main-tail feathered, with the main tail feathers mostly yellow. Female chickens have yellow feathers overall, with some black on the primary wing and tail feathers, which are not well-developed. The beak and shanks are yellow, with orange-yellow irises. The earlobes are red.

　　2 Conservation Methods Conserved through breeding farms and gene banks. The Huiyang Beard Chicken Conservation Farm in Shibei Town, Boluo County, Guangdong Province, preserves the breed on-site, while the National Local Chicken Breed Gene Bank (Jiangsu) introduced the breed in 2004 for off-site conservation.

　　【Production Performance】

　　1 Adult Weight and Meat Production Average weight: adult males weigh 2,228 grams, females 1,601 grams. At 120 days old, average semi-eviscerated slaughter rates are: males 86.6%, females 86.7%, and fattened females 84.8%; average fully eviscerated slaughter rates are: males 81.2%, females 81.1%, and fattened females 75.6%.

　　2 Reproductive Performance Female chickens begin laying eggs at an average age of 150 days. They lay an average of 108 eggs per year, with an average egg weight of 46 grams. The average eggshell thickness is 0.3 mm, and the average egg shape index is 1.30. Eggshells are light brown. Male chickens reach sexual maturity at 80–100 days. The recommended mating ratio is 1 male to 10–12 females. The average fertilization rate of breeding eggs is 88.6%, and the average hatching rate of fertilized eggs is 84.6%.

　　【Development and Utilization】

　　The Huiyang Beard Chicken is renowned for its distinctive appearance and excellent meat quality. It holds high economic value in breeding, production, and the live poultry export market, making it a valuable poultry genetic resource in China. In recent years, research institutions in Guangdong Province have conducted selective breeding and crossbreeding trials, as well as exploring hybrid utilization. The resulting hybrid commercial birds have achieved certain success in retaining the appearance traits of the Sanhuang Beard Chicken and improving fertility.