Small Yellow Chicken

Small Yellow Chicken

　　【Breed Type and Origin】

　　The Small Yellow Chicken originated in France. It was first introduced to China from France in 1999 and is now widely distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Beijing, and other regions.

　　1 Main Characteristics The Small Yellow Chicken, commonly known as "Small Yellow," is a specialized broiler breed. It has a small body with a rectangular body shape, a wide and deep chest, and is plump and prominent. It has a single comb, with the comb, wattles, and earlobes being bright red. Its beak is brownish-yellow, while its shanks, toes, and skin are yellow. Its shanks are thick and short, with no shank feathers.

　　2 Conservation Method: Gene bank preservation. The National Local Chicken Breed Gene Bank (Jiangsu) introduced the Small Yellow Chicken in 1999 for conservation purposes.

　　【Production Performance】

　　1 Adult Weight and Meat Production Performance Adult chicken weight: average weight of roosters is 2279 grams, average weight of hens is 1988 grams. 70-day-old semi-eviscerated slaughter rate: 88.3% for roosters, 88.2% for hens; full eviscerated slaughter rate: 66.9% for roosters, 68.3% for hens.

　　2 Reproductive Performance The Small Yellow Chicken begins laying eggs at 147–154 days of age, with peak egg production reaching 90%. At 66 weeks of age, it lays 180–200 eggs, each weighing 50–55 grams, and shows no brooding behavior.

　　【Development and Utilization】

　　Due to the effect of the sex-linked recessive dwarfing gene (dw), compared to ordinary types, the adult weight of roosters is 30–40% lower, and that of hens is 20–30% lower, which can save 20–30% on feed. The Small Yellow Chicken is used as the first sire in broiler crossbreeding systems, resulting in smaller parent-stock hens. Then, ordinary-type chickens are used as terminal sires to produce normal commercial offspring. However, because the imported Small Yellow Chicken breeds have feather colors that are not well suited to the domestic demand for high-quality broiler crossbreeds, they are less directly applied. Instead, their dwarfing gene (dw) is introduced into local chicken breeds to develop specialized high-quality broiler breeds for crossbreeding use.

　　Source: National Local Chicken Breed Gene Bank (Jiangsu)