TABLE 2.

Characteristic features of native Indian chicken breeds used in the current study.

S.No.	Breed Name	Weight (Avg Kg)		Plumage Type	Plumage Pattern	Plumage Colour	Comb Type	Skin Colour	Shank Colour	Egg Shell Colour	Visible Character	Main use
		Male	Female
1	Aseel	4	2.59	Normal	Patchy	Red, Black	Pea	Yellow	Yellow	Brown	Small but firmly set comb. Bright red ear lobes. Long and slender face devoid of feathers. The general feathering is close, scanty and almost absent on the brest. The plumage has practically no fluff and the feathers are tough.	Socio-Cultural-Game/Fighting; Food-meat
2	Ghagus	2.16	1.43	Normal	Patchy	Brown	Pea or single	White	Yellow	Light Brown	Cocks have shinning bluish black feathers on breast, tail and thighs. Neck is covered with golden feathers. Throat in some cases is loose and hanging. Wattles are small and red in colour. Ear lobes are mostly red.	Food - meat, eggs
3	Harringhata Black	1.284	1.121	Normal	Self-Black	Black	Single	White	Grey	Light Brown	—	Food-Meat, eggs
4	Kadaknath	1.6	1.125	Normal	—	Ranges from silver to gold spangled to blue balck	—	Dark grey	Grey	Light Brown	The colour of day old chicks is bluish to black with irregular dark stripes over the back. In the adults, comb, wattles and tongue are purple. The shining blue tinge of the ear lobes adds to its unique features.	Food - meat; Socio-cultural - religious ceremonies
5	Nicobari Brown	1.8	1.3	Normal	Solid	Black	Single	Dark grey	Grey	Light Brown	The birds are short legged. Shank length at 10 weeks of age varies from 3.50 to 3.85 cm.	Food - Eggs and Mea
6	Tellichery	1.62	1.24	Normal	Solid	Black with shining bluish tinge	Single	Grey	Blackish grey	Light Brown	Shining bluish tinge on hackle, back and tail. Comb is red and large in size. It is erect in cocks and drooping on the rear side in hens. Wattles are red in colour. Ear lobe is mostly red in colour. Eye ring is blackish red. Beak is blackish.	Food - meat, eggs
7	Indian Red Jungle Fowl	2.04	1.36	Normal	Solid	Bright orange and black	Single	White	Yellow	White	Feathered shank, bunch of feather on head (crown structure) in about 18 % birds	Egg, meat and socio-cultural