Campero Bonaerense INTA: a synthetic dual-purpose poultry population for semi-intensive production systems.

Abstract

Campero Bonaerense INTA is a dual-purpose synthetic population undergoing a stabilization process, derived from crossing males and females of the three-way hybrid Campero Casilda. It was primarily developed as a resource for family agriculture programs through a network of multipliers. Additionally, these birds are available for smallholders interested in organic egg and meat production as an alternative to commercial hybrids developed for intensive systems or less productive creole chickens. While both males and females are suitable for meat production, females perform particularly well as egg layers. The Argentine Protocol for Campero Chicken Production establishes the regulations for breeding this poultry resource. Males attain mean body weights of 2590 g and 2980 g, with carcass yields of 74.5% and 74.4%, breast proportions of 26.4% and 25.9%, drumsticks and thighs of 30.8% and 32.1%, and abdominal fat of 1.52% and 1.74% at the minimum and maximum slaughter ages of 75 and 90 days, respectively. Due to their status as heavy birds, females must be maintained under food restriction in intensive indoor breeding conditions, a requirement usually relaxed in free-range systems. Restricted hens attain sexual maturity (age at first egg) at 188 days of age with a mean body weight of nearly 2800 g. Egg color is variable but never white. The first ten eggs are laid over a period of 14.4 days, with an average weight of 49.7 g and a coefficient of variation of 7.2%. The cumulative egg number up to 40 weeks ranges from 76 to 110, with weights between 55 and 67 g and an egg mass from 4250 to 5800 g. The highest rate of lay (peak production) of 86% is achieved at 32 weeks of age. Eggs maintain satisfactory shape index values (77 on average) from 26 to 40 weeks. Between 26 and 40 weeks of age, the yolk content increases from 27 to 30%, the albumen content decreases from 62 to 59%, the yolk-to-albumen ratio increases from 43 to 51%, and the shell content remains at an average of 11%. As indicators of internal quality 24 hours after laying, the yolk index decreases from 54 to 48%, the albumen index from 12 to 9%, and the Haugh units from 105 to 100 during the same period. These data provide basic information regarding the major characteristics of Campero Bonaerense INTA as a dual-purpose poultry resource.