Use of gene pool chicken breeds in new breeding forms creation for small-scale poultry farming

The objective of this study is to evaluate the egg and meat productivity of hybrid poultry obtained by crossing Tsarskoye Selo hens with Dwarf Cochin roosters. This new breeding form was developed using gene pool breeds with autosomal dwarfism to produce autosexing egg-laying hybrids for use in small-scale poultry farming. The resulting hybrids exhibited double autosexing and an intermediate type of inheritance for exterior and live weight characteristics. The birds had a calm disposition, compact size, short legs (the leg length index was 12.7 % lower than that of Tsarskoye Selo roosters, p < 0.001), and strong bones (the ratio of the girth of the metatarsus to its length was 51.1 % higher than that of Tsarskoye Selo roosters, p < 0.001). Hybrid hens demonstrated a level of egg production that was 8.0 % higher than that of the ma-ternal form, were distinguished by a higher level of the relative size of the yolk in the egg (by 0.5 absolute percent), energy value of 100 g of egg mass (by 21.5 %, p < 0.01), as well as a higher yield of egg mass per 1 kg of live weight (by 42.8 %, p < 0.05) with lower feed costs per 1 kg of egg mass (by 21.4 %, p < 0.001) in comparison with the hens of the Tsarskoye Selo breed. Hybrid roosters are inferior to their maternal counterparts in absolute live weight, but have a higher breast muscle yield (by 8.7 %, p < 0.01) and leg muscle yield (by 11.6 %, p < 0.01). Hybrid birds are recommended for egg production in small-scale poultry farms.