GENETIC PRESERVATION: THE HATCHING RESULTS OF SPECKLED HUNGARIAN HEN AND THE SPECKLED TRANSYLVANIAN NAKED NECK HEN IN A STOCK IN HUNGARY

Abstract

In the pilot farm of Szeged University Faculty of Agriculture we keep two varieties of the Hungarian speckled hen, the feathered-neck variant and the bare-neck type since 1977. The three colour variations of the domestic hen species were bred from the Hungarian lea-land bird by the middle of the 20th Century. Because of the spread of intensive poultry keeping the population of this species has become endangered. Programs supporting ecological-biological farming that began in the last two decades placed the domestically bred birds in the forefront both as purebreds and as candidates in projects for developing merchandisable bio-poultry. Beside the gene preservation, we endeavour to find the best way for the production-purpose utilisation of the speckled hen stock. On the basis of our experiments the laying hens can be used in small scale egg production. We examined the hatching results of both type of speckled hens, during more than 20 generations.