Abstract
Present investigation was carried out on a total of 1082 chicken belonging to seven genetic
groups viz. Assel (638), Kadaknath (755), desi (54), Black Australorp (603), the crosses of desi
with other recognized breeds as Rhode Island Red (42), Black Australorp (62) and Assel (62).
For that purpose a collective number of 2229 fertilized eggs were collected and chicks were
hatched through artificial incubation. It was seen that egg weight was significantly affected by
genetic groups and higher egg weight was observed in Black Australorp (52.05 g) than Assel
(44.43 g) followed by RIR X desi (42.10 g), Kadaknath (39.91 g), B.A. X desi (39.65 g), desi
(39.57 g) and Assel X desi (37.56 g). Significantly higher hatch weight was noticed in exotic
birds (Black Australorp). Among indigenous birds, significantly higher hatch weight was observed
in Assel in comparison to pure desi and their crosses with exotics (B.A. and RIR). The h2 estimate
showed wide variation in different genetic groups but were medium to high in general. The
phenotypic and genetic correlation between egg weight and hatch weight was high and positive
in majority of cases.