<div>Background: Hansli chicken is reared in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts of Odisha. They play a vital role in the economic upliftment of poor, landless and marginalised people in the rural areas besides providing them with nutritious egg and meat for consumption. 
 
Methods: Hansli chicks and Vencobb broiler chicks were divided into three age groups viz. group I (up to 1 month), group II (1-3 months) and group III (3-6 months) with six birds in each age group. On 4th week, 12th week and 24th week, six birds from each breed were used for the study of histomorphometrical features of the thymus, spleen and bursa of Fabricius. 
 
Result: The average thickness of the capsule, cortex and medulla of thymus, average width of thymic lobule and average maximum diameter of Hassall&rsquo;s corpuscles differed significantly (p&le;0.05) between the birds at specific ages. Similarly, the average thickness of the splenic capsule, average width of white pulp, average external transverse and internal longitudinal diameters of trabecular artery, average external longitudinal, internal longitudinal, external transverse and internal transverse diameters of central artery, average longitudinal diameter of capillary, average longitudinal and transverse diameters of splenic nodule, average thickness of PALS and PELS differed significantly (p&le;0.05) between the birds at specific ages. The average number of bursal follicles in larger and smaller plicae, average height and width of larger and smaller plicae, average length and width of bursal follicle, average height of columnar cell of pseudostratified FAE and IFE, average nuclear height of FAE and IFE columnar cells differed significantly (p&le;0.05) between the birds at specific ages.</div>

<div>Age Related Histomorphometrical Studies on the Major Lymphoid Organs of Chicken</div>

The genetic architecture of 10 rural poultry populations in two distant tribal districts of &nbsp; Mayurbhanj and Kalahandi of Odisha state in India were studied for 15 quantitative and 11 qualitative characteristics through a field survey. Analysis of dispersion was conducted to test the simultaneous significance of mean differences in above characteristics and was found to be highly significant (p&lt;0.01). Cluster-I (Khairi and Kabri), cluster-II (Hansli, Gujuri, Dumasil, Dhabla, Kalua and Khadia), cluster-III (Jhinjiria), and cluster-IV included Chitri populations. The maximum D2 value was found between Hansli and Kabri (513.825) followed by Gujuri and Kabri (410.312) while minimum D2 value was observed between Khairi and Kabri (1.50). The average inter cluster distance was high between cluster-I and cluster-II (17.218) and also between cluster-II and IV (17.207). The genetic variation can be confirmed using biochemical and DNA markers which will help to obtain phenotypically pure local fowl genetic resources for future selection and breeding.

Age Related Histomorphometrical Studies on the Major Lymphoid Organs of Chicken

Phenotypic characterization of native chicken populations reared under family-based free-range scavenging system in Odisha, India