1

Production of Local Chicken Breeds and Non-Chicken Species

Hanan Al-Khalaifa, Afaf Al-Nasser, Gehan Ragheb, Faten Khalil, Mariam Al-Bahouh,

Magdy Mashaly

Environmental and life Sciences Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research

E-mail: hkhalifa@kisr.edu.kw

Abstract

Development and conservation of native local chickens and non-chicken species, such as quails,

ducks, houbara and ostriches, are of great importance to enhance biodiversity and enrich the genetic

pool of poultry worldwide. It contributes to food security and income generation in rural areas.

Historically, these species also serve some social and religious functions as they are required for

special festivals and are essential for many traditional ceremonies. More effort and time should be

spent on development of local pure breeds and on conducting research studies on all aspects of

scientific fields related to these chickens.

What are local chickens?

There is no legal or universally accepted definition of local chickens. Local or indigenous

chickens represent a group of birds that were originated in an area and were adapted to its local

environmental conditions. These birds have survived for long period of time through a process of

natural selection, the result of this selection is a heterogeneous population which differs in its

morphology and its adaptive traits to the local environment (Katule, 1990).These chickens are

known to be highly resistant to local diseases and stressful conditions .The local chickens,

sometimes called native, are considered to be dual-purpose birds that can be used for both meat and

egg production. They are generally characterized of producing high quality eggs with different

milky colors. These birds are known for their low production rate and small egg sizes (Al-Nasser et

al., 1998, Alsobayel, 1986, Al-Nasser et al., 2013, Baset et al., 2000, Islam and Nishibori, 2009).

Importance of local chickens

Poultry meat and eggs, especially those for chickens are considered as most popular food items

all over the world. During the past decade, many countries have increased their commercial

production of these essential products to meet the increased demand by consumers. According to

the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially

for the past several decade (FAO, 2003, World Resources Institute, 2000).

However, there are several factors that could affect the rapid growth of agricultural market

production, including poultry production. These factors include: export restrictions, currency

depreciation, world oil prices, global population growth, climate change, loss of agricultural lands

and wars. Accordingly, the consumer demand will exceed the available resources and production

capacity. This will result in a situation that will definitely challenge food security. World Food

Summit in 1996 has defined food security as ‘ a situation when all people, at all times, have

physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and

food preferences for a healthy and active life’ (FAO, 1996 ).

Worldwide, around 925 million people are chronically hungry due to extreme poverty, while up

to 2 billion people lack food security intermittently due to varying levels of poverty (Stamoulis and

Zezza, 2003, FAO, 2003). In developing countries, often 70% or more of the population lives in

rural areas. In that context, agricultural development among smallholder farmers could give them

the opportunity to face poverty and achieve food security for their local society. In other words,

production of local chickens could be used as a major resource to achieve food security.

In addition, local chickens enhance the organic content of the environment by providing manre

with high content of nitrogen and organic matter. This contributes to the development of integrated

farming systems in developing rural areas. In some societies, they serve some social and religious

functions as they are required for special festivals and are essential for many traditional

ceremonies.

2

Also, development and conservation of these local chickens would add to the biodiversity

treasure of the poultry species and poultry products in any country. This biodiversity could also be

on the genetics level as the genome of these chickens is structurally different than that of the

regular commercial chickens, this will add to the poultry genetics pool in the world (IUCN, 2010,

IUCN, 2012, Hingrat et al., 2004). Also, the immune-competence of the native chickens is different

than that of the commercial chickens because the former is known to be more acclimatized to the

local stress conditions and more resistant to diseases. This would open door to research in the field

of immunology and other sciences using the local chickens in any country.

Local chickens in the Middle East and African states

The economic and social value of the local chickens in developing countries of the Middle East

and African countries, especially the rural areas is well recognized. The current paper will focus on

the status of the local chickens in Kuwait and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as examples of Middle

Eastern countries and on Egypt as an example of African county.

Status of local chickens in Kuwait

In the early years of the poultry history in Kuwait, the poultry fanciers focused on selection and

breeding of the local poultry breed that is locally and traditionally called the Arabi Chickens. It was

long been important to Kuwait’s society, as in any other developing country, for food and

entertainment uses. Their interest was for the purpose of owning a strong bird that would place high

in poultry exhibitions and competitions. The color variations within the long plumages of the Arabi

Chickens attract poultry fanciers that are interested in selection of showy and colorful birds. These

chickens were also used to improve livelihood and income generation for old Kuwaiti families.

These chickens are reared in some farms in Kuwait where they are used for egg production.

Management and feeding practices varied considerably between farmers. Mainly, producers depend

on commercial feed rations for feeding Arabi Chickens that are reared in open-sided pens, giving a

chance for these chickens to scavenge some organic food from the surrounding environment.

In 1988, KISR conducted a research activity entitled: “Classification and Evaluation of Non-

Commercial Poultry Breeds in Kuwait” to investigate the availability of local chickens in the

country. The study concluded the non-availability of local chickens in Kuwait and that the non-

commercial chicken breeds in Kuwait are a mix of chickens imported to Kuwait since more than 50

years ago and were acclimatized to Kuwait’s environmental conditions. These chickens proved to

be highly resistant to the adverse conditions of Kuwait’s environment (Al-Nasser et al., 1998).

After the above survey was done, another study was conducted on the productive performance of

the local chickens under the environmental conditions of Kuwait. The average egg production was

reported to be only150 eggs /hen/year (Al-Haddad et al., 2005); as compared with commercial

chicken production that reach 325 eggs /hen/year (Bell and Weaver, 2001). The Arabi chickens in

Kuwait are morphologically characterized to be medium sized with V-shaped comb. The head is

crested and the shank is short, bare and dark. The average weight of the mature male is 1.035 kg

and that of the mature female is 0.745 kg. These birds are multicolored (e.g. white, black,

brownish, yellowish, and orange). Their egg production is less than 50% (Al-Haddad et al., 2005).

Al-Khalifa and Al-Nasser (1995, 2006) investigated whether or not increasing or decreasing protein

levels in the diet of the local Arabi chickens relative to the standard commercial, would affect their

body weight gain, feed efficiency and mortality in Kuwait's environmental conditions during the

brooding period (0 to 3 weeks of age). The three different levels of protein used in the diet were

(18% lower than the standard level, 21% standard commercial level, and 22% higher than the

standard level). The authors concluded that using a dietary treatment with 18% protein is

recommended for raising Arabi chickens (0 to 4 weeks old) under the environmental conditions of

Kuwait. The productive and reproductive performance of the Arabi chickens was also investigated

using 3 levels of dietary protein. These levels were 15%, 17% and 18% during the laying period

from 34 to 57 weeks of age. There was no significant difference between percent egg production,

egg mass, egg weight, feed efficiency, percent fertility and percent hatchability of the hens fed the

3

three protein levels. So, it was recommended to 15 % protein, since this level will reduce the feed

cost without adversely affect the performance (Faten et al., 2008).

Conservation and improvement of the local Arabi chickens in Kuwait is essential and serious

demand to conserve this mix of breeds and produce a pure Kuwait breed in the future through

selective breeding of certain traits. This will definitely enhance biodiversity of poultry in the

country and add to the genetics pool of poultry species worldwide.

Status of local chickens in KSA

Researchers in Saudi Arabi conserved and developed their local chickens which they call the

Saudi Baladi chickens. The Baladi chickens are distributed throughout the country where Most of

the large Baladi farms (>1000 layers) are found in Makkah, Jedda and Madina. Medium size farms

(250- 600 hens) are found in Qasim, Madina, Makkah, Durma and Qatif. Smaller size farms (< 250

hens) are found in Makkah, Qasim and Hofuf. Twenty three % of the large Baladi farms are owen

by producers for income generation (Al-Nasser et al., 2013).

In general, the average marketing age of the birds in Saudi Arabia is 14.6 weeks. As with other

local chicken, local Saudi chickens are known for their poor performance production (Al-Nasser et

al., 2013). However, there are many attempts that have been done by researchers in King Saud

University to study nutritional and managerial requirements for the local Baladi chickens. For

example, it was concluded by some researchers that these chickens have the genetics potential to

performance better with some nutritional manipulations in the diet. For example, when arginine an

lysine were increased in the diet to be 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively, egg production was improved

by 67.86% (Seddon, 1997).

In addition, breeding and genetics studies were conducted to conserve some traits in the Baladi

chickens such as improving egg production and body weight gain (Hemon, 1998), improving

immunity and fertility traits (Alsobayel, 1986, Alsobayel and Al-Abdullatif, 1997, Basiouni, 2009).

Status of local chickens in Egypt

Egypt, as in Saudi Arabia, developed and conserved its native chicken breeds, one of which is

currently known as Fayoumi. This name is after the Oasis or province of Fayoum in Egypt. This

pure breed of chicken is said to have been introduced into the country in the beginning of the 19th

century from Turkey. There has been tremendous effort to develop and conserve the Fayoumi

native breed since the establishment of the ‘Fayoum Poultry Research Station’ in 1940’s.

The adult Fayoumi birds are active birds that are characterized by uniform, distinct and

dimorphic plumages of black and white barred-like pattern. The comb is usually single but

sometimes it is split at the end. The beak and shanks are dark and grey. The eyes are dark brown

and the ears are either red or white (Hossaryl and Galal, 1994).

This breed has been used in numerous breeding programs to produce breed lines using selective

breeding for certain traits such as lines for enhanced egg production and for body weight at 8 weeks

of age (Hossari, 1970). Compared with other breeds of chicken, Fayoumi have better and higher

semen quality and quantity than those of the White Leghorn and Rhode Island Red chickens

(Radwan, 1991). Interestingly, protein and amino acid requirements of Fayoumi chickens are less

than that of other breeds. The best laying performance of Fayoumi was a achieved at 14% protein,

compared to 16% protein for other chicken breeds (Darwish et al., 1990, Al-Sheikh, 1987). As far

as egg quality is concerned, Fayoumi eggs have thicker shell and less cholesterol than that of White

Leghorn (7.3 vs 9.1 mg/g) (Ali, 1993, Dorgham, 1989).

Fayoumi breed has been studied in many countries worldwide. These studies mainly concerned

with crossing the Fayoumi with other breeds and strains for the purpose of improving fitness traits

of the crosses as compared to the original parental breeds. For example, in a study conducted in

Kuwait by Hussieni et al. (1985), males of the Fayoumi breed were crossed with females of the

commercial white leghorn hens. The crossbreed was known as Fayhorn. The Fayhorn hens

produced significantly more eggs, larger egg size with better egg shell quality and had better feed

efficiency than the Fayoumi breed. In addition, other studies showed that the group size of Fayoumi

4

had no effect on the feed intake. However, egg production was found to be significantly increased

with the increase in the flock size (Rajbot et al., 2005, Hafiz and Balander, 2004).

Taken together, development and conservation of native local chickens is of great importance to

enhance biodiversity and genetic pool of poultry worldwide. It contributes to food security and

income generation in rural areas. More effort and time should be spent on development of local

pure breeds and on conducting research studies on all aspects of scientific fields related to these

chickens.

What are non-chicken species?

There is no legal definition of the non-chicken species. They are traditionally known to be avian

species that are not chickens such as quails, ducks, ostriches and houbara.

Production of Quails

Historically, quails are known to be migratory species that are often been used in show games,

songs, art, and literature. In the early 20th

Century, Japanese quail were started to be used for egg

and meat production (Crawford, 1990, Anthony et al., 1996, Thear, 1998). Quail belong to the class

Aves, order Galliformes, which include game birds and domestic fowl (chickens). It is a member of

the Phasianidae family, a category it shares with chickens, pheasants and partridges. Quail include

13 sub-grouping (Genus); some of these sub-groups include one or more species. These species

may have sub-species that have different colors. Some of these species and sub-species are used as

food sources and others as pets. California quail (Callipeplacalifornica) are kept as pets and have

been successfully introduced into several regions of the United States, such as northern Nevada,

New Mexico, Hawaii and Utah, in addition to the pacific coast region of the United States .

Chinese Painted quail (Coturnixchinensis) is the prettiest and most colorful quail, and is kept as an

aviary breed. Bobwhite quail (Colinusvirginianus) and Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) are the

most popular quail as food sources for egg and meat production.

Most modern domesticated Japanese quail have been derived from the wild Japanese form. The

wild Japanese quail represents a species distinct from the common quail (Coturnixcoturnix) of

Europe, Asia and Africa, and it is no longer regarded as a sub-species (Thear, 1998).

The quail industry has grown rapidly in several countries, such as in the United States, Japan,

Italy, France, Egypt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are

good examples of countries from the middle East and Africa where there is good quail industry for

meat production (Bashtar et al., 2010, Arafa et al., 2012). A considerable amount of research has

been done on quail nutrition and feeding management. Most of these studies focus on Japanese

quail and Bobwhite quail, which are used not only for meat and egg production, but also as

research animals. They have an advantage in the laboratory studies because of their short

reproductive cycle and because they are easy to handle and have excellent reproductive

performance and low maintenance cost (Anthony et al., 1996, Bashtar et al., 2010, MacLeod and

DabuthaL, 1997). In some countries like UK, the same source of Japanese quail is used for meat

production as well as for egg production. In this case, all females are separated for future egg

production and the males are used for meat production.

In Kuwait, quail meat and egg production is still limited. There is only one commercial poultry

company that produces and sells quail meat on the local market. There are limited research studies

conducted in Kuwait on quails. There was a study to evaluate quail production performance under

Kuwait’s’ environment. In this study, fertility and hatchability were estimated to be 80-90%, and

60-73%, respectively. Body weights, at marketing age, were approximately 210 g and 266 g for

males and females, respectively; continuous light was the photoperiod regimen used throughout the

growing period for males and females (Al-Haddad, 2005) .

In general, quail industry needs more development and research focus in the Middle East and

African countries.

Production of ducks

Domestication of wild ducks has started long time ago. Domestic ducks have many economic

uses. They could be farmed for their meat, eggs and feathers. Almost all the domestic ducks are

descended from the Mallard. Wild ducks of many species and domesticated breeds are widely

5

consumed around the world. Ducks is the common name for a large number of species in the

Anatidae family, which also includes swans and geese. They are mostly aquatic birds which could

be found in both fresh and sea water.

The most popular meat-type duck is the Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata). This breed is

believed to have originated in South America, although ancient records of this or a similar breed

have been found in Egypt. On the other hand, the Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domestica, or

Anas peking) are known to be egg-type breed, in addition to producing meat. They lay about 200

eggs per year (NRC, 1994).

Duck meat and eggs are good dietary sources of high quality protein, energy, fat, and several

vitamins and minerals. Lipids of the Muscovy breast meat have a high level (30.5%) of

polyunsaturated fatty acids (El-Deek et al., 1997, El-Deek and Brikaa, 2009 ).

Duck production has been increasing worldwide. The production in 2010 was six-fold that of

1961. Global duck meat production was increased from 2.98 million tons in 2001 to 3.81 million

tons in 2009 (USDA, 2011). The leading country in Europe is France, where Muscovy and Mule

ducks are the most popular breeds. Hungary has the highest per capita production in the world (5.2

kg). In both countries, ducks account for 14-15 % share of poultry meat production. Egypt and

Madagascar are the only two other African countries with appreciable duck meat production. Per

capita consumption of duck meat in Egypt is only 520 g in 1999. Duck industry is not well

developed in the Middle East, especially in the gulf country.

Production of ostrich species

The ostrich is the world's largest living bird. Adult males stand 2.4 m tall and can weigh over

100 kg; the hen is slightly smaller. Ostriches are ratites, a group of flightless birds. All ratites have

a broad, smooth, bowl-shaped breast plate or sternum without a keel (Shanawany, 1995, Adams

and Revell, 1999, Jefferey, 1999). Ostriches are classified under the class Aves, family:

Struthionidae, species: StruthioCamelus. The six sub-species are: StruthioCamelusCamelus, which

occurs in the Sahara desert and the west coast of the Red Sea; StruthioCamelusmolybdophanes,

which is still found in Ethiopia and Somalia; StruthioCamelusmassaicus, a rare bird of eastern

Kenya and Tanzania; StruthioCamelusaustralis, still seen in the wilder parts of South Africa of the

Zambesi and Cunane rivers; the Arabian ostrich StruthioCamelusSyriacus, which became extinct

between 1940 and 1945; and SruthioCamelusvar. domesticus, which a hybrid of

Camelusaustralisand Syriacus (Drenowatz et al., 1995).

Recently, there has been a significant consumer’s preference towards ostrich meat due to an

increase in public health awareness and interest in a healthy alternative to other red meats because

it is characterized by high poly-unsaturated fatty acid contents, low saturated fatty acid content, and

low cholesterol level compared to other red meats such as beef, while tasting similar to lean beef

(Carbajo, 2006, Shanawany, 1995, Cooper, 1999, Deeming, 2000). In addition to the healthy

importance of ostrich meat, ostrich has an advantage of being more efficient in producing meat than

ruminants and other poultry species due to the fact that it utilizes around 40% of alfalfa in its ration.

As a result, it is expected that consumption of ostrich meat products will continue to grow (Carbajo,

2006).

Ostrich farming started in the nineteenth century in South Africa (Jefferey, 1999), when the

industry concentrated on ostrich breeding and on feather production, with some leather and meat

production (Drenowatz et al., 1995). The industry is now changing from a breeder-based industry

to commercial meat-type ostrich production (Carbajo, 2006). Ostrich meat production started to

evolve in most countries in the world such as USA, Australia, Spain, Polan, Saudi Arabia and

Egypt (United States Department of Agriculture USDA, 2005). Current world production of

ostrich meat reached only 12,000 to 20,000 metric tons (Carbajo, 2006). Other products include oil,

feathers, eggs and eggshells.

In spite of the harsh environmental conditions, high production cost, and lack of knowledge of

ostrich feed rations formulation in the Middle East countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,

there is interest by potential producers to enter the ostrich production industry. They are optimistic

and work hard in cooperation with some government agencies to promote ostrich production in the

6

region. In Egypt, the ostrich industry is growing fast for the last 10 years. There are several ostrich

farms in12 provinces throughout the country (Cooper et al., 2008).

Houbara development and conservation

The houbara bustard is a medium-sized bird in the bustard family. They belong to the order

Gruiformes and they make up the family Otididae. The Otididae family includes 11 genera that

have 26 species (Sibley and Ahlquist, 1995; Bouglouan, 2010).

According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

Flora (CITES) and IUCN, half of the Bustards species (Otididae family) are declining or

endangered through habitat loss and hunting, which indicates the urgent need to conserve and

protect these species. As per CITES records four species (Ardeotis nigriceps, Chlamydotis

macqueenii (Asian houbara), Chlamydotis undulate (African houbara), and Houbaropsis

bengalensis) of the Otididae family are considered as the most endangered. The African houbara

bustard has two subspecies; one is found in North Africa and the other in the Canarian Islands.

Most of the African houbara bustards are residents of Mauritania, some, of the Canary Islands, and

some of North Africa. The Asian species is the Macqueen’s bustard, which has more tendencies to

migrate than the African houbara bustard.

The houbara bustard has traditional value in all gulf countries, due to its importance as desert

bird species and for falconers. In the past the houbara birds bred extensively in the Arabian

Peninsula, and there are early records of breeding occurring in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and

Oman. However, recently, population of houbara has declined because of overhunting and severe

habitat degradation, energy production, mining, and transportation (Hingrat et al., 2004, IUCN,

2012). Therefore, captive breeding programs have been initiated in Saudi Arabia and the United

Arab Emirates (UAE). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had pioneered in the conservation of

endangered native wildlife species with the establishment of captive breeding programs through the

National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD) in 1986. NCWCD

established the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) in Taif, for the captive breeding of

desert animals including houbara bustard. (Hemon, 1998). Other countries that established captive

breeding of houbara bustards species are the National Avian Research Center (NARC) of United

Arab Emirates, and the Emirates Centre for Wildlife Propagation (ECWP) in Morocco (Seddon,

1997, Al-Nasser et al., 2013). In Kuwait, improving houbara production and enhancing its

conservation is one of the major areas of interest to Al-Diwan Al-Amiri and Kuwait Institute for

Scientific Research (KISR). Hence, KISR has prepared a comprehensive plan for the establishment

of Houbara Breeding Center (HBC) in the country.

In conclusion, the production of local chickens and other non-chickens species can contribute to

the improvement of the food security status worldwide. Development and conservation of local

chickens and non-chickens species is essential to enhance species and genetics biodiversity

worldwide.

References

ADAMS, J. & REVELL, B. J. (1999). Ostrich farming: A review and feasibility study of

opportunities in the EU. School of Management, Harper Adams University College, Newport,

Shropshire, UK.

AL-HADDAD, A. (2005). Development and Improvement of Quail Production, KISR technical

report (FA022G).

AL-HADDAD, A., AL-NASSER, A., MASHALY, M. & AL-SAFFAR, A. (2005). Study of the

Production Efficiency of t he Acclimatized Al-Arabi Chicken (FA031G)Technical Report.

KISR 7997.

AL-KHALAIFA, H. & AL-NASSER, A. (2006). Improve Arabian Chickens Performance in

Kuwait by Nutrition and Feeding Management: Phase I-Growing Period (FA066C). Final

Report. KISR 8379.

AL-NASSER, A., AL-HADDAD, A., AL-SAFFAR, A. & HOLLEMAN, K. (1998). Classification

and Evaluation of Non-Commercial Poultry Breeds in Kuwait Technical Report (FA001G).

7

AL-NASSER, A., AL-KHALAIFA, H., AL-BAHOUH, M., MASHALY, M. & AL-MURAD, R.

(2013). Visits to different houbara centers in UAE (19-29 January, 2013). Kuwait Institute for

Scientific Research, mission report.

AL-SHEIKH, M. A. (1987). Comparative study on some amino acids requirment of local and

foreign chickens. PhD thesis, Zagazig University, Egypt.

ALI, O. Y. (1993). Studies on egg quality characteristics in Fayoumi, White Leghorn and thier

crosses. M. Sc. thesis, Cairo University (Fayoum), Egypt.

ALSOBAYEL, A. (1986). Some egg quality characteristics of Baladi chickens kept under two

housing systems in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Colledge of Agriculture at King Saud University,

8, 79-87.

ALSOBAYEL, A. & AL-ABDULLATIF, A. (1997). Effect of sex-linked feathering genes on

grow-out performance of Baladi chickens. Journal of King Saud University.

ANTHONY, N. B., NESTOR, K. E. & MARKS, H. L. (1996). Short-term selection for four-week

body weight in Japanese quail. Poultry Science , 75, 1192-1197.

ARAFA, A.-S., HAGAG, N., ERFAN, A., MADY, W., EL-HUSSEINY, M., ADEL, A. &

NASEF, S. (2012). Complete genome characterization of avian influenza virus subtype H9N2

from a commercial quail flock in Egypt. Virus Genes, 45, 283-294.

BASET, M. A., BHUIYAN, M. M. & ISLAM, M. M. (2000). Performance of Fayoumi chicken

under different rearing systems in Sylhet district. Bangladesh Journal of Animal Science, 29

105-110.

BASHTAR, A.-R., ABDEL-GHAFFAR, F., AL-RASHEID, K. S., MEHLHORN, H. & NASR, I.

(2010). Light microscopic study on Eimeria species infecting Japanese quails reared in Saudi

Arabian farms. Parasitology Research, 107, 409-416.

BASIOUNI, G. (2009). The effect of feeding an extra amounts of arginine to Local Saudi Hens on

luteinizing hormone secretion. Journal of Biological Sciences, 9, 617-620.

BELL, D. & WEAVER, W. (2001). Commercial Chicken Meat and Egg Production, 5th Edition.

Chapter: Egg Production and Egg Weight Standards for Table Egg Layers. Page: 1079-1090.

CARBAJO, E. (2006). Ostrich production to mature. World poultry, 22, 24.

CHRYSOSTOME, C., BELL, A. M., DEMEY, F. & VERHULST, A. (1995). Seroprevalence to

three diseases in village chickens in Benin. Preventive veterinary medicine, 22, 257-261.

COOPER, R. G. (1999). Ostrich meat, an important product of the ostrich industry: a southern

African perspective. World’s Poultry Science Journal 55, 389-402.

COOPER, R. G., MAHROSE, K. M. A., EL-SHAFEI, M. & MARAI, I. F. M. (2008). Ostrich

(Struthio camelus) production in Egypt. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 40, 349-355.

CRAWFORD, R. D. 1990. Origin and history of poultry species. In: CRAWFORD, R. D. (ed.)

Poultry Breeding and Genetics. Amsterdam, TheNetherlands.

DARWISH, A. A., HATTABA, N. A. & SHALASH, S. M. (1990). Effects of seasonal variation

and dietary protein level on some performance of Fayoumi layers. . Third International

Symposium on Feed and Quality Control, Egypt.

DEEMING, D. C. (2000). The Ostrich: Biology, Production, and Health. Animal Feed Science and

Technology, 88, 135.

DORGHAM, S. A. (1989). Studies on fatty liver in Fayoumi chicken. PhD thesis, El-Azhar

University, Egypt.

DRENOWATZ, C., SALES, J., SARASQUETA, D. V. & WEILBRENNER, A. (1995). History

and geography. In: . In: DRENOWATZ, C. (ed.) The Ratite Encyclopedia (Ostrich. Emu.Rhea).

San Antonio, Texas: Ratite Records.

EL-DEEK, A. & BRIKAA, M. (2009) Effect of Different Levels of Seaweed in Starter and

Finisher Diets in Pellet and Mash Form on Performance and Carcass Quality of Ducks

International Journal of Poultry Science 8, 1014-1021.

EL-DEEK, A. A., BARAKAT, M. O., ATTIA, Y. A. & EL-SEBEAY, A. S. (1997). Effect of

feeding muscovy ducklings different protein sources: Performance, n-3 fatty acid contents, and

acceptability of their tissues. JAOCS, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 74, 999-

1009.

8

FAO (1996) Declaration on world food security. World Food Summit, FAO, Rome.

FAO. (2003). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Prospects for aggregate

agriculture and major commodity groups. In: World agriculture: towards 2015/2030. An FAO

Perspective., 85-95.

KHALIL, F., Al-NASSER A., RAGHEB, G. AL-BAHOUH, Al-KHALAIFA, H.& M. MASHALY

M. Effect of protein levels on reproductive performance of Arabi chickens. Final report.

Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.

HAFIZ, A. A. & BALANDER, R. G. (2004). Physiological response of layers to alternative

feeding regimen. International Journal of Poultry Science, 3, 100-111.

HEMON, S. 1998. Newsletter of the Re-introduction Specialist Group of IUCN's Species Survival

Commission (SSC). No. 16: September Page 6.

HINGRAT, Y., JALME, M., YSNEL, F., LACROIX, F., SEABURY, J. & RAUTUREAU, P.

(2004). Relationships between home-range size, sex and season with reference to the mating

system of the Houbara Bustard. Chlamydotis undulata undulate. 146, 314-322.

HOSSARI, M. A. (1970). The effect of selection for high body weight and high egg number on

genetic and phenotypic variation in two strains of Fayoumi chickens. U.A.R. Journal of Animal

Production, 10, 55-63.

HOSSARYL, M. A. & GALAL, E. S. E. (1994). Improvement and adaptation of the fayoumi

chicken. Animal Genetic Resources, 14, 33-39.

WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE. (2000). Agriculture and food, agricultural production

indices: Food production per capita index.

ISLAM, M. A. & NISHIBORI, M. (2009). Indigenous naked neck chicken: a valuable genetic

resource for Bangladesh. World's Poultry Science Journal, 65, 125-138.

IUCN (2010). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for Nature and

Natural Resources. Available at www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on February, 2011.

IUCN (2012). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for Nature and

Natural Resources. Available at www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on March, 2013.

JEFFEREY, J. (1999). Ostrich production. Extension Veterinarian, Texas Agricultural Extension

Service, The Texas A& M University System.

KATULE, A. M. (1990). Studies on the prospects of improving the performance of the local

chicken population in Tanzania by cross breeding, (PhD thesis, Sokoine University of

Agriculture)

MACLEOD, M. G. & DABUTHAL, A. (1997). Diet selection by Japanese quail (Coturnixcoturnix

japonica) in relation to ambient temperature and metabolic rate. Bri. Poult. Sci., 38.

NRC, N. R. C. (1994). Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, Washington, DC., Rosebrough, R. W., E.

Geis, P. James, H. Ota, and J. Whitehead.

RADWAN, A. M. (1991). Studies on some semen characterisics in Fayoumi, White Leghorn cocks

and thier crosses. M. Sc. thesis, Cairo University (Fayoum), Egypt.

RAJBOT, N., RIND, M. & RAHMATALLAH, R. (2005). Effect of flock size of Fayoumi layer

production. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 4, 842-844.

SEDDON, P. J. (1997). Resident Houbara Bustard population in Saudi Arabia: Do summer ambient

temperatures limit distribution?. Journal of Arid Environment 37:551-556.

SHANAWANY, M. 1995. Recent developments in ostrich farming. World Animal Review, 83, 3-8.

STAMOULIS, K. & ZEZZA, A. (2003). A Conceptual Framework for National Agricultural, Rural

Development, and Food Security Strategies and Policies. ESA Working Agricultural and

Development Economics Division, FAO, Rome. Paper No. 03-17.

THEAR, K. (1998). Keeping Quail: A Guide to Domestic and Commercial Management, London,

UK, Broad Leys Publishing Company.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE USDA (2005). Livestock and Poultry:

World Markets and Trade, pp. 6-23.

USDA (2011). SR23 Nutritional Data on SkipThe Pie.org. "Duck, domesticated, meat only, raw"

SkipThePie.org. Ed. SkipThePie 2011.