Demonstration research was conducted at Lume, Ada’a and Akaki Districts of East Shewa zone Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. The main objective of the study was to demonstrate koekoek chicken technology. The study went further to improve farmers’ income and evaluate the perception of farmers towards the demonstrated technology in the study areas. A total thirty farmers were selected purposively with the support of District Agricultural Office Experts from the three selected Districts of East Shewa Zone based on the willingness of farmers and their poultry farming experiences. Training was provided for the selected farmers and other concerning experts on poultry feed, health and management. A total of 1687 a day old coekoek chicken breeds were distributed to the trained farmers for two consecutive years. The study found that majority 46.7% of the breeds started laying egg at earlier age (26 weeks) compared to local chicken breeds and confirmed that the dual-purpose koekoek chicken breeds are more preferred by their body weight, egg production, egg marketability and age at egg laying compared to local chicken breeds. The participants revealed that the demonstrated chicken breeds are similar to local chicken in terms of disease resistance and non-vulnerability to predators. Based on the results, the researchers recommended that wider scaling up of dual purpose koekoek chicken breeds can contribute to the household income improvement.
Keywords: Dual purpose, East Shewa, Ethiopia, Koekoek, chicken
