Science & Technology

"Ligor" comes from the old name of Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Improvements to this new breed have remedied the low growth rates and yields of native chickens, thereby promoting comprehensive farming which, it is hoped, will create careers and stable incomes for farmers.

WU researchers together with Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) and the Department of Livestock Development researched improvements to the breed in work funded by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT).

Prof. Dr. Wanna Churit, WU Vice President for Research and Social Service, explained that raising native chickens is one of the occupations that will help farmers in the south earn income all year round. Native chickens are easy to raise and only take up little space compared to other livestock. They have a short life cycle, or fast yield--2 to 3 production cycles per year--and provide meat with good taste, high protein, low fat, and which is suitable for health-conscious consumers. At present, the production of native chicken is insufficient to meet the market and consumer demand because native chickens have low growth rates and low yields; they take longer to raise than broilers raised in industrial systems. Therefore, the research on native chickens has been conducted to develop hybrid native chickens.

The distinguishing features of “Ligor chicken” are a good growth rate, quality meat, delicious taste, low cholesterol, high vitamins and minerals. These benefits come from the interbreeding between a male “Red chicken,” Surat Thani bred by a research team from the Department of Livestock, and a female chicken bred by a research team from SUT.

The results showed that “Ligor Chicken” at 90 days had an average weight of 1.50-2.00 kilograms, average growth rate/chicken/day of 22 grams and feed efficiency of 2.6, which met consumers’ and farmers’ requirements. The average price is 70-90 baht per kilogram.         

Currently, the research team has produced and sold 1-day-old “Ligor chicken” at 14 baht each, which have been vaccinated for bronchitis and Newcastle disease, to farmers who are interested and ready to be a research partner with the project. For more information, please contact the Facebook page, website https://ligor.wu.ac.th or tel 095-049-2198.

Rewritten from Thai by Uraiwan Angkanawisut

Source: https://www.wu.ac.th/th/news/19926